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lemonheadhatchet · 2 years

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Stranger Things Season 4 Mileven Analysis and Season 5 Theory: Mike and El breakup and Byler Possibility.

Stranger Things spoilers ahead!! Also, grab some popcorn because this is a long one.

So, one of my friends said I should post my thoughts and opinions about Byler and since I absolutely LIVE for queer representation in media, especially for a mainstream show like Stranger Things, I decided I would. Being apart of the LGBTQ+ community myself, I also felt like I'd be insulting my community in a way. I will not be attacking Mike and Eleven shippers. Also, I'm not going to be discussing too much Byler evidence as I am Mike and Eleven breaking up evidence because explaining why I believe they will break up is vital to exploring what I believe might happen in season 5. Having to explain all of that and then also all of the Byler evidence would just be an extra 3 extra hours of writing that I don't have the energy for. So, if you want more, literally go to any Byler related hashtag.

As for my thoughts on Byler, I absolutely adore the ship. Anybody who knows me, knows I absolutely love Will Byers and his entire storyline and Mike Wheeler... well, he's Mike Wheeler. As for my thoughts on the stance of their possible relationship, believe it or not, I don't think we're in that bad of a place, possibility wise. Let me explain.

Let me start off with the big love confession scene between Mike and El. First of all, I will admit, there was definitely something wrong with that monolog, but not because it was bad writing or bad acting (as Finn Wolfhard has proven multiple times that he is an incredible actor), but because from the moment it started, I instantly thought: "Wait... that doesn't make sense." Mainly when Mike told El that he loved her the day he found her in the woods. First of all, I felt like the wording was a bit odd for a moment that was supposed to be emotional. Him saying "found her" kind of made it sound like he's talking to a dog (which is oddly an example the Duffer Brothers used to describe Mike and El's relationship). Second, it doesn't make sense storyline-wise. Let's remember, their whole relationship started because Mike was dead set on finding Will. That night, Mike didn't go into the woods to find El, but when he did find her, the first thing he plans to do is get rid of her. However, his mood changes when he realizes she could be of some help to find Will. I'm sorry, but you don't just plan to get rid of someone you "love"! That's literally not a thing that happens. Even after that, he continuously asks her "what's wrong with you" in a very harsh tone (When they "found Will's body" and when she uses the force and sends Lucas flying into a wall). Again, not necessarily something you say to someone you love.

Also, the way he only references her powers is a bit weird to me. There is so much more to El than just her powers. She's brave, she's kind, she's beautiful. He could've literally said that he likes that she's different from other people, which is something that she's canonically insecure about. But, he only talks about her powers, in fact, he lists powers she doesn't even have such as flying and moving mountains. But, do you know who does? SUPERMAN, someone he's compared her too before. Maybe these are just expressions, but I just find it odd that he talked about her powers, especially after her whole arch of volume 1 is learning that she's more than just her powers.

When we cut back to El in Vecna's mind lair, we can see that it isn't working for El. The vine around her neck are tightening and you can see it on her face that she didn't seem to believe him. However, we don't see her break free and find her strength to fight until she looks over and sees that Max, her best friend that taught her about other strong, powerful women like her and inspired her to become something and someone of her own, is dying in front of her eyes. That's when she gains her strength.

Then, once Steve, Nancy, and Robin go flambé on Vecna's ass, we see Lucas and El watch Max die a tragic, horrible death in front of their very eyes. That's when El brings her back to life and Max ends up in a coma. I believe this moment is supposed to tell us that El either can't or doesn't want to live a life without Max in it and absolutely refused to let her best friend die a terrible death too soon.

This leads me to two days later. Mike, Will, El, Jonathan, Nancy, and Argyle all end up back at Hopper's cabin, cleaning it up in order to to hide El. While Jonathan, Nancy, and Argyle are outside, we see Will, Mike, and El are all inside (the perfect set up for something to happen). Mike and Will are sweeping as El goes into her old room and only keeps the door open three inches. Once the two are alone, we get our last Byler heart-to-heart scene of the season.

Prompting this conversation to begin, Will asks Mike is she's talked to him at all and Mike reveals that she's a only spoken to him little bit. A little bit. It had been 2 days. Remember, this is a couple that were glued together in season 3 and wrote letters to each other frequently while they were apart. You'd think that after watching her best friend die and having to bring her back to life, El would be really leaning on Mike, especially after him telling her he love her (which was complete and utter bull but thats a post for another day). But she hasn't, and clearly still isn't.

I believe that this scene was meant to tell us that El is starting to realize that she doesn't need Mike as much as she thought. Remember, the Duffers wanted our heros to feel what it's like to lose in such a big way. After it happens, it makes you realize who you are and what you need. El realized that she didn't need her love for Mike to help her stay strong, she needed the love she has for her family: Hopper and Max, and maybe she didn't realize it in the moment, but most definitely afterwards.

Keep in mind, the loss of her dad and the loss of Max has all occurred within 8 months of each other, that's a lot for anyone,, especially El. We also see that El is still not over Hopper's death in the beginning of season 4, then mix all that with not being able to save Hawkins, this all feels like the biggest loss of her life (because it kind of is). She also realizes that she didn't need to lean on Mike to cope, she needed to do that by herself. I think she's finally starting to realize that she's more that just Mike's girlfriend, but she's also Max's best friend and Hopper's daughter.

Also, think about what's happening during her bedroom scene where she's clearly mourning Max. Mike and Will have a very emotional moment on Hopper's old couch which really parallels their 'crazy together' moment during season 2. The way they filmed this scene is absolutely beautiful and it ends with Mike gripping Will's shoulder tightly. Some people believe that this is visual representation of Mike fear of losing Will again, I don't know if that's what they were going for, but I think it's a fun idea to play with. These scenes are happening at the same time for a reason. They are showing big, emotional moments for the three characters.

And then, the last shot of the scene, we see Eleven stand in front of half of Hawkins torn apart by the man she couldn't defeat, giving her more strength to fight that ever before. Remember, despite her awful history in the town, she still considers it home. Its where her friends are, where her boyfriend is, where she met Hopper and was taken in by him. Behind her, we see Nancy and Jonathan standing together, Joyce and Hopper standing together, and... guess who else... WILL AND MIKE STANDING TOGETHER!! Many believe this shot is a visual representation or foreshadowing how season 5 will end. Eleven will be single, Joyce and Hopper will be together, Nancy and Jonathan will be together, Mike and Will will be together.

Now, here's my take on the set up of Byler:

I think Byler could be a genuine possibility, but only if it's done correctly. Not too rushed, but not pushed until the end because saving a queer relationship between two main characters until the end of a VERY LONG SERIES is honestly just annoying and we're tired of being forced to call it "representation". This shouldn't be a case of "you get what you get". So, I'm going to create a theory (if that's what you can even call this) using the information already given to us through the Duffer Brothers.

So, I think Mike should start to have his realization in episode one. Maybe a new problem could arise that may threaten Will's safety or even life (we already know he's going to have a huge significance to the storyline in season 5) and Mike realizes that the possibility of losing Will permanently scares the absolute shit out of him (obviously), but it's different than anything he's ever felt about losing Eleven. Then something could happen with Max's coma storyline (possibly a way to wake her up) so that makes El realize she needs to bring her best friend back more than anything. Then, in episode two, they have a clean, loving breakup, and everything will begin falling into place for Will's storyline, Mike's storyline, Byler's storyline, and El's storyline. Then, maybe in the middle of the episode/towards the end, we get an emotional moment between Byler, another emotional moment between El and Max, maybe even a moment between El and Lucas, before Joyce, Hopper, Jonathan, Will, and El all haul back off to California. The rest of the episode is everyone reflecting and realizing things about themselves they had never known before and this goodbye feels even sadder and more bittersweet than the first.

I can tell you right now with complete and utter confidence, if this is how they start season 5, they will set their time skip up for success in terms of story telling, writing, and time management for building up each and every storyline.

Anyways, what do you guys think? I just spend 4 hours on this and I have work in the morning so please be kind.

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