I'll never forget stampede screenwriter (i thought it was the director at first i have very bad memory) saying something like vash is both the male lead and the female lead (like in a traditional way), he's the hero of the story but he's also there to be desired and gazed at, this director dude is just crazy and i appreciate that
unlike all other platonic relationships, byler is the only stranger things friendship that has similarities and parallels with pre-established couples, as well as being constantly associated with romantic tropes. the way duffers handle byler is very similar to the way they handle canonical couples such as l*max, j*ncy and j*pper. the pattern is the same. mike and will have all the “requirements”.
there is no other platonic pair in stranger things like this one. you can compare with any other friendship; byler is exclusive.
1. l*max
2. j*ncy
3. r*ckie
4. j*pper
5. multiple ships
byler vs byler
byler also parallel their own pivotal moments and dynamics. will and mike have one of the most emotional, dramatic and profound “friendships” on stranger things. their scenes hold so much power, tension and tenderness.
yes, they still could be just friends if it wasn’t for the previous similiarities with canon couples and for the different ways the duffers build up romantic and platonic relationships on their show.
mike doesn’t look at lucas and dustin like that.
*you can tell how much effort the duffers put into their scenes. beauty, intimacy and love. these three are personally my favorites.
byler vs m*leven
byler and m*leven also have some parallels. the difference, however, is that most of the time, these parallels convey a message in opposite ways, as if the scenes in question were comparing one another.
the tone and text of these two relationship scenes changes completely depending on what is expected of that scene, such as m*leven’s funny and colorful breakup and byler’s dark and sad fight.
*same look in his eyes btw (picture below)
*will was in every m*leven’s happy scene in season 4
some of the friendships that can be compared to byler are both steve x robin and max x dustin. at some point, steve and dustin liked robin and max. but you know they’re just friends and their love is mutually platonic.
the major difference is that will is in love with mike. his feelings have been cultivated for many years. it’s pure genuine love. and honestly, there are no signs that his feelings are one-sided. mike seems to have sparks in his heart and their scenes were purposely constructed to be romantic.
Hey y'all! So, a lot of the analyses I’ve seen about the monologue and things I noticed about it myself as to why it sucks ass were kind of just easily fixable things related to the editing of the scene. And because I have an editing software and thought it would be a fun way to practice…I fixed it. So here’s what Mike’s Monologue could have looked like if they had wanted it to be actually romantic.