#anyways. byler is endgame and mike's jacket of all things proves it <3

[mlchaelwheeler]

Mike's S4 jacket (and who his heart is really pointing to)

Let's talk about Mike's S4 outfit, specifically, his jacket. To start off, I should note that this jacket was custom made for Mike. It wasn't bought somewhere, it was specifically designed for him. That doesn't seem too weird, but what is weird is how crucial it is to helping us understand what he's thinking--since we don't get a look into his true thoughts at all this season.

Interestingly enough, the pocket (conveniently located right over Mike's heart) on Mike's jacket is almost always pointing at Will throughout the whole season. While there a couple exceptions, the theory mostly fits. We know from Will's speech in 4x08 that he sees Mike as "the heart," or more truly, as his heart. This is a nice nod to the fact that the arrow on Mike's pocket (again, over his heart) is always pointed towards Will. Mikes heart is literally pointing toward Will, even if his head doesn't know he's there yet.

During Mike and Will's heart to hearts where they're vulnerable and open with each other--when they're on the same page--Will sits on Mike's left side, so the arrow is pointing towards him. This is supposed to clue us into the fact that Mike understands Will and feels the same way in his heart.

However, with Will's speech in 4x08, Mike is completely oblivious to the fact that Will is telling Mike his own feelings. Of course, Mike wishes Will felt that way about him, but he's too repressed to ever believe Will could feel the same way. To reflect their misunderstanding and not being on the same page, this time Will is on Mike's right, with the arrow pointing away from him.

But then again in 4x09 when Mike gives his monologue, Will is back on his left, perhaps a hint that Mike is actually talking about his feelings for Will. He's only telling El what he thinks she needs to hear in order to fight, but he's responding to what are canonically Will's feelings, not El's. During the whole monologue, the arrow on Mike's pocket points towards Will, directing us to the fact that while what he says might be to El, his heart really lies with Will.

After Vecna has been "defeated" and they all arrive back in Hawkins, we get almost no scenes of Mike and El together, despite Mike's "super romantic" monologue. Yet where do we see Mike? Oh right, glued to Will's side the whole time. In every shot of them in the finale sequence, Will is again on Mike's left, with the arrow pointing his way. I believe this is setting up Mike's realization in S5 of who his heart truly lies with, since once Mike knows Will loves him, he's going to drop everything to tell Will he feels the same way. If meeting Will was the best thing Mike's ever done (truthfully), being in a requited relationship will be even better, if that's possible.