#for HNL being fake take note of the first DM book that Mike uses and what happens when it gets narrated from

[madwheelerz]

Manifestation Theory Supplement - What happened to Will + the Beginning

So, what happened to Will in season one exactly? Well, I think in the first timeline that Will died. As in he was murdered. Now you might be wondering who would murder Will like that and well season one certainly stresses the existence of as a very negative force in Will’s life.

Someone who knew he had just died. Someone who knew that his death occurred at the quarry and was ruled a suicide despite supposedly being in the city. Who other than Lonnie Byers. Lonnie who showed up just in time for the money and let’s say we’re in the one, the one being the timeline where Will is alive then the other 99…

This is where it gets me. That first DnD game is so important because in the initial timeline it would’ve been the last time Mike saw Will alive and happy so it’s something like a save point. Karen stops the game at 8:15 hence the importance of that time. So, Will goes home and Lonnie kills him. I’m not sure I can decode the specifics of how, but anyway Will dies.  

I think Mike’s main power up until this point was probably time manipulation/travel. A bit like El’s telekinesis it’s the first stage of said powers. After Will’s death Mike tries to rewind the timeline and completely override the first one except, he doesn’t necessarily fail, but he doesn’t succeed either instead we get whatever in the loony tunes is going on right now and why you might ask?

Because Mike most likely damaged his brain by attempting to rewind time like that. He most likely had some semblance of control over time before hand seeing as according to Dustin-

We learn that Mike is very good with time. Then we get to see Mike always seeming to lose track of his time. Later from El we see that pushing your power to the limit can damage your brain and cause amnesia.

So let’s say Mike rewinds time to his save point which would be 8:15, the time where he could consider things would’ve gone wrong because his mom stopped the game. Mike is twelve. He would not have had the power level necessary to pull that off and most definitely would’ve pushed way past his limit.

When El pushed past her limit she opened a gate. If Mike had reached a point where he pushed past his limit trying to destroy a timeline he considers failed and given himself brain damage, it’s possible that the manifestations started then. That would’ve been the perfect time for it to begin as a sort of consequence of time travel.

El, HNL, the upside-down, the Russian subplot, and more are products of this. They keep reflecting Mike too closely to be a complete coincidence. Mike just randomly starting to create things out of the blue without rhyme or reason doesn’t make sense, however, him trying to do something else and being met with a consequence because he released a large amount of energy does.

This would be the balance. Mike’s powers aren’t going to completely evil, but they aren’t going to be completely good either. It would force Mike to reconsider his black and white view of things because surely the thing that saved Will can’t be completely evil, but the things the came after can’t be completely good either.

Mike’s relationship with time is very peculiar. He’s got curfews, he’s being told to stop his games at specific times, his watch being such an important item that it’s one of the view to be on the right hand.

Both times when Mr. Clarke is talking about parallel universes and the vale, which we later refer to as the upside-down, Mike is just randomly in frame despite not really contributing to the conversation. This is similar to what happens when Dustin narrates what the “Vale of Shadows” is.

Will having died explains why all the Will-alikes keep dying despite Will dying at the end making no sense at all. Rather it’s a way to tell us that Will died, and his death is significant to the plot. Also, Billy being referred to as another him, so the other him dying and even having a grave.

Okay so, Mike isn’t necessarily manifesting on purpose, but beings keep escaping from his subconscious and as he grows older this power grows stronger. This is why Mike is the only one who seems to be able to become fully attuned to the motivations of places such as the upside-down or HNL.

They aren’t real. They’re a part of him and the only person who’s going to understand that in all it’s capacity is going to be him. Mike is the one who will be able understand the way he thinks the best. Now I don’t think that necessarily means he’ll be kind considering how much Mike likes to beat himself up.

El says she found the source followed by a picture of a rather intense closeup to Mike.

On that note they really kept pushing the idea that Lonnie killed Will only for it to be a fake out, but Lonnie is definitely still suspicious.