#i also think it was a mistake bc it forced poor finn to be subjected to another round of press where every question is about mlvn

[demadogs]

Today I tried rewatching season 4 from the perspective of an audience member who had zero clue about Will’s sexuality before starting the season. I tried stripping my mind of any outside information and just watching the show unfold. And I realized that without context, especially if I was a straight audience member who didn’t easily pick up on queerness, there’s nothing in volume 1 that explicitly televises Byler or Will’s sexuality if you aren’t looking for it. There’s little details and some blink and you’ll miss it vaguely coded convos. But if you had no idea about Byler previously, I feel like it can easily go over your head. Even the painting is a detail that can easily be forgotten. I feel like the first explicit sign is volume 2 and the painting confession but without knowing Will is gay and in love with Mike previously, even that might be somewhat confusing. Thoughts?

i feel like they did show enough of wills feelings this season but i do find it kinda fascinating how much it has to be completely spelled out for most the straight audience. when s3 came out and mike said “its not my fault you dont like girls” i completely took that as them confirming hes gay especially with the destroying castle byers scene after. i remember watching that for the first time and being like “oh shit its official” and then i went on twitter and saw so many people arguing about it and saying thats not what he meant and i was so surprised. people who would make harmless gay memes about will would get so much hate from people who claim he just “hasnt matured yet”.

my straight 25 year old brother and his gf watched the whole show for the first time recently and i watched that episode from s3 with them and when it got to that line i was curious what their reaction would be and my brother just kinda made a noise like “oh shit” but didnt say anything else and his gf didnt really react. when i first saw it my jaw dropped.

then when they started s4 he facetimed me after he finished volume one and we talked about the whole thing and he didnt mention wills feelings at all. it was the painting scene and the scene with will and jonathan that actually made him realize will loves mike. he said he kinda thought maybe he liked him but wasnt positive until the painting scene. but i was talking with his gf’s bi sister after volume one first came out and she already picked up on wills feelings. it was so obvious in my opinion but i guess queer people just pick up on gay subtext quicker.

i mean i picked up on it way back in s2. i didnt think theyd actually go through with it then, but i did notice mike treated will a lot differently than lucas and dustin. it wasnt even the crazy together scene that made me first notice it, it was the one right before it when mike was super protective of will and asked him if hes hurt and then put his arm around him and took him to his house. that was the first time i was like “hmm 🤔”. i remember finishing the season and thinking “im not crazy right?? theres something there? im not just shipping it bc i love gay fiction?” and then i went on here and found people talking about and i was like ok good its not just me.

anyways, i do think they did enough to reveal wills feelings even tho he didnt fully come out and i think after the painting scene anybody who rewatched s4 would notice other things like the “cool, cool” scene and when hes telling mike its scary to open up to people.

mike on the other hand i really wish they did more for, mostly by breaking up mlvn for good. that alone, would have made people wonder if he’d like will back bc he would be single. and they’d wonder why exactly he couldnt say he loved el and then think about all the other clues, especially the very last shot of all the couples very spaced out and paired together including mike and will. i told my brother that i think mikes gay and he literally just thought i misspoke and said “you mean will?”. its that oblivious to the straight audience. theres only one more season left they REALLY should have done more for mike if byler is actually endgame. i will never stop saying it, i think it was such a mistake to have that monologue if bylers truly endgame.