#i love mileven

[you-usuratonkachi]

Issues i have with Stranger Things S4 Vol 1 and 2 writing

SPOILER WARNING FOR VOL 2

Okay, so I stayed up until 3 am to watch Vol 2, too scared that if I waited I would get spoiled something. Ngl, before Vol 2 dropped, I felt like Vol 1 had built up too much plot for it to be resolved in 2 episodes, no matter how long they were, there was way too much to address, too many plot lines opened or brushed upon and I was really doubtful that 2 episodes could solve them all, but I stayed trustful because generally speaking ST is a good show with good writing and going by the interviews I’ve watched, it seemed like everyone had their shit together. Well, after watching Vol 2, I can officially say I had reason to doubt this season could be wrapped up well. 

The number one problem of this season is character writing. 

The Duffers got so many characters to fit into the narrative and I know it’s not an easy thing to give space to them all in a story. I write myself and I understand that, but despite already having too much on their plate, they decided to add /more/ characters and spent way too long developing side-storylines instead of giving a semblance of relevance to the main characters. 

1. The whole Cali gang storyline is useless to further the main plot and it’s blaringly obvious that they didn’t know what to do with them. The only person needed from their group was El and she wasn’t even with them for most of the season. They clearly looked at Jonathan and Will in California, as they thought “El needs to go get her powers back”, and went “so what the fuck are we gonna do with these two?” and thought the only way to give them screentime was by finally bringing up Will’s sexuality. The only reason Mike was there was because 1. it helped that there was one less character to deal with in Hawkins (this way they gave him a semblance of storyline too) and 2. a love triangle was more interesting than Will simply addressing his sexuality for a new character (that would have been one more character to deal with anyway). They could have left Will’s sexuality alone, as they have mostly done until now, but think about it, if they didn’t bring that up for the Cali gang, what was left of the plot for them? Literally nothing. So they purposefully CHOSE to give them no plot and let them be carried by the love triangle storyline and I have issues with that, because what kind of lazy writing is that? If you are going to bring up something like this and make it the only relevant plot-line for a whole group of characters, you MUST give them a status quo, something happening that changes the status quo, a development and the final resolution which HAS to be different from the initial status quo. But what they gave us is Mike in love with El and Will in love with Mike (which we already knew since before. If you didn’t watch the show with your eyes closed, it was obvious that Will was into Mike. As a watcher, I always thought that would never be addressed properly though, because there was no way to make Byler happen, seeing how Mike was framed to have an epic love with El, and I was perfectly okay with that. I didn’t ship them, I wanted Will to grow out of his crush for Mike and get a new love interest that would love him instead), created tension out of their buttholes, because what was the reason for Mike being awkward with Will at the airport and the rest of his ooc behavior? He’s been shown to be clueless about Will’s feelings so his behavior only made sense if he was dealing with internalized homophobia. Except he’s so in love with El so what’s the issue here?? There’s no issue. They made Mike Wheeler behave with no logic, just so it could create tension in the love triangle and make the stale plot-point feel like it was getting a development. But it didn’t. The start of it and the end are exactly the same. Mike is in love with El, WIll is in love with Mike. Nothing changed for any of them. Will simply suffered more. For no reason. The only plot line for the Cali gang is “Will suffers unrequited love. He cries. Some realize it, some don’t. Everything continues as per usual (except three main character developments get assassinated. RIP Will, Jonathan and Mike. You weren’t needed this season)” 

2. Okay now that I’ve touched upon the 1st unnecessary love triangle, let me mention whatever the fuck the second unnecessary love triangle was: Steve, Nancy, Jonathan. Another love triangle leading to fucking nowhere. Why. Just why. Same as the first one. The show started with Nance and Jonathan having issues and ended EXACTLY the same. Jongathan is still lying to her, but they are still a couple. At least this one makes you feel like it’s actually leading somewhere different, and how could it not when Jonathan has no plot relevance anymore? I’m surprised they didn’t kill him off this season, but I imagine he was so useless they couldn’t find a relevant way to off him so they are keeping him for now. How can this feel satisfying? The whole tension between Nancy and Steve felt like a cheap affair. It was really disturbing and I cannot phantom why it happened at all. Nancy already knew that Steve has changed. Dude, she was there for season 2 and 3. She didn’t need the six-children-and-a-camper speech for that. They were already good partners in crime. They worked perfectly well as friends. 

3. What they did to Eddie’s character is a crime. He was the most likely character to die because there was no way to clear his name, but they didn’t go any surprising way about it. He died alone as he battled off some bats, saying he didn’t run away this time like that was some kind of big accomplishment (no, seriously, if you’re going to make him die as a hero you have to AT LEAST  make him go against the main villan, not BATS). He died unseen and UNMOURNED by the end. For no reason other than they had no way to clear his name and it would have been an hassle to keep hiding him around. Nobody cared about his death but Dustin (and the uncle, I’m surprised they remembered him), just because he happened to be the character that was with him. 

4. There’s a parallelism in the story that didn’t pay off (okay, a lot of parallelisms that didn’t pay off, but this particularly stood out to me) in El’s storyline. A part from the fact that we have never found out how Brenner survived all those times, but when they have that dialogue as he traps her in the NINA room, El asks him if he ever loved/cared for One as Brenner stays silent. The whole conversation really rang me back to her conversation with Mike, so when I watched I wondered if there was any kind of connection? It’s really the same argument. But by the end as Mike gives her his “i love you” speech (all prompted by Will, using Will’s words, murdering Will’s feelings in the process) that doesn’t seem to pay off in any way, I’m not sure what I was supposed to get out of that blaringly obvious parallelism. So did Brenner love her after all? Or is Mike’s love fake and manipulative?? What was the reason for the parallelism? What’s with the love/care justapposition? What’s the message here??? Uncomprehensible.

5. The Robin and Viki whetever-the-hell-that-was?? Why was Viki even there? For 2 minutes in total. Which made Robin another queer pining for a straight, suffering in the background. YOU ALREADY DID THAT WITH WILL. NO NEED FOR A REPETITION. Plus why, as a watcher, should I buy the Robin/Viki pining, when Robin and Nancy were RIGHT THERE with a proper relationship development. If I had to see Robin pine for a straight, I’d rather see her pine for Nancy?? At least that made some kind of sense and it actually added something to the dynamic of the main group. Of course it would have sucked balls anyway, because again, it’s just a repetition of Will’s storyline, but if they really had to, that would have made more sense. The best course of action was to not give her any love interest at all if they had to make it so half-assed. And I know the ending is meant to imply that Viki is not so straight after all, but that doesn’t make me feel any better about the fact that we got the same gay-pining for the whole season TWICE. There’s only one question and it’s WHY. Wasted screentime. 

6. Yuri’s change of heart. Because of a lukewarm motivational speech. Given to him by the other russian in the situation. Am I the only one who does not buy into it? The fact that Enzo (I like calling him this) is the one to tell the guy “you’ve seen what’s at stake”. Enzo doesn’t understand HALF of it, let alone Yuri?? Who’s convinced by the idea that his family is going to suffer as his family has been given no importance whatsoever in the earlier part of the show and he was shown as a lone wolf the whole time? That might have convinced Enzo, but Yuri?? That was weak as hell... but let’s say I buy into it, the airlift was still useless. Everyone was dead in the prison by the end, monsters included, they could have escaped the same way they came in, it’s not like Katinka brought them to America at the end. They still had to catch a plane for that. So?? Another road to nowhere. 

7. They used the we-still-have-a-date-to-go-to motivation twice, both with Jopper and Lumax. 

8. Jason searching for Eddie with a whole gang to end up with two dudes assulting the two black kinds in the show, one of which is ELEVEN YEARS OLD. All that built up for a racial stand off that, again, amounts to nothing. Since they brought up the entire basketball team, I at least imagined that they would have a frontal stand off with the whole hawkins gang at some point, that would have been interrupted by the actual evil and some people would actually die in the process. Honestly, they should have died as the upside down took Hawkins over. They played up the ending like so many would die at the end, and ONE character properly died. And when i say properly I mean that it’s the only confirmed death, not that they gave him a decent death. 

9. Speaking of which, they didn’t show how Max came back to life. One is left to imagine that El kickstarted her heart with the power of her mind, I assume... but I ASSUME. I have no idea why they didn’t show it?? 

I probably have other complaints but these are my main ones. In conclusion, the season was weaker than it was hyped up to be. Some things were great, but it lacked something that the previous seasons had - the characters finally getting to fight together at the end. That amazing moment that happened in every season where all separate storylines finally paid off together as the characters reunited. It leaves one wondering why they took the decision to ship people to California and have Hopper in Russia. The fact that they were so phisically far made so many characters have no relevant part in the main storyline and, to include them in it, the Duffers CLEARLY had to make so many questionable decisions and write goddafwul monologes (i didn’t put this as a separate complaint, because it falls under the assasination of the Cali gang’s character development, but what was that? Smelly cheese delivered with zero emotion, their reunion after El blows up the NINA facility was so much more emotionally charged than whatever that was). Istg the only character that they managed to give a real, well-done and rounded development this season is Max (and partly El, except again for that whole I love you situation with Mike). I do applaude them for how they wrote Max this season, but at what cost... 

[ronancebyler]

rewatching season one really makes me see how will's right, mike is the heart.

he's the one who insisted to look for will to hopper.

he's the one who convinced lucas, and dustin by proxy, to ignore the adults and look for will.

he is the one who brings up the fact that el is scared and hurt while lucas and dustin are yelling.

all these examples are within ep 1 and the first fourty seconds of episode two. mike was always the heart. he just lost his way after outside expectations. at the end of the day, he is the care and love and protection of the group.

of course mike is going to date el even if it doesn't make him happy. of course he's going to conform to ideals of the outside world. all he wants are for his friends to be happy, so he'll conform to the expectations of what the outside world says he should want, what his friends think he wants, what el wants. fuck, even what he thinks will wants, since the painting. he is the perfect victim for comphet, because it was never about him. it was always about his friends.

[bylrlvr]

byler shippers 🤝 mileven shippers 🤝 jancy shippers 🤝 stancy shippers 🤝 steddie shippers 🤝 ronance shippers 🤝 elmax shippers 🤝 lumax shippers 🤝 multi shippers 🤝 the universe

loving jopper

[jeonthoughts]

"but they've been building up mileven for 4 seasons!" my brother in christ. el got attached to mike cause he was the first guy her age that she met after she ran away and el was the first girl who showed any signs of any kind of interest in mike and mike felt like he had to have a girlfriend or he wouldn't be "normal". hell, even ted knows mike has zero interest in girls (”our son with a girl?” ), mileven was so forced it's crazy. they were kids who kissed a WEEK after they met because they felt like they had to, at least mike did cause el didn't even understand what the fuck love is. she didn't even have time to understand herself before understanding relationships with mileven being so rushed. it was not love at first sight, mike was ready to send her back where she came from right after she took them to will. mike's life DID NOT start the day he met her in the woods, he was there to find will in the first place. and when they found "will's" body? he literally almost spat in her face screaming ”what is wrong with you?”. and now when they're older, they still don't work. they don't understand each other, they're not giving each other what they deserve, they're making each other feel like they're in a room with no exit. mileven is toxic as a couple and they're SO much better as friends. i rest my case

[macaulaytwins]

idk what you guys are talking about, giving your best friend that you’re in love with relationship advice and then crying in the car right next to them afterwards IS flawless representation

[i-dont-bite]

"you're basically saying disabled people can't be in relationships!! you're ableist!!!" no i'm not you dumb fuck i'm saying a girl who's been a LAB RAT and ISOLATED FROM SOCIETY since she was born until she was TWELVE shouldn't be thrown into a lifelong relationship with a kid she just met a WEEK after she escaped from the lab when she could BARELY SPEAK and didn't know what a the word "FRIEND" MEANT

[mikeslawyer]

torn between the knowledge that the endgame couples don’t say i love you and the desperate need for will to hear mike say he loves him outright after so many years of pining.

[bylersrise]

will could not make it any more obvious come on michael get your head in the game

[luvhsclericandpaladin]

Capcut template bc I have no life😽!!

[thestrangerthinghappened]

Well, here it is! This took me way longer than I was expecting purely due to finals week (more like month), but I really hope everyone enjoys! Let me know your thoughts, and let me know if you want me to expand on anything/do anymore analyses! I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed making this and will be totally willing to spend time on another one!

[shortcakezzzz]

"its fair to hate will, yall hate el!!"

girl when did you see a byler hate on el be fr...

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

El Resting Her Head On Mikes Shoulder

[ghostlycleric]

I just can’t get over the cool cool scene in Will’s bedroom oh my god.

The fact that Mike “gets kicked into gear when the people he loves are in danger and usually makes apologies and confessions in the heat of the moment (or hes forced to either by circumstance or friends after refusing to apologize)” Wheeler goes up to Will to apologize and get him back without any danger involved. As far as Mike knows, they’re just about to go on a “roadtrip”, and the danger is far ahead of them.

They had the other heart to heart before this, less centered around eachother, but still sweet and a clear indication of being on good terms. Mike could’ve went with that. He could’ve been satisfied with that. BUT HE WASN’T.

He purposefully goes to Will’s room just before they leave, before any danger arrives, to make sure they’re best friends. To make sure that Will knows Hawkins wasn’t the same without him, and that their friends are great but they’re not him. He apologizes without prompting, after a heart to heart that he totally could’ve considered enough.

May I also point out that Mike didn’t have to saying anything

BUT HE WANTED TO

[gayofthefae]

El to me is so very much a representation of female rage in an empowering way who also deserves rest. I love her gentle moments. Because she is ANGRY and she is allowed to express it. But it is also so sweet to see her in those soft moments. Where she doesn't have to. The quiet, calm moments when she doesn't have any to express.

She is strong and she is allowed to be strong. But at the end of the day, it's about how she shouldn't have to be.

Thinking about El keeping her powers but laying down her load.

Honestly, thinking about "To you I can admit that I'm just too soft for all of it".

[didyoupainthis]

One thing I see on bylertok way too much is people pointing out that even though Will told Mike it’s “not possible” that he’d ever join another party (replace Mike), Mike still went and joined Hellfire after he told Will to grow up and move on from D&D in S3 (which Will ended up doing)

It takes everything in me not to summarize the situation every single damn time I see someone mentioning it as if it’s proof that Mike ‘doesn’t deserve Will’ or something because it’s so frustrating that people just don’t understand anything about Mike and try and cling to any bit of ‘fault’ in his actions to justify why Byler wouldn’t work and why they don’t ship it

Because this whole ordeal had nothing to do with Mike and Will’s friendship, it was bought about in the first place by Mike and El’s ever incompatible relationship

Mike loves D&D, he loves writing, he loves being DM for the Party, he loves being with the Party. He never stopped loving these things, he stopped pursuing his interests because he was so over invested in being ‘normal’, which in his mind means ditching his friends for his girlfriend. El doesn’t like D&D, she doesn’t share Mike’s interests in his favourite things and because of that, Mike dropped all of it in favour of making out with El. Because that’s what you’re supposed to do in a relationship, and so that’s what he did

Of course, none of that is El’s fault either; El is learning the world and will eventually learn what she likes personally when she befriends Max whilst Mike is lost in juggling between what he should like vs. what he actually does like

All that is to say;

Mike dropped D&D because of El

(again, not El’s fault I’m not trying to blame her for anything it just is what it is)

So circling back to the “not possible” moment, I wanna point out that Mike’s insecurity in that moment specifically is Will leaving him emotionally because Will already is physically leaving and Mike blames himself. He’s mentioned himself obviously that he’s afraid of losing Will but he’s also made it clear many times. After their fight, Mike just wants to know that Will would still choose him and Will assures him that he wouldn’t be replacing Mike. Will placed no expectations on Mike when he said this, he just wanted to reassure Mike that they’re okay and that they’ll be okay which is exactly what Mike wanted

After Will and El left, Mike joined Hellfire because he could focus on doing the things he liked again without having to devote himself to being El’s boyfriend. I was happy for Mike to have D&D back when I first watched S4 and I know Will would be happy that Mike is finding himself again. And while we’re on the topic of Mike finding himself, since he’s joined Hellfire he’s started slowly accepting himself and accepting that he doesn’t care anymore if he fits into the standard or not. He doesn’t care about popularity or people liking him. He is growing and he’s been getting his character development

Anyway that’s all I just love analysing Mike it’s so interesting, but in this case I don’t think it even needs to be analysed. Mike isn’t himself around El and that’s got nothing to do with Will— that’s just Milevens relationship dynamic

[starbylers]

M*levens will say Will’s love for Mike is ‘just a crush’ or that ‘he can/will get over it’ whereas El’s love for Mike is real and true and deep, too strong for her to possibly move on from…while in the same breath try and claim Will’s words/feelings in the van also belong to El. Make it make sense 🙂 they'll say Will's feelings = El's feelings to explain why the monologue is valid even though Will was the driving force behind it, but then turn around and say Will's feelings ≠ El's feelings which is why he'll move on but El can't, and why El’s love for him is deeper and why she‘s better for him. It's a total paradox.