#lucas has been my favorite character since s1. i’m proud of him

[lunabug2004]

My Amateur Attempt at a Mike Wheeler Analysis (S1, E1):

WARNING: This is a very Mike-defensive analysis! I will be (over)analyzing every Mike scene, episode by episode, but if you’re looking for completely unbiased analyses, this is not where you’ll find them! He is one of my favorite TV characters of all time and I’m sick of all the hate, so I wanted to just put my view of him up somewhere. Also, I ship both Mileven and Byler, but I prefer Byler quite a bit more, so this will mainly be Byler-focused, and I will touch on some of Mike’s queer-coding as well.

Season 1, Episode 1:

Mike is playing DnD with Will, Dustin, and Lucas, acting as the DM. This is an early testament to his intelligence and imagination, as well as his role of leader in the party. When Mike is told to stop playing, he argues with his mom, showing his stubbornness and dedication to the game (and the campaign he took 2 weeks to plan). Then, he sees off his friends, making sure they all leave safely. I love this detail, as it shows how much he cares for his friends at such a young age (I mean, how many 11/12 year olds do you know who would do that?). Thanks to the conversation the boys have about Nancy as they are leaving, we also learn that he and Nancy used to have an okay sibling-relationship, but that hasn’t been the case since at least 4 years ago. As Will is leaving, he tells Mike the truth about the dice-roll, “It was a seven,” and I know this is a little detail, but I like that we can see that Will does not want to lie to Mike, maybe a hint towards how different their relationship/friendship is.

When we next see Mike, it is at breakfast the next morning, and he is putting syrup on his eggs, which grosses out Nancy, and he does the typical younger-sibling move of putting syrup on her eggs too just to annoy her. This same morning, when the boys (minus Will, obv) show up at school and Will is not there, Mike makes a worried comment about it, but the other two boys don’t seem as worried. Then they get intercepted by their bullies, being called “Frog-face”, “Midnight”, and “Toothless”, and after Dustin is targeted by the bullies, Mike tries to comfort him by saying his disability is like he has superpowers. This shows his love for Dustin through his want to defend him, even if it’s not defending him to the bullies’ faces, rather defending him from his own insecurities. This showcasing of Mike’s love comes back into play multiple times throughout the season. I’d also like to point out that Mike decided at a young age to surround himself with “freaks” (Lucas because of his race, Dustin because of his disability, and Will because of his queer traits) despite being relatively normal himself. Now, this might just be because he was originally supposed to have a birthmark on his face and that was supposed to be his “freak-ish” trait, or that he just didn’t realize he was doing this because he obviously doesn’t see these things as bad, but I thought it was still interesting to point out.

When Mr. Clarke shows the boys the radio after class, we learn that Mike is the president of the AV club, then they are taken to talk with Hopper about Will’s case. Mike takes the lead in answering Hop’s questions, now this may just be because Hop calls on him specifically, but I’d like to think it’s also a way to show Mike as the leader of the group. He is the one to bring up helping look for Will, and we can see how serious he is about this because when he is denied this, and Dustin and Lucas start bickering, Mike looks completely annoyed. 

He doesn’t give up on this want to help look for Will either, as we see him arguing with Karen about the same thing during dinner, and he still looks extremely annoyed and worried when denied again. When Nancy blames “Will getting lost” for not being able to leave the house, Mike immediately gets very defensive of Will, and outs Nancy’s new relationship with Steve. He looks very proud of himself after this until Ted speaks up with “You see what happens?”, which causes Mike to get defensive all over again, this time exclaiming that he’s the only one who cares about Will, then storming off from the dinner table. Now, I want to touch on Ted’s comment here, because really what other than Will’s “queerness” could he be commenting on here? And this shows us, 1) what type of views Mike’s grown up around, and 2) that Ted must believe there is a chance that Mike shares the same “queerness” as Will. After storming off, Mike goes to the basement, then seemingly after some time staring at the DnD board, he contacts Lucas about going to find Will despite being told not to so many times. By doing this, he directly puts himself and the others in danger, and we know he’s aware of this due to how he convinced Lucas to join him.

We see Mike leave the house, and after joining with the boys, even when it starts to rain, Mike is the most determined to keep going into the woods to search. He’s also very obviously being the leader of the group at this time, making sure to tell the other two to keep close and stay on the same radio channel just in case. When they are walking deeper into the woods, we see Mike in the middle and at the front, then he’s also the first to hear the rustling of the leaves, so he gets the boys to shut up. Then they find Eleven!

There's my episode 1 deep dive! If anyone finds anything explicitly wrong, or wants to add anything, please let me know! Also, if you're interested in me doing more, please tell me, because this is completely self-indulgent, but if others enjoy it I will try even harder! Also, I am completely new to Tumblr, so pls be nice

[preciouspatriots]

lucas punching jason…girl, i cheered

[tonyajace-182]

WHERE IS MY SEASON FOUR!? [Contains Spoilers]

Overall Conclusion:

I don’t feel satisfied, like at all.

So much happened and I loved every single bit of it, but it felt too much like a build-up. It actually felt a lot like a season 1 than it did a season 3 (if that makes sense).

I don’t care about Nancy and Jonathan. Their story line bored me from S1. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy they lived and have such a strong relationship between them; but their story line is of no interest for me. They are definite side characters to me that would rank like in the way way lows on my ‘characters of importance list’.

I’m actually really really proud of Karen Wheeler. She said no to temptation and that is admirable. I feel like I owe her an apology because I literally expected the absolute worst of her. As in, I was mentally and inwardly hating on her before I even watched ep1. I feel bad, especially after she had the heart to heart with Nancy.

SO…..

Sorry Mrs Wheeler.

Unexpectedly…. I think I might have a new ship or bromance. Murray and Alexei were just so cute to me. The child like marvel Alexei had was endearing, plus Murray’s attentive enlightening was cool to see. They may have been minor but when they got screen time they really brought the sweet fluff vibes.

I noticed that everyone was split into small groups (probably because they are too big to properly develop altogether as one big group). What stood out to me a lot was the dynamic’s always tended to take on a rather family vibe. Two characters would play the parents roles and the others would act the role of children. For example, Jopper were the parents, Alexei and Murray the children. Steve and Robin were the parents, Erica and Dustin the children etc. Between that, they would also switch it up with a bit of Teenage dramatude (Drama plus attitude). Jopper bickering and Murray calling them out. Jancy having real adult talk about life. Steve and Robin talking about that hard knock life. The teens being actual teens.

Real talk though, I’m proud of the kids.

I felt Lucas had a lot more to offer this season. Although, at times he really did seem a bit clueless, I don’t know. He definitely came off as a bit of a dick sometimes (both him and Mike) towards Will. Glad he chilled out later, said his apologies and stuff. I love the Mileven scenes, but Lucas and Max deserve a tonne of credit for this season.

But Max deserved the most.

I loved Max the second she was introduced, I thought she was awesome. This season I seriously name her the ultimate Wifey/best friend a guy and girl could have. She sticks to her guns, you know. Dating a boy doesn’t change her. She knows who she is and what she wants and fights to get it. She was a GREAT influence and pal to Eleven, exactly what El needed, in my opinion. My heart broke for her when she faced Billy. For whatever reason, I got the impression that she and Billy had bonded or something since Season 2. Either way, it hurt to see Sadie/Max slapped out of the way like that. Then when she cries over Billy- It broke me.

I’m glad Will kind of got a break this season. A little disappointed he didn’t really get to do much, other than be an informant. I spent a lot of the time expecting him to reveal he was actually still infected by the Mind flayer the whole time. Also, no one is going to convince me that Will is not gay or bi. The way he stares after Mike and El every time they run off together says so much. I just- after everything he’s been through, both physical and emotional intimacy is something I think he’d crave a lot of. It’s the gender I think he wouldn’t care about. Regardless, Will needs love and gods someone better give him some next season. Also, did no one else keep thinking he was like Spiderman with his mind flaying senses?

Mike was the real Nerd or Geek boy representative this season. I enjoyed seeing how gangling and similar to S1 he was. It was nice not seeing emo Mike. However, the constant doubt and questioning slowly became a bit much. Frankly, I was relieved when he and Max had that argument. I don’t like Mike when he’s in doubt or unsure on stuff. He was okay, but not really an interest for me this season. As I said, I thought he and Lucas were assholes for their treatment of Will. The car ride he has with Hopper will forever be my favorite scene of Mike’s this season.

I really felt for El this season. She’s been put through so much and-…… It’s still too raw and fresh. I can’t talk about it without getting upset. But to summarize: I’M SO FUCKING PROUD OF HER!!

Dustin. Any chance I get to hear Gaten sing is a blessing to my ears and food for my soul. I love his voice and he is so talented. He’s been my fave since the first episode okay. When no one believed him about Suzie, honest to god I wished I could be there to tell him I believed him or some shit. Beyond that, I laughed when he basically said he won’t tell the others about the Russian message because they didn’t believe him about Suzie. That was so petty but I loved it. The bonding between him and Erica was also great. Regardless… out of all the kids Dustin made me the most proud and is still my favorite.

I live for Erica’s sass, but at some points she did test me a bit.

Or maybe I just wanted her to ease up on the feisty attitude towards my baby Dustin.

Steve and Robin had me fucking scared! When they got captured I was shitting my pants imagining all the worst ways they were going to get tortured. I knew since the promo pics that I would love Robin- because I loved the expression on Maya’s face that promised so much attitude and sarcasm. She wasn’t too much of a nag, and while I had mentally labelled her a lesbian queen in my head. When she confesses to Steve I lost my shit. I fucking lost my shit and had to take a break and everything. Then Steve was perfect with his response. I don’t care Steve Harrington will be revealed as BISEXUAL before this fucking show is over!! He just has to!! He is both a MOM and a DAD!! Let’s just say I need more Steve and Robin scenes in the future. Jancy can get like cut or less scenes ok! I need Steve and Robin!!

Joyce….. I can’t talk about her without-….. I just can’t.

Hopper…. Fuck…… I can’t.

Billy.

Fuck.

Overall.

Stranger things season 3 was so good but just not enough. It was too short- too brief and left me with so much to process!!

SO FUCKING GIVE ME SEASON FOUR YOU SON OF A BITCHES!!!!!!!!

Oh.

And P.S: FUCK YOU RUSSIAN WANNABE ARNOLD!! IT’S ALL YOU’RE FUCKING FAULT!! I’M GLAD YOU GOT SPUN AND WHIPPED!!! REST IN HELL YOU FUCKING SHIT!!