#that monologue was meant to stand in contrast to how the duffers tell their story

[emblazons]

One thing I’ve noticed while rewatching ST is the gratuitous use of flashbacks. And I mean gratuitous. Every single scene where they’re recalling something that’s happened in the past gets a flashback, even if that event happened in the previous ep. Any emotional moment gets a flashback. Max’s flashback montage saves her life. El’s flashback montage helps her revive Max’s heart. Now, do we really think it was a coincidence that the monologue had only one flashback to the very first day that they met? Is it a coincidence that it was the only moment in the monologue that made El smile bc she was choked and miserable for the rest of his speech? Why is her only happy memory from before their relationship began? Why weren’t there flashbacks to their reunion hug in s2 or even s4, of their snowball kiss, of them being a couple in s3, or even their cute friendship in s1? Why was this the only memory shown to us? I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

I’M SO GLAD YOU SEND THIS ASK.

Flashbacks are definitely a Duffer favorite storytelling choice, even when they use them as a part of the “linear” narrative—I’m thinking of how we got what is under all circumstances a “flashback” in S2 when El went into Mama’s mind even though it’s technically happening in the linear time of the story. It’s effective and better than just having characters tell us what’s happening, in line with that whole “show, don’t tell” mantra that almost all storytellers are given as writing advice.

It helps that they’re really natural at including them—honestly The Void is one of my favorite narrative devices they have for that reason, because it makes context easy without having to give us whole (ironically enough) monologues…because monologues are almost always just telling us things we don’t get to see ourselves.

I think that plays a LOT into why Mike got a monologue and not a flashback (to more than just one moment anyway) when he was confessing—we were being told Mike felt/did something we never actually saw him do in the narrative (show El he loved her in a way she accepted), which contrasts how the Duffers tell us the story the rest of the time.

Especially contrasting the way El had a whole montage of flashbacks to time with Max, and when Max was Vecna’d we got a whole flashback to her happy memories to save her…it is pretty clear why Mike’s longwinded talk was not at all effective in saving anyone—though a lot of people who watch the show surface level miss that, because they’re used to shitty writers storytellers who tell, rather than show. To catch the weight what the Duffers intended to do with mike’s monologue, you have to pay attention to how the Duffers have been telling their story since the beginning—in flashbacks, not long winded words.

It’s a simple enough to recognize if you’re familiar with The Duffers storytelling (as you point out). El’s only having one flashback (followed by them not showing us her response to the monologue + her not speaking to Mike and walking past him) is just further adding to the weight of the point—Mike’s actions did not back up his words, and so she doesn’t accept or believe them. 🤷🏽‍♀️