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Sarah Catherine posting this after last night’s episode….PIPER NAEUXXX

Again, this cast is something else.

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Papa Ratliff going straight to the point…this cast is absolutely sending me.

Incredible things are happening on TV right now 😭

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So…what was that kiss Saxon remembered in this episode all about?

For a second I thought it was Lochlan and Chloe kissing (cause it was sandwiched in between their scenes) but it was actually Saxon and Lochlan. It’s a completely different take than their kiss from episode 5 too. What the hell?

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Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola on Saxon and Lochlan’s dynamic after ep.6

After that insane ass episode, I immediately felt the need to go on the lookout for interviews and official commentary from the actors, and oh boy did I find it. Buckle up cause it gets interesting!

This first one is not a screenshot cause it came from the official White Lotus podcast with Patrick. This is what he said when asked how Saxon feels about what transpired with Lochlan:

“He’s like who am I? What am I? Who do I like? What just happened?”

A pretty insane quote from Patrick where he literally says Saxon ends up questioning his sexuality…

An even more insane quote from Patrick where he says Mike White loves to leave things up for interpretation, and wondering if maybe Saxon wanted it (lol)…

Sam Nivola saying that Lochlan is not actually into Saxon (not in a sexual way)…

Sam confirming they ended up going with Lochlan not actually remembering what happened that night and him having the realization at the temple. And how Lochy is not evil…

Sam weighing in on THAT line and explaining how it was just him trying to emulate the way Saxon talks. I think this kinda shuts down the whole “Lochlan has a master plan to take Saxon down” theories…

This made me sad. And scared. Like very scared. It’s giving Lochlan is gonna bite it…

An end to the “he spit out the drug” theories too…

My poor baby…

Again…I’m fucking scared.

Overall, I feel like Mike White is being vague on purpose with this incest storyline. Do they want each other, or not? Kinda up to you lol.

However, I feel like it’s pretty clear after reading all of these, that they’re both two incredibly lost, lonely and repressed boys. I think they’re definitely not straight. They’re from a Southern, Christian family and they’ve probably never had the right environment to figure themselves out. Lochlan is an insecure mess with no sense of self or identity, and Saxon (as he’s older) has completely fabricated an identity for himself that fits the worldview he exists in. Yet deep down they’re a mess. They’re both just looking for approval and connection, and they’re more similar than they realize. So as the fucked up messes they are, they have gravitated to each other. And now we’re here…

I won’t be surprised if this storyline ends with either of, or both of them, dead. It feels like maybe that’s too dark for the White Lotus, but maybe Mike White is going for some Romeo and Juliet shit here 😭

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dad praying to god for help. mom still can’t find her drugs. daughter is a buddhist now. sons making out. I love this christian family 🙏

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god this is so sad. thinking back to the first episode bed scene with this perspective, it seems like Loch would have recognized Saxon focusing so acutely on his sexuality (as well as how important sex is to Saxon) and interpreted that sexual interest as the most effective avenue to elicit Saxon's love and interest. he is so desperate for affection and he really thinks this is the way to be lovable and compelling. and it seems more and more likely to me that Saxon has been traumatized by sexual maltreatment at the hands of people in positions of power over him. specifically Tim talking about how much he hated his parents and then reminiscing this episode about being an altar boy (and Saxon shaping his identity around things that he thinks would please his dad) makes me think that the family is stuck in cycles of sexual abuse and power plays and they can't figure out how to love each other without falling into patterns of dominance and submission and the constant crossing of boundaries. Saxon and Lochlan obviously genuinely love each other but they have no instinct for cultivating it in a non-damaging way.

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I really don’t think he spit out the drug. This is what San Nivola (Lochlan’s actor) said about the scene to GQ. He mentions Lochlan being under the influence twice. I think this is very insightful and it shows that Lochlan is not some mastermind, but rather still trying to appeal to Saxon and get him to pay attention to him.

Plus, if you watch the actual progression of the episode, Lochlan takes the drug in the scene prior to this one. He chugs it down with a drink, and then proceeds to talk. Saxon takes the drug later.

if this is lochlan spitting out molly fr after pressuring saxon to take it lmaooo. and we just spent 2 episodes setting up that he's a magician and loves slight of hand

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The “Teaser”, mlvn rooftop convo, and Lord of the Rings parallel…

This is gonna be a long post, so grab some snacks y’all.

First of all, the teaser the Duffers shared at this Netflix shareholders event was basically all BTS stuff, and according to someone that was there, we have mostly seen all of it. The actual clips from the show they showed were so short that most people missed it. However, over those short clips it seems they played a voiceover of part of the mlvn rooftop convo. Notice how the Suffer Sisters are literally incapable of sharing anything new, and the only audio they disclosed is from the ONE scene that’s been leaked to death, and even transcribed multiple times with the help of AI. In any case, Netflix did not share this teaser with the masses, and it’s unlikely they ever will. Stranger Things is not going to the Super Bowl this year (yes you heard that right) and the Tudum Event isn’t until May. Our only hope before that would be them releasing something on Will’s birthday, but whether in March or May, I believe we’ll be getting a proper teaser by then.

People that attended the event reported that El has a voiceover line where she goes “they don’t get to write the ending, we do” and apparently a voiceover Mike line where he goes “we’ll finish this together” (I’m not sure if this was paraphrased or not). Immediately, we all realized that these lines sound pretty close to what Mike is allegedly saying to her during the rooftop scene. Many people in the fandom have taken the time to transcribe that scene, some with AI and some without, and although some things could be wrong here and there, the general idea of it seems pretty clear. I’m attaching an AI reading of the scene here, so I can point out where I think his dialogue might be from…

Around the 1.43 mark, the AI picked up “enjoying it, together”, however I think this is where the “we’ll finish it, together” line comes into play. If anything, this shows AI isn’t 100% accurate, and it does call into question some of these previous lines 😂…I think it’s possible that after this speech from Mike about stories, fantasy endings and heroes, El tries to follow his advice and be positive, and maybe she delivers the “they don’t get to write our ending, we do” line back to him. It’s unfortunate because obviously we can’t see her face in the video, but I think it makes sense she would reply with that because right after it seems like he says “of, course…” and then proceeds to seemingly add that the Party can have a happy ending, without all the fantasy elements he mentioned before.

I find it very interesting that he’s choosing to speak to her with this storytelling analogy, which at first I believed to be a D&D analogy, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like he’s talking about an actual story. And then the lord of the rings parallel hit me, specifically with this scene. If you’re not aware, Finn Wolfhard has mentioned lotr twice now when talking about season 5, and I personally think it’s possible that Mike is using lord of the rings here as a reference to describe the hero’s journey and relate it to what the party has been through. Think about it, he’s trying to cheer El up, who has been stuck in that fuckass radio station for a year, who’s probably extremely tired of everything she has been dealing with for years, and he just wants to offer her some consolation so she can keep going and fighting. Does that sound familiar?

Well my friends, if it does, that’s because it is a direct parallel to Frodo and Sam from Lord of the Rings. I’ve always thought Byler were insanely samfrodo coded (funny enough the last S4 Byler scene is almost identical to this scene too), but it seems the Duffers are paralleling mlvn to them here. In lotr, Frodo bears the biggest burden of the story, as he follows his hero’s journey to Mordor to defeat evil. Along the way, ofc, he becomes increasingly weary and hopeless, and it is up to Sam (his best friend) to cheer him up and provide him with strength to keep him going. How does Sam do this? Interestingly enough, he encourages Frodo by describing all the beautiful things that will come AFTER they have won, what they and their friends will be able to enjoy when they get back home. Basically everything Mike appears to be saying to El in this scene, fantasizing about the end of the battle. To make the parallels even crazier, while on his hero’s journey, Frodo has to remain in hiding because there are multiple forces looking for him, and we know that El is basically hiding away from the government.

Another thing I want to point out is that in lotr (spoilers I guess 😭) good does win in the end, and the main characters get to return back home. However, Frodo is so changed by the journey and all the things he encountered that he simply cannot stay with his friends. Instead, he leaves and goes to the Undying Lands, where he finds peace. He doesn’t die, but he also cannot stay in Middle Earth. Him and Sam have a beautiful goodbye scene and then Sam is left with the literal book of stories Frodo started, and is told by Frodo to “finish it”.

Make of that what you will…

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I’m seeing a lot of confusion about El’s missing poster and even some people entertaining the possibility of episode 2 being titled “the vanishing of Jane Hopper” and let me just say now…nope lol

El is not missing in the same way Will was missing in S1, she’s not in the UD in the beginning of the season. She’s hiding from the military/government, hence why they’re looking for her. All her friends and family know where she is. At some point, from 86 to 87, her and Hopper move from the cabin to the radio station (I assume after El gets spotted and they start printing out posters looking for her). I don’t know where the rest of the Byers are staying during all this, but that’s another story.

As for the military looking for her, based on certain leaks and set pictures, they definitely find her lmao…around episode 2 I’d say. Her and Hopper allegedly have a military related plot together.

Also worth mentioning that when the episode titles first leaked, the 2nd episode was leaked as “the vanishing of — Wheeler”. That’s Holly y’all 😭

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I’m afraid I have to reblog because some of y’all just be saying anything…the fact that both Charlie and Noah have talked about how Lonnie shaped Jonathan and Will too lmao

Can’t believe what I’m finding out from the bird app but hey I think Henry stans need to shut up about the Byers family and stick to talking about their ugly incel serial killer that enjoys bullying children.

The gall to claim Lonnie is not an abusive father is insane. When all points to the fact he absolutely was abusive to Jonathan and Will. But I guess some idiots need everything completely spelled out to them!

I’m sure Lonnie is so mindful he was just gossiping to Joyce behind Will’s back and never called him slurs or said anything homophobic to his face.

Lonnie commenting on Jonathan getting stronger was about what? Jonathan’s baseball skills? And not a reference to Lonnie probably physically abusing him?

Why did Jonathan suspect a simple non-abusive deadbeat would hurt his son and hide him in a trunk? Huh? How in any way is that normal if Lonnie was not abusive? Can you imagine, idk, Nancy suspecting Ted of murdering Mike?

And treating Will not being completely against spending time with Lonnie as proof he couldn’t have been that bad. Are you kidding me? Do you know anything about how complicated the relationships can be between an abusive parent and their child? That’s his father. He just wants to be loved. He just wants his acceptance because he keeps trying to mold him into someone he’s not. How media illiterate you have to be to not get such a simple thing.

He’s abusive. Verbally, emotionally, hinted to even physically. Abuser, plain and simple. Not tossing the word around, just saying it how it is.

Fuck anyone that tries to whitewash Lonnie. Fucking Lonnie of all people. That’s the guy you wanna defend? I suggest getting a lobotomy.

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I hope all these people are miserable come S5…bunch of homophobic losers. This show has truly gained one of the most disgusting fanbases of all time. Doesn’t help that the American youth is moving like Hitler lately. This show isn’t FOR YOUUU

THIS COMMENT SECTION IS NOT IT 😭 why so many likes and comments helppppp

These are the ppl that make me doubt byler fr fr

But at the same time I wanna say: oh yall are not gonna like S5 then..

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Honestly Byler becoming canon during the 2nd Trump presidency would be a big fuck you to all the MAGA scum that likes the show. Would pretty much go down in history (even tho I know the reaction will be mixed) I do believe it could change things for the better still.

cant believe we will have byler endgame during the tr*mp administration 🤢

Oh god don't let him find out this is a thing or they're gonna cancel the production

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I hope none of you disappear in the coming days. Seriously don't do anything that can't be undone.

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cara buono trying to explain things related to mike without outing him but also trying to make her words make sense while failing miserably because all she wants to say is "his journey is that he's GAY" during epic con today

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So…

A host for Starcourt Study Hall posted on r/byler a couple of weeks ago, asking for information about Byler for a ship episode she and her co-host are planning. This podcast not only does breakdowns of each episode of the show, but does episodes digging into themes, theories, MBTI testing of particular pairings, and, you guessed it, ships.

They’ve done episodes on Jancy, Lumax, Stancy, Jopper (an MBTI and a ship one), and Mileven. I reached out through reddit DM and have been communicating with her since. I’ve sent posts by @emblazons, @queerxqueen, @kidovna, @givehimthemedicine, @chirpsythismorning @gayofthefae @snacksizedgates @tryingonametaphor @doriandrifting @starbylers @conflictofthemind @aemiron-main @byler-alarmist @mikesbasementbeets @sennqu and @theninaproject - yep, this is an exhaustive list. I also linked her to my blog archive so she can see my reblogs and posts.

The first episode script is 1 hour 8 mins. Yes, I said first, because the second episode will be out next Wednesday 16/9.

The host I’ve been communicating with, Marina, has told me that she’s now fully on-board with byler, ‘hook, line, and sinker’, that she’s excited, and that she thinks it makes more sense of a lot of things re: Mike. She also concluded that it ties into broader themes and makes the show richer. Bylers? Are not crazy.

ETA; this week’s ep covers s1 and 2, and next week’s covers s3 and 4.

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Dame Maggie Smith

1934-2024

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“what do i say to convince you that i need you too?”