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okay so if mileven was just a “teen couple going through a rough patch” story, sure, i’d roll my eyes at the “boy can’t communicate” thing but whatever, couples fight. but with them it’s not just one small thing - el lying to mike about basically everything in lenora, mike only saying “i love you” when she’s in danger, him acting like a total dick after she hits angela, el signing her last letter “from” instead of “love,” plus all the nonstop miscommunication. yeah, maybe you could say “they’ll work it out” if it stopped there.

but then the duffers were like, “hey, let’s make the gay kid who’s literally never been happy once in this whole show be in love with mike.” and suddenly it’s not just normal teen drama. it’s like: “oh mike and el are struggling... oh will loves mike... oh maybe will finally gets some happiness cause this straight couple is clearly falling apart.” and listen - you don’t throw a queer love triangle into a relationship this messy without making people think it’s gonna go somewhere.

like, the way they frame it - the love monologue cut with will, jonathan’s reaction shots, the byler parallels with the canon couples, putting mike and will literally in the middle of endgame pairs - that’s not an accident. it’s 100% on purpose. and it’s not just cruel to will, it makes mileven’s whole drama feel pointless. if mileven’s endgame, why write them as such a dysfunctional mess for multiple seasons? why show their emotional distance while making byler’s connection feel warmer and deeper?

if the answer all along was “nothing changes,” then all those choices were just bait for queer fans. like, you don’t use a queer kid’s feelings as seasoning for a toxic straight couple and then pretend it’s “realistic.” nah, that’s straight-up cruel.

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Will's Blood Transfusion Dilemma

Will is going to be injured and in need of a blood transfusion.

It's revealed in TFS that Henry's blood type changed after he got lost in Dimension X for 12 hours. His blood was then used to replicate his powers through blood transfusions. It's pretty clear that Will's blood type is also different because he went through an identical experience to Henry.

The Flayed were also given powers through Mind Flayer blood type changes, which looks very similar to Will's s1 predicament. Later, they have black blood flowing through their veins. That's the special power blood.

Alright so Will has the Flayed blood type that Henry also has. So what?

Well there are multiple signs about blood donations at the end of s4 which are likely foreshadowing someone needing a blood transfusion in s5. At the same time, they're going to have to introduce the concept of different blood types AND make Will aware that he has the special blood type. But there's a way to do all three at once.

Will is going to be severely injured.

In the blood donation screenshot, the arrow is pointing outside. Earlier on, we see the tent (red and white stripes) for blood donations and then it transitions directly to... Will. Along with the ominous caption of death toll numbers rising. Hm. Blood donations... death toll... Will.

The camera also pans to Mike after we see Will. Is this possibly foreshadowing Will sacrificing himself to save Mike?

There's another blaring blood donation sign in the hospital. "Be a hero, give blood." Will is practically shining in the spotlight in this scene. Everyone else, El, Mike, Lucas, even Max, are wearing blue clothes in a very blue hospital room. Will is wearing yellow. He stands out against blue because they're complimentary colors. We are meant to focus on him. The sign is yellow too. They're linked!

Will is also awkwardly lingering in the back of El and Lucas' hug for no apparent reason. In the second image, it looks like he's looking directly at the blood donation sign. Will’s general aura is off-putting in this scene. He's just standing there... MENACINGLY. So I feel like this strange behavior is linked to something hospital related.

Now into the grit of this theory. At some point in s5, Will is going to get hurt, likely in a self-sacrificial nature, and lose a lot of blood. This will pose a dilemma for our characters because he can't undergo a regular blood transfusion because he doesn't have normal blood. They'll have to find a way to get Will more of the special blood FAST to save his life. But how?

There are a few possibilities. The most interesting possibility, in my opinion, has to do with El. El has the special blood too. The lab gave her blood before starting NINA (see here). So El may need to donate her blood to Will.

The sign we see in the hospital has a pretty good hint at this. "Be a hero, give blood." El is constantly referred to as a hero. She could be the hero donating blood! This is hammered in as Lucas is describing how Max was brought back to life by a miracle, who we know was El. They practically zoom in towards the sign during these lines. She might need to bring someone back to life again.

This would be the quickest solution... but it may come at a cost. We know that the Mind Flayer sucked Henry's blood out of El in s3 and this made her lose her powers. It's possible that El donating her blood to Will could take her powers away. She'll have to make a choice between her powers and her brother's life.

This would cover all the bases. The different blood type, Will having said blood type, and the origin of the powers.

There is an issue with this part of the theory, though. El would need to get her powers back again. She'd have to venture back to the lab to get more of Henry's blood that I'm almost 100% certain they have stored. This would be repetitive considering she spent the entirety of s4 trying to get them back, and there's no way she's ending the show without her powers. That's just not what her arc is about.

BUT it's possible that El's blood transfusion won't take away her powers. El could still be the donator without sacrificing her own abilities. This would make El's donation foreshadowing work without being repetitive if she can give just enough to save him and her powers.

I'll still go over the other possibilities to be safe:

Instead of doing double El transfusions, they could go directly to the source. They get to the lab, find the blood, and save Will that way. But this would take too long. If Will is truly under dire circumstances, he won't have time to wait around for them to find more blood.

So... what if they go to the source source: the Mind Flayer slash Vecna. Let's say the injury occurs in the Upside Down. At that point, it may be faster to get it straight from the source instead of running around trying to find El.

We know the Mind Flayer/Vecna wants Will alive. So if Will intercepted an attack from one of them because they were going to hurt someone he cares about, it would ruin whatever plan Vecna has for Will. Vecna would be forced to give Will the blood himself to keep him alive.

Will needing an abnormal blood transfusion would also play into the AIDS metaphor that's very present in his storyline. If Will goes to the hospital before knowing about his special blood type, he may encounter the homophobic stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS because of his condition and the town's assumption of his sexuality. That would bring this narrative string from a metaphor to a literal commentary.

Oh and while I was typing this post there was an (apparent) casting call for a nurse with hematology experience. You know, the study of blood disorders. Well there you have it!

So yeah. Will seems like a big contender for the blood donation receiver that's foreshadowed at the end of s4. What kind of injury I’m not sure, but it has to be BIG and BLOODY. Good luck out there, son.

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characters being comforted by a loved one

and Will.

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Here is chapter 17, my ghouls <3 Sneaky peek for you:

The good thing is, Mike’s in his grey bomber jacket over a striped polo and black jeans, his curls are still sleep-matted, he’s breathing heavy, and his cheekbone is shining a fascinating shade of purple above the high colour in his cheeks. So, basically, Will doesn’t think he looks bad at all, despite what El thinks, and that makes it easier to tolerate his pacing.

Nancy rolls her eyes with a sigh. “You needed rest, Mike.”

“Yeah, rest. Like how I was resting when I was supposed to be watching Holly?” Mike says, and his voice cracks as pain flashes across his eyes. It’s brief, but it makes Will’s heart seize in his chest. “How I was resting when that thing came through the wall, how I might have been able to get to her in time if I hadn’t—”

“Mike,” Nancy says firmly. When he quiets, she sighs, and her voice softens. “There’s nothing you could have done, okay? Besides get torn to pieces instead of just…” She gestures lamely to his injured shoulder. “Lightly shredded.”

“She’s right,” Will says gently. “It could have been anyone. And even if you did manage to save her, he would’ve just come for her at a different time. You know he doesn’t stop—”

But Mike is already squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head, waving Will’s words away. “Whatever, that’s—that’s not even the point. The point is you guys are trying to exclude me because you think I can’t handle this or whatever—”

“No one is excluding you, Mike, oh my God,” Nancy argues. “El has gone in the tank a million times, it’s not like she needed you there to hold her hand. And you’re not even her boyfriend anymore!”

Mike flings his good arm toward Will. “She went into Will’s head.”

There’s a glaring beat of silence after this in which Will’s stomach does a backflip he doesn’t fully understand, and Nancy frowns, perplexed, as she asks, “So?”

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I'm right here. Ok? I'm here.

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the universe will implode when these two join forces

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yesssssss

GIVE IT TO MEEEE

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oh they cooked so hard

you're the heart gay boy

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this was mike's reaction to a love at first sight romance by the way. just putting that out there

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will & el parallels

↳ joyce’s support

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shawn levy was sooo pregnant with byler endgame in this pic

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obsessed with hawkins' high's perception of that nerd lucas who turns out to actually be really good at basketball!! and he's so cool but he's like madly in love with the new girl (she's been here a year but in a town like hawkins you're always "new") and they were a thing but now they're kinda on again off again and no matter how many popular girls the team tries to set him up with, he'll always shyly wave to her in the halls. sometimes she'll wave back but most times she ducks into her classroom with her headphones on. and for some reason he still plays dnd with that group of freaks and will be seen in the halls with the freshman boy who was cast as the lead in the spring musical simply for showing up (but this time he's actually good) as they drag around that one mopey kid who curses out teachers and whose family was rumored to have been hiding a 12 year old russian spy that the middle school bully says has superpowers. and all 4 of them were some of the few survivors of the starcourt mall fire last summer and their best friend who moved away went missing in 1983 and they found his body but it turns out it wasnt his body and he showed up a couple days later and now suddenly they all jump when the lights flicker.

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Shared Looks

mike suspected he was breaking both his and will's hearts in the monologue

mike both understood will's meaning in the van, and that he also knew that will was breaking his own heart by pushing mike back towards el at surfer boy pizza.

If this theory is true, it would add so much more meaning to all of mike and will's shared looks post the mindfight in vol. 2 - especially all the moments when mike tries to make contact with will.

where else to begin than the sheer anguish of this scene? there'll be top-layer meaning to all of these scenes, but byler has always been told mainly through subtext so far, and this continues into vol. 2, giving every scene with mike and will a double (or triple, or quadruple) meaning. if there is only one way (ahem) to describe their relationship in s4, it is that they are hyperaware of each other. yes, love... yes, romance... yes, attraction... but all that is to come in earnest in s5. s4, with its attention and hidden looks, is all about the hyperawareness of the beloved, if not the self.

so what is it that vol. 2 does specifically? what is special about vol. 2 in byler terms? what separates it from vol. 1 thematically? there must be a difference, elsewise there would not be a divide of volumes. for each character arc, vol. 2 brings new changes, just like acts in a play. and vol. 2 for byler begins with the van scene; a scene that establishes and clarifies. and then its all torn away in the monologue - but just imagine that mike's look to will in sbp is one of surprise and confusion.

why are you saying this? his face appears to scream.

there is understanding beneath the pain. and what if... what if he and will actually WERE on the same page, from the van scene right until the end on the hill? is there anything that supports this idea?

the desperation on both of their faces: panic, a sense of complicity: this is all we can do, there's no other hope.

can you imagine? if mike was simply waiting for a chance to talk to will, to sort everything out with el, but then... there simply is no chance? no moment to talk? everything we see post sbp suggests mike and will are trying to silently communicate without anyone else noticing.

the way we get the cross-shooting camerawork, where focus lands on the furthest person from the camera. the focus starts here on mike and then moves to will, showing how both of their reactions are of equal importance. it's subtle, but it's there, and they use this technique a fair bit with mike and will.

then they both look to el, and there's the sense that they are both thinking the same thing, looking with new eyes at what el has done. what she can do. her power. more than ever, she is inspiring wonder and awe; this plot point is not necessarily humanising her in mike's eyes, and as a conclusion to their shared 'you're my superhero' arc, it's only serving to make her even more awe-inspiring and mysterious.

of course, will's wistfulness is tinged with longing for mike, and despair, while mike's is tinged with knowingness and revelation.

el perpetuates (perhaps unknowingly) her own mysteriousness in mike's eyes when she refuses to tell him much about what happened in the desert and interim.

personally I don't believe they stopped at a motel for a couple of reasons, including the urgency with which el said they had to get home or their friends would die, and also because it was only two days on the title card between nevada and indiana. that doesn't seem like enough time for a junky old pizza van with an 80s engine to get across the interstate with a whole overnight rest stop included. we already see jon yawning and rubbing his eyes as he drives in the byler van scene, and we know a very tired argyle has also been driving too - and this was before the stakes had ramped up because they hadn't even heard that hawkins was in danger as well as el yet. plus will hasn't changed clothes despite bringing a packed rucksack - surely he would have at least washed and changed if they stopped at a motel, even if he couldn't sleep?

i love the romance of motelgate, but it just doesn't seem likely for a show known to have characters that ignore their own personal needs when extreme danger threatens their friends. the storytelling is suggesting that they pushed themselves through the fatigue to get home; jon and argyle taking turns driving, and mike will and el napping in the back if they even could.

we also then see this scene, with everyone looking concerned and very tired, practically speechless at the disquiet in hawkins...

... which is why its a perfect place for this rack focus shot of mike looking at will. will is looking out at the destruction, just like mike had in previous scenes, peering out of the window...

... and while it looks somewhat like mike is doing the same, notice the little raising of eyebrows, the look of gentle and timid confusion, and the way that from his seat the view through the front windscreen would make leaning forward/peering the natural response. instead he sits still, with a look of hidden pain on his face. why doesnt he look out of side window instead, like in previous shots? and if thats not enough, the rack focus alone, from will on to mike, suggests that this is very much a moment about the two, about the emotional connection between them - and the way it awkwardly makes sure to crop el from the frame results in a shot that feels uncomfortable and unfinished - which is exactly how mike feels right now. this shot is showing us mike is bursting with so many things he wants and needs to say to will, but he just can't get him alone.

not only does this track with the motelgate isnt real idea - they surely would have had a moment while el slept or showered? - but we see in their next scenes that mike is still looking to get a moment alone to talk to will properly.

in the hospital, max and lucas are the main narrative focus. but underneath, there are always subtleties and details, like will gently caressing mike's back when they hug. mike's not resisting will anymore. he's letting himself be touched, be held. almost as if there is an understanding between the two of them, finally. finally. if only they could get a moment alone amongst the chaos.

in the cabin, it happens. mike so readily opens up to will even when el is around, choosing to confide in will instead of going after his girlfriend. it's healthy because he's reading the room and giving her the space she definitely wants - its a direct contrast to him going to her room in lenora. but it's also a growth of a different kind, where he follows his instincts and finally allows himself to talk to will instead, allows himself to want will by his side instead.

their physicality is very close; not as close as they were by the freezer at surfer boy pizza, but then again there is no direct danger right now (or so they think).

even so, mike can barely look will in the eye for more than half a second.

he's in distress about el - she and will are at the forefront of his mind. we don't see mike talking about the destruction of hawkins and his family - that will come, but to tie up his s4 arc, they're choosing to remain in the romantic conflict realm for mike. the story is told both through dialogue (re: el) and through physicality (re: will), which we see when mike steps closer to will before moving to the sofa. do we think he did this subconsciously or consciously?

and will leans in too, because it's the most natural thing for them both.

i find this shot so interesting. it's a long take two-shot which began with a left-right pan but then features a backtracking right-left pan, which is beautiful because the cinematographic language is so LOUD.

right -> left implies going backwards, characters retracing steps or backtracking, deliberately or not. el is moving left to right when she walks past mike and will: she is moving forward, moving on from them both in this situation. this is not to say she won't reunite with either of them in a new way in s5, but for now, she has deduced something about the both of them, and herself, and is choosing to move onwards. the camera then moves backwards, right to left, finding will and mike where el left them: standing together.

they make eye contact, speak intimately and complicitly (both in vocal tone and in content), and move off together in the frame, again from right to left. they're going back: back to basics, back to their friendship, back to a start where it was the two of them together and they could figure stuff out. i really do think s5 is going to take us back in time, although i'm not sure if that means physically or just emotionally yet.

and then mike moves into a sunbeam.

it's a high beam; it comes from above.

which means that it misses them when they both sit down, leaving only will in the light. but mike touched it. the light touched mike, momentarily. then he slid back into the dark.

and will plops down on the upside down sofa (having followed mike there... oh, visual storytelling foreshadowing), completely bathed in beautiful sunlight from mike's pov.

and yeah, when we see another intimate two-shot, mike is still mainly in the dark and will in the light...

...but when it was will's pov, will following mike to the sofa, he saw a beam of angelic light grace mike's shoulder.

lets now take a moment to appreciate the sheer intimacy and closeness this entire scene portrays. sat together calmly on a sofa, discussing the end of the world. and then mike makes another promise to will, that they'll finish it together.

i don't know about you, but i wouldn't want to cross THIS michael.

the cinematography is so pure and warm - but isn't it the end of the world? where's the horror? it comes in the stinging music when will talks, but the atmosphere and lighting is telling us that love and safety exists underneath everything, and hope. mike's grip on will's shoulder: the extra meaning of the fact he's even allowing himself to be touched by will at all, let alone choosing to touch will deliberately, to reach out to him finally, isn't lost on will. the way the light hits will's irises so crisply and perfectly, asking us to search his eyes for meaning. this is arguably the first scene of s4 that tells us will is going to be making a return as a main character for s5.

and mike only reluctantly lets go, because he wanted to talk to will. there is still so much he needs to say. that hand reaching out was only the start. he's reaching into the light.

look how upset he is when they are interrupted AGAIN. and that light? does it want to be any more painterly? it's practically a vermeer. it's sheer romance, even when it's not (yet).

and even as they move off, mike is momentarily included.

notice how they've flipped the camera position completely 180, so that the boys can move from the right of the frame to the left yet again, this time with MIKE following will. to flip the camera pov so obviously is an unusual and deliberately jarring effect that draws attention to the moment, just as it did on the cartop in the desert.

and when we see will peeking out of the cabin, it throws us right back to his hiding during his s1 arc.

and of course we follow this with the family reunion and the hillside scene.

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i can’t believe they kept them apart when they needed each other the most

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new video coming at 5:30 BST all about byler fan fiction!! Here’s a link to my channel if you want to be ready!

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this scene, and specifically this line, is so important to me.

because it completely counters the “two boys can just be friends” argument.

mike is just friends with dustin, lucas, and max. but this line highlights that his relationship with will is different, that will makes hawkins significantly better for him, even though everybody else is great.

yeah… they’re in love.

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I don't know about you but when I sit down at a restaurant in the real world and start discarding outerwear, I put those items on the bench beside me, or in my lap, or literally anywhere else except chucking them across the table into someone else's space

Unless I was working on the set of Stranger Things, then I would absolutely put that fuckass visor and sunglasses combo, the physical representation of Mike's phoniness and posturing, on Will's side of the table, pretty much directly under his clutched hands, just in case anyone was confused about the reason behind that phoniness and who at this table is the person that brings out the real Mike Wheeler