#i can't say i don't get a little myopic about henry sometimes but at least i try to separate it from my analyses ykwim

[henrysglock]

How exactly do you think so many people (particularly byler fans I’ve noticed) came to have main character goggles for Will? Not all, but some of them seem to think he’s the protagonist, the only one to have ever suffered/whose suffering outweighs any other characters and the one whom the show must revolve around. It’s kinda weird tbh… like, it’s not the “poor Will” show but idk

ST is not the "poor Will" show, you're absolutely right. Very far from it. Will is a bit of a cunt, and not in the serving way. And so is Mike. And so is Dustin. And so is Henry! So is El! And Max! And Nancy! And Steve! And Jonathan! And everyone has an easy time picking out their flaws. They can call Joyce a bad mother until the cows come home. But bring up that Will isn't always the perfectest sweetest kindest babiest boy? Prepare for the bitching to ensue.

Everyone preaches about an ensemble cast until the ensemble isn't Everyone Else + Will. Alas.

I think—and this is my personal opinion—that often times the most opinionated fans hold those steadfast opinions about Will because they see themselves in him, or at the very least they can project onto him. They see the artsy, sensitive queer kid and go "aha! that's so me!" but then once they link him to themselves, he can only be a victim, he has to be the only one who suffers (or at least the one who suffered the most), and he has to be the main character who is the special-est character and also the hero. Because they want to see themselves as the main character who is the most special and the ultimate hero and also only ever a victim who can do nothing wrong. (And when wrong is done, it's justified by Will's perpetual and unassailable victim status...which, ironically enough, never gets extrapolated to any of the other characters who are victims. They're just evil or mean or annoying, and they should learn how to cope better. It's a brand of self-centered, self-righteous, and self-victimizing myopia which gets projected onto Will, tbqh.)