#if you know that tiktok woman who makes the 'gentle parenting your handsy uncle' etc tiktoks i implore you to read this in her voice and

[gayofthefae]

Okay, season 3 was Mike defending El and it came out wrong then being a usual nervous kid and season 4 Mike froze up in the moment and was able to say "I love you" as soon as El left, the letters were either a coincidence or based in anxiety/commitment issues, and him telling Will he didn't know why he couldn't say it was him berating himself not continuing to question his ability. Sure. Whatever. Fine...

What was the roller rink fight, then?

No, see, he's confirmed to have no knowledge of Will's feelings and even if he did, it would contribute nothing to his arc or character to have him be defensive about that when the rest of the season is unaffected by it and has him seeming totally comfortable, so why did he say that? I'm listening...Nope, I will not accept the argument "his actions are only for Will's arc and so they can be out of character and mean nothing". They are professional writers and this isn't a courtroom; you don't need to undermine my credibility. No, I didn't ask why he said he ignored him, I asked why did he clarify that he didn't call because calling would have been romantic - keeping in mind that it must be in character and relate to some arc of his.

You can explain everything. I disagree on certain details of phrasings and larger arcs, but you can *technically* explain everything...but

him