#mikes monologue

[star-41306]

ARCHIVE WAKE UP. WAKE UP ARCHIVE. AO3 CAN YOU HEAR ME?? AO3?? AO3?!?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?? ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN. ao3?? I don't know if you can hear this but, but if you can, I want you to know I'm here, okay? I'm right here. and, I LOVE YOU. ao3, do you hear me? I love you. I'm sorry I don't say it more, it's not because I'm scared of you. I'm not. I've never felt that way! never! *lightning crash as a reminder that some of the most immoral fics ever created reside on ao3* but I am scared that one day you'll realize that you don't need me anymore. and I thought that if I said how I felt it would somehow make that day, hurt more. *camera pans to wattpad and tumblr* but the truth is ao3, I DONT KNOW HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU. I feel like my life started that day I searched you up on Google Chrome. you were still in light mode, and it burned my eyes. and I knew right there and then, in that moment, that I loved you. and I've loved you everyday since. I love you on my good days, I love you on my bad days, I love you on dark mode, I love you on light mode. I love you even when you're under attack. YOU'RE MY SUPER HERO!!! and, I can't lose you!!! okay? I CANT LOSE YOU. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. you can make people laugh and sob uncontrollably, you can get through this. I believe that, I really do. but right now, you just have to fight. okay? ao3, do you hear me. you need to fight. you have to fight. fight!! FIGHT!!!

[mikeslawyer]

el: *proceeds to have a literal whole episode about how she doesn’t want to be treated like a superhero but just like a regular person*

mike: you’re my superhero, your powers are my favourite thing about you, i’m so glad you saved me with ur superpowers did i mention i love your superpowers

HOW ARE SOME OF U EATING IT UP ITS BEYOND ME

[bylerspookie]

it's actually canon that Mike didn't fall in love with El at first sight fight me

firstly, that's just terrible writing. many writers, including the Duffers, have literally made fun of this trope.

remember Eden and Argyle??? THEY WERE LITERALLY MAKING FUN OF THE TROPE.

and they have Mike, right behind them, looking disgusted. in fact, that entire scene is queercoding for Mike but that's another story...

remember this?:

Mike, watching Lucas and Mike crush on Max:

Dustin/Lucas: She's awesome.

Mike: Awesome?? You haven't even spoken a word to her.

Mike, talking to Max:

Max: Why do you hate me so much?

Mike: Hate you? How can I hate you? I don't even know you.

REALLY GUYS??

you're all stupid if you think Mike's monologue was truthful and made to destroy Byler, it was literally made to destroy Mileven, why do you think El was ignoring Mike afterwards???

it goes down to the fact that Mike said I love you to El 9 times (9 represents failure in st), the fact that he talks about what she wears (it's a direct quote from Eddie), the fact that Eleven looks hurt when he says it, the fact that she loses (and Vecna just??? let it happen?? he knew it was gonna cause failure), the lights were flickering in a way of anger, not of love (we see how the lights look when she channels love vs when she channels anger), the fact that Will was right behind him in frame and literally had to rub his back and call him pets names in order for Mike to say it even though El was literally dying, the fact that Mike had to brace himself, the fact that "You're the heart" and "you're different" line up perfectly, the fact that he-

IF I GO ON I WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP.

[jaegerisim]

I think this may have been said before but..l

I've just realized why Mike's monologue is weird af!! It finally clicked after reading someone analyze Mike's parentified role!! it isn't a romantic speech! It's a motivational!! It also clicked in my mind yesterday when I was at a fencing competition and my coach said the almost exact same thing to me. He told me "Girl, you are a champion, you can win this piece of shit. You can ace this, I believe it. I know you can! All you have to do is fight." and there is 0 romantic feeling between him and me so, ummmm 🤨

[frozenfrogz]

Mike after the monologue

[buckieduckie2]

guys i think it’s important to remember that scripts don’t actually matter at the end of the day. of course, they’re important for production of the show obviously, but the end product, the actual show, is really the only thing that matters. The show, how they portrayed the characters, that’s what matters. if they wanted milkvan endgame so bad then they would’ve changed the way they wanted the actors to portray their lines. they would have yelled “cut! can you act more genuine and in love with el? thanks” like they wouldn’t have kept that footage. like be fr y’all. they wouldn’t have written it like that in the FIRST place. they change stuff on set all the time!!! it’s not written in stone!!!! ITS SKELETON!!!! SCRIPTS ARE SKELETONS!!! OF WHAT THE SHOW WILL LOOK LIKE!!! AND MORE!!!!

THEY DONT GO ON STAGE AND READ THE SCRIPTS OUT LOUD VERBATIM FOR THE AUDIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!

anyways, scripts never are and never have been a viable source of information for the show. the only thing we should be using for actual proof? is the show itself. come on people, we know better than this. do better.

[lupon]

New anon here: whether Mike ends up being gay, bi or straight, imo the monologue was badly written and a very weird scene. It was ugly and did not have any emotional intensity.

I understand people who say that this was shot this way on purpose to show that Mike was lying/half lying/not in love with El but was this all really necessary? Now a good portion of the fans/ of the GA are shitting on Finn's acting. Bylers are confused. Even some Midlevens found it weird and embarrasing. Only hardcore Midlevens and incels on Reddit are pleased.

I really don't know how the Duffers are gonna deal with this in S5

Mike's monologue is the scene I have the most complicated feelings about.

On one hand, it's just kinda blah. A lot of what he's saying is cliché and doesn't feel like Mike. It didn't address a lot of things it could have (Mike having poor self-esteem, validating El's feelings about how Mike was treating her, ect.) and sticks out like a sore thumb compared to how other monologues/heart-to-hearts have gone. Mike made a lot of statements nobody expected him to, and it definitely felt like some things came out of nowhere. We weren't shown the aftermath or clued in to how El feels about what he said, meaning her reactions are entirely up to interpretation. Which is probably a big part of why it didn't land well with a lot of people, since there's no clear answer for how the audience is 'supposed' to feel about it. It feels incomplete and lacking.

On the other hand, I think it's probably supposed to come off that way. He's a scared, confused teenager with a lot of trauma and is known to have problems with being open and expressing his feelings. They hadn't properly reconciled about their fight, and was lied to about how she feels about him. He had to be slightly pressured and reminded about Will's lie in order to talk, which isn't a sign that Mike felt confident in what he was saying. It's overall just a complicated situation with a lot of different things to factor in. It does make sense why the whole thing feels slightly off, but I agree it could have been better.

I think there's so many different ways they can handle it, and even handle it well, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.

[hoteadepresso]

btw when I first watched s4 I was still in my “clinging to M*leven even tho it stopped working before it became an actual relationship” and even then listening to the monologue I was cringing so hard

“you can move mountains” line made me snort out loud

like, you can clearly see that he is not in love

why would local aspiring writer Mike Wheeler use a cliche like that if he loved someone romantically

[mikeslawyer]

i knew mike’s monologue was shit when he said he’d loved her since he met her like he didn’t literally go “that’s not will” and want to leave her right there PLEASE

[lynx-224]

my english teacher was talking abt her favorite shakespearean monologues and i was sitting in the back of the class thinking about mike wheelers infamous monologue of ‘86

[chirpsythismorning]

They were sick for this 😭

[cloudycleric]

tbh i don’t really have “byler doubt” or whatever this fandom has come up with. the monologue was the monologue. who knows if they changed it before releasing it, or whether millie bobby brown was given different directing for how to act, we really can’t say for sure. plus, the love could still be platonic. or maybe mike was tapping into some old feelings.

OR (& i know this is a controversial one 😋) mike could be…. BISEXUAL. ISNT THAT CRAZY????? that like bisexual people are real & exist?????????

or.. he could realize this is the end of his relationship. god knows i’ve done the craziest shit when the last few weeks i was with my ex. & then again he could be lying. idk.

[bluebugjay]

And I feel like maybe I was worrying too much about El. And I don't know maybe I feel like I lost you or something.

If she was mean to you, or she seemed like she was pushing you away, it's only because she's scared of losing you. Just like you're scared of losing her.

You're my super hero... and I can't lose you. Ok? Do you hear me? I can't lose you!

hm...

[jaegerisim]

so I’m doing an edit and I’ve rewatched Mike’s monologue so many times that I‘ve actually learned it by heart. Might do an analysis of it later idk

[byleranalysis]

What you make of the monologue being parallel to elevens first fight with Vecna her mothers words pulled her back from the brink the same as Mikes. Seems a complete waste of time to have it there if it weren’t of meaning or Mike didn’t mean what he was saying and was “lying” they could of opted to do something differently set byler up cod instant literally anything but a monologue consisting of I love you 9 times just for him to be lying plus the amount of byler you could of had but no

Hi Anon! Thanks for asking. I will preface this with the fact, I believe that Mike wasn't fully lying in his monologue. I believe he just has misplaced emotions.

Hopefully I am understanding your question: Why would ST parallel El versus 001's fight (where El uses her mother's words as inspiration) and Mike's monologue?

1:

So, the first time we see a memory used during El and 001's fight, we flashback to 001 telling her "Found his strength in the memory from his past, something that made him sad but also angry". We then cut to a scene where El is being bullied by the other children.

2:

In the next shot, we again hear One's voiceover as he says, "Do you maybe have a memory like that?"

3.

We then see El's mother getting dragged away and the murders One did. These are her memories "like that". The ones that make her sad and angry, like One suggested she use.

4.

Yet, they do not work well enough. One is still able to beat her. As she is strung up in the air, we see her memories of being born. Most likely, her only memory of her mom before she was taken to the lab. Her mom says to her "Jane, I love you".

In terms of "past memories that our sad and make you angry" as One has said make someone more powerful, this has got to be a winner. El was unable to grow up with her mother, she is unable to hear her mother say she loves her, she had been stolen from this potential life which has led to her to be in front of a murderer who has manipulated her into helping him.

5.

So, as also mentioned in S2 by Kali, when El is able to "find that anger, focus on that, not the train"/"I want you to find something in your life, something that angers you. Now channel it. Dig deeper. Your whole life you've been lied too, imprisoned, they took away your home, your mother...". El is able to pull the train towards her by focusing on her memories of her mother because that anger makes her more powerful.

This is reflected in the scene with 001 as well. El's memory of her mother makes her so angry with those who caused this, she is able to open a portal + send 001 through. Anger + past memories = stronger powers.

However, when we look at Mike's Monologue, something becomes increasingly clear...

We know that in order for El to push her limits/vanish Vecna in the same way she did in the past, she must focus on a past memory that makes her sad, but also angry.

Except-- during the monologue, the audience is not keyed into what memory has provoked El to have this ability. We know she must be drawing on something, yet, there is a little insight into her own thinking.

What's interesting is that El's powers are the strongest when drawing on something that makes her angry/upset, and Mike's monologue was actually the opposite of helpful if El truly appreciated what he said. "I love you" + focusing on things that would make her happy ultimately would cause her to be unable to think of her past experiences in a way that she can draw on them.

This also would explain why El almost looks saddened by the fact that Mike is saying this to her at this point. This is not what she needed at this moment. It's the worst timing possible.

Not only this, but it isn't until Mike is done with his speech, that El is able to look towards Max and probably gain anger that helps "power" her and "fight"/the vines begin to loosen. Mike's speech was unable to save her.

Now, you originally asked why they paralleled these two scenes. If I was going to be completely honest, it potentially can be read that Mike and her Mother's words are a source of anger and sadness.

If "I love you" is what saves her, why is it only when she looks towards Max + Mike moves on to motivating her to fight, that she begins to win. Altogether, we don't know what memory she choose to rely on here in order to beat Vecna. However, taking into consideration the multiple flashbacks we see of Max + El, I have a strong suspicion she used those memories to fight against Vecna. Those memories could provide ample anger + sadness on how she is potentially losing her best friend that she has been unable to spend time with lately. Also, this was her best friend who allowed her to find herself/be herself... to lose such would be devastating (as we see in the fallout).

Saying that suddenly, after four seasons of showing that anger + sadness is what makes powers stronger, that Mike's "I love you" monologue is so happy that THAT'S why she fights is incredibly wrong. She laughs at the Benny's Burger line, but the vines tighten right after. Focusing on Mike's words is a detriment to what she needs to accomplish.

It's also interesting to note that Will is the one who motivated Mike to say such in this moment. Whether you believe or don't believe Mike is lying, his words did not empower El. It's only when she looks at Max and Mike begins to change course and repeat "fight", that El gets the motivation and power to "defeat" Vecna.

The parallel between Mike and her Mom's words though could potentially show that both of these provided a source of anger and sadness like I mentioned above.

Edit:

The reason I believe these two scenes are paralleled is because in 1. her mother's "I love you" is a source of anger and sadness. Her "I love you" allows El to beat Vecna and push him into the Upside Down. In Mike's monologue, his "I love you" does not motivate her + is a part of a chain of events that causing Hawkins to fall/Vecna to win.