#shed scene

[byler-alarmist]

Jonathan: Do you remember the first day we met? It was the first day of senior year. I knew nobody. I had no friends. I felt so alone, and so scared. But I saw you on the pizza van, and you were alone too, just smoking by yourself. And I just walked up to you and I asked.....I asked if you wanted to smoke some weed. You said "yes".......you said yes. It was the best weed I ever smoked.

[cluelessbees]

I was rewatching the shed scene again, and I noticed a little detail in the cinematography of Mike's monologue.

Mike's part is actually composed of two different shots.

And by that I mean it's two different shot set-ups.

Here's the first one.

We can see Will's head takes a third of the scree and Mike is pushed the side– shrouded in darkness. We can also see that Mike is tilted to the left (away from the camera and Will).

Then it cuts to Will.

And then Mike again (aka the second shot).

Now we see that Will's head takes less of the screen. Mike is in the centre, he's looking at Will – facing the camera (taking more space), and there is way more light that's hitting his face.

(here you can see it side by side-)

And the camera wasn't panning or moving that much, no it was relatively steady, this wasn't a natural movement – it was more intentional.

They did this a bit more obviously with Joyce at the beginning of the scene too.

You have one shot, it cuts to Will, and then its a completely different lighting set up.

Like– this one is pretty obvious, but yeah they use a cut to Will as a way to transition the lighting set ups and stuff.

And so I think this little shift in MIke's shot is actually really significant.

In the first part, Mike is describing how he felt before he met Will.

And in this part, he's looking down – he's timid yes, but also his tear is highlight. Like – you can really see it. The way the light hits it, it like casts a shadow and everything. It's emphasising how sad Mike felt at that moment.

But then he saw Will.

And you can see the moment he mentions Will, he turns his head and the tear is less visible.

And as Mike talks about seeing Will for the first time, it cuts to him.

And then it cuts back to Mike as he talks about how he went asked Will to be his friend. And you can see that the tear is still there – but it's basically invisible.

And you can feel that there is more light on him. You can see how he stands up straight, more centred in the frame, more confident. You can see how he looks better.

I feel like this is such a really subtle way of the duffers showing us visually how meeting Will changed Mike for the better.

You begin with Mike recalling before he met Will – sad and lonely (i.e., looking away, crying, less light on him). Then he meets Will (cuts to Will). And then he was no longer sad.

Idk I just thought it was a cool little detail! Lmk what you guys think!

[howtobecomeadragon]

oh hey! look at Mike right after he gives his speech in the shed and Will still says "let me go"!

[gayofthefae]

"Do you remember when we met? I do. I was so alone and scared but you were there and I didn't know you yet but just seeing you made everything better already so I took a deep breath and I walked up to you and asked you to be my friend with bated breath and do you know what you said? You said YES. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't. You've always brought so much comfort to my life from before I even said hello and you're the best thing I ever did."

vs

"Do you remember when we met? I do. You were wearing a yellow shirt."

will always be so insane to me.

[strxnger-things]

Bonus:

credit / other memorygate posts: X, X and X

[chirpsythismorning]

Hi!

I want to ask a question which is eating me since july:

What is the narratively propose of the line "I feel like my life started the day we found you in the woods" ?

Because I am losing my mind on this one. The worst is I don't think it won't came back in s5, not like the painting.

But this sentence makes the all "asking to be my friend is the best thing i did" business a lie! From Will's prospective.

How much Will's lie will affect Mike in s5 is widely discussed, but what will be the consequences of Mike's monologue for Will ?

(Ironically, I don't think Will knew he was lying, he genuinely thought that El loved Mike that much. he genuinely thought that El loved Mike as much as he do)

So what do you think?

Bye <3

I never really thought about it that way, but now that you say it, ouch.

I would definitely say from Will's perspective, Mike's monologue to El contradicted his monologue to him in the shed in s2, and so therefore Mike asking him to be his best friend wasn't the best thing he did...?

Yeah that's definitely going to be circled back to in some capacity.

Honestly, I think s5 is going to be very tragic. So many casual fans expect Will to have this horrible ending based on this trend they've had for Will's character thus far. I think to subvert this expectation a majority of the audience has, the Duffer's are going to go all out... They're going to humor those fans expectations a little bit, meaning they are going to make Will (and all of the characters quite frankly) experience so much pain, that it'll have even the most confident bylers questioning everyones happy ending. And that's what's going to make the ending so gratifying. You can't know joy unless you've known sorrow. Those of us who can soar to the highest heights can also plunge to the deepest depths. Don't mind this very relevant Anne with an E quote because the Duffers are anners.

This season upon season trend of the story sidelining Will, something even most casual viewers picked up on and critique as a bad thing... is literally setting Will up for a perfect ending. Because how would season upon season of a character losing again and again, be satisfying if it ended with him losing, again? Answer: it wouldn't be.

Will's dealt with the shit end of things for years, with s4 reaching new heights of making him feel like he deserves it.

All of this is going to come to a head in s5 with Vecna trying to get Will to join him. We already know that he wants to kill everyone else, except Will... and so, Will clearly isn't a target for him to literally kill or hurt technically, and yet Vecna will do what he has to in order to get Will to feel like he has no choice but to join him.

And I think this quote is going to play a part in Will's experiences over the last 3+ seasons finally being confronted head on in the story.

I also don't think Mike said that, knowing what it implied, otherwise he wouldn't have said it at all. Though I think both Will and El and maybe even Jonathan knew what it implied, and I'm sure it pissed them off a little bit. Like I know El was thinking Mike not only are you a bad boyfriend but your bad friend too because jesus!

This quote could honestly come to bite Mike's ass as well, because seeing Will at his lowest thinking no one cares, is going to make Mike feel responsible, because he's going to realize he played a role in part of Will having those negative feelings about himself in the first place. Actually thinking about what he said and how it made Will feel, and also rethinking other interactions between them, all while potentially finding out about Will's feelings/sexuality, that is going to destroy Mike honestly. Because this whole time they could have been together if he'd just not done those things.

Yes, Mike has made the effort to reconcile with Will in both s3-4 after their fights, but they've never truly confronted the problem. And that's all for a reason.

Because once they do confront the truth, it's going to be hard for them to not want to be together knowing they both feel the same.

But the reality is most stories don't operate like that because it's not satisfying, especially slow-burn romances.

When it comes to slow-burns, it's all about the miscommunication and the will they wont they and the balance of both parties feeling something while thinking the other couldn't feel the same.

But I think right now the story is sort of imbalanced in terms of clueing the audience in on Mike's feelings for Will, in comparison to clueing the audience in on Will's feelings for Mike.

And with s5 going back to s1-2 vibes, it's entirely likely s1-2 vibes Mike is making a return, so there is a good chance they're following through with how a slow-burn ship has to operate, meaning they are evening up the balance of those feelings to make their endgame feel worthy and satisfying.

I do think that quote from Mike's monologue will impact both of them in some capacity, because it also, like you said, questions the validity of Mike's monologue to Will in the shed. And so it needs to be confronted in a way that gives both Will and Mike closure.

And let's not forget about El. She was there the day she met Mike and Lucas and Dustin and she knows it wasn't love at first sight. I think she herself has had a similar understanding of their meeting as Mike does, where it wasn't fate, that they just got lucky basically and it worked out for them. And yet she had strong feelings for him that grew over time. And so him saying that even probably upset her a little bit, because she knew it wasn't true even from her take on things. And so why would it be true for Mike who has been incapable of saying i love you to her face, ever?

This rose-tinted lens on their relationship from the beginning by the people around them, society and most of all the audience, is what put them in this position in the first place. They need to acknowledge the truth with one another (without Will mediating) so that they can actually move on and grow and be friends in the way they truly want to be.

Season 5 is definitely going to be a wild ride from start to finish, and even if it feels hopeless in the beginning, it'll all be worth it. Trust!

[ollsonline]

is he… you know…

“do you remember the first day that we met? it was the first day of kindergarten. i knew nobody, i had no friends, and i just felt so alone and so scared. but, i saw you on the swings and you were alone too. you were just swinging by yourself. and i just walked up to you and asked. asked if you wanted to be my friend. and you said yes. you said yes. it was the best thing i’ve ever done.”

[a-little-artsy]

first time drawing her

[howtobecomeadragon]

this is not news to anyone at all but it just hit me once again how full of love these words are:

i asked if you wanted to be my friend. you said yes. it was the best thing i've ever done.

it's not that the best thing he's done was saving will, it's not that mike is feeling heroic from his own actions from the year before. it's not that he's speaking of his fear of losing will in that moment. it's none of that.

it's mike reflecting on everything good that will has brought to him, it's mike thinking about how he's been shaped by ten years of friendship and deciding that asking to start that friendship is the one thing that was the best, the most important, the biggest thing that he could have done.

it's about mike reflecting on his kindness and being able to help others around him. not his ability to fight heroically or fall in love at first sight or willingness to jump off a cliff for a friend. it's about kindness and finding someone who is like him out there. finding a friend for himself and giving himself as a friend to will.

it's mike reflecting on who he was before will, all alone, and how ever since he met will, he hasn't been alone, and he doesn't want to be without will now either. he doesn't want to go back to that place.

it's mike saying "i hope you're still in there. this is really scary and i don't want to lose you so let me tell you how much you mean to me. let me tell you that you're the best thing i've ever done and maybe that will help you fight your way back to me."

[gayofthefae]

The pacing of putting Mike's shed speech to Will before he finds out that El is alive. Narratively, it could have worked. But would he have still done it?

[gayofthefae]

Bonus points for their respective reactions:

Will's full focus is on Mike and he is visibly straining to listen

El is reacting inwardly and does not show effort to listen harder as the vines tighten around her neck while he speaks

The difference between these monologues is obvious imo

Mike's monologue to Will:

Shot like a love monologue

Mike starts talking on his own because he wants to save Will

Will is flooded by light, personal close up with emotions of love behind his eyes even when he can't respond

It feels like Mike and Will are the only two in the room even if other people are there

The moment is delicate so it has no music and distractions

Will and Mike are looking at each other in the eyes

They don't lose anybody of the party in season 2 and they win against the bad guy

Simple and well written without clichés

Mike's monologue to El:

Shot like a tragic moment, harsh ugly light, El is literally in a red light and being suffocated

Prompted by Will after a lie he told Mike that Mike believed

Will is framed purposefully behind Mike in the most important parts of the monologue

There are shots of Will and Jonathan in the middle of the monologue making it feel like Mike and El are not alone at all

Full of distractions and with a score called "the Heart" ... From Will's speech and feelings... And we are in the middle of the action with people dying feeling the anxiety from the fear

Even if it gave a bit of strength to El it's not enough to win, they lose Max in the end

When El revives Max they put in the words "there's more to life than stupid boys" right after the love monologue from Mike

It feels impersonal, they don't look at each other face to face really

Full of old ugly romantic clichés instead of being good quality writing that they did with other couples like they didn't really care for it to be good

Finn literally improvised some lines and made it more ugly than the script that was already ugly and they decided it was okay to show to people

No romantic flashbacks of Mike and El, just a platonic one even if they do have romantic scenes that could have conveyed the feelings of love to the fans... They decided to not use them

??????????? This is supposed to be romantic???? To make us feel the romantic feelings between them and make us like this ship ??? I just can't believe this sorry lmao it completely goes against everything I know about cinematography and I do not believe the Duffers suddenly lost their minds

[strxnger-things]

I admit i didnt believe in birthdaygate/memorygate for a long time but after recent events with the st writers twitter i'm starting to believe, and after looking further into how it could be plot relevant i cant believe i never realised how important the shed scene is. like omfg its been right there the whole time???? vecna knows all of wills happiest memories???? ofc he is going to use them to his advantage somehow

(Referring to this post I made and the memorygate theory)

Heeeeey!

Yeah, I guess we'll see in Season 5 whether there's any kind of valid thread here (I'm personally on the fence with the whole thing, and just spitballing and having fun with it)

So far it's been established that Vecna "consumes" the thoughts and memories of the people he kills. They're kept in his mindscape. Everything that made them who they are as a person. And that's going to be an important plot point, especially surrounding Max in S5, imo.

But Vecna didn't kill any of the people present during the shed scene, so how can he do anything with their memories? Well, we know Vecna has the power to view memories without killing someone, but maybe he can actively manipulate/consume them without killing someone too. As in, it's not something he normally does (because why would he need to) but it's something he's capable of doing if he wanted. And Will is different from all of his other victims (save perhaps Billy). For some reason, he doesn't want to kill Will. He wants to play with him, possess his body, or potentially wants to win him over for reasons we don't know yet. We see El explore some of Billy's memories in S3, and Max's in S4. She's not possessing them, she's just able to enter their mindscapes and explore memories whilst she's in there. So we know that both El and Vecna have that power, it's a lab-kid thing that they can do. But Vecna also has this weird connection with time. So could he effectively alter memories and 'change the past', in a sense? Vecna's spent many hours levitating in the Creel House attic room, moving his consciousness from person to person and reading everyone in Hawkins like books. Watching them. Hearing everything. We visually see how it works in S4, just briefly before Vecna chooses Patrick as his next victim. So after Joyce, Jonathan and Mike tell Vecna what Will's happiest memories are (oops), maybe Vecna goes on to locate those exact memories and fuck around with them. And it's not just that those memories are Will's happiest memories - it's that Will's birthday and the rainbow ship drawing were most important to Joyce, it's building Castle Byers that was most important to Jonathan, it was playing D&D and first meeting Will that was most important to Mike.

I don't think it'd be one big event where Joyce, Jonathan and Mike all got simultaneous headaches one day, to be revealed in S5. But it could be a background scheme that Vecna's been slowly working on ever since the end of S2 after El sealed the gate.

Which is why as soon as we start S3, it's like Will has started to... fade? He's slowly being overlooked and forgotten. By S4, Will's birthday doesn't exist, Jonathan is distant and caught up in his own shit, and Mike seems to think his first real important connection with anyone was meeting El in the woods. There are still maaaany plotholes and questions with this theory, so I'm keeping a very open mind with it <3

[wigglebox]

Supernatural September - Day 2 | Identity

[mahoutoons]

honestly i wish the only way for magical girls to get respect wasn't for them to be as close to shonen as possible.

"unlike other magical girls, precure has hand to hand combat! its dbz for girls!"

"i know princess tutu's name is stupid but its actually not girly at all!"

"sailor moon isn't ACTUALLY for little girls because [insert scene of characters suffering or creepy stuff from the manga here]"

"madoka is better than other magical girls because its DARK"

like do magical girls really needs to be dbz but girly to be worthy of respect? can't they just be... magical girl shows? a show can be unapologetically girly and aimed at girls and still be worth checking out. yes, princess tutu is girly. yes, sailor moon is girly. yes, precure is girly. yes, madoka, despite being a seinen and darker, ultimately upholds the messages of the genre. and they're all awesome and deserve respect on their own merits, not as a comparison to popular shonen shows.

[byler-alarmist]

And he made an impassioned plea to get Will back in his life in S4....when the stakes were even lower, since Will wasn't possessed or about to die!

He willingly told him their other friends were great, but they couldn't make up for the lack of Will in his life. He went even further to say that he'd focused too much on El (his girlfriend!) and lost Will.

He told Will he wants to be by his side no matter what happens next.

At this time, Mike knew NOTHING about Vecna and the Mind Fkyer wasn't a threat anymore (that he knew of) and they weren't facing imminent death (that they knew of).

Yet he was practically on his knees, begging Will to take him back (as a friend.....cough)

No one forced his hand to do this. No one patted his back and convinced him to say something nice to Will. No one else was even around for it to be a performance. Mike closed the door to ensure it was an intimate moment just for them.

no but the fact that is canon that mike just tells el he loves her when he feels like he has to say it because the whole world is gonna die in s4 vs Mike telling will he cares about him deeply because he doesnt want to lose him in s2 >>>>>

[huariqueje]

Echinacea for shed - Theo Leijdekkers

Dutch, b. 1955 -

Oil on canvas,  90 x 90 cm.