#the conformity hell that the wheelers are living in is endlessly compelling

[brionysea]

my hot take of the day is that ted actually gives mike good advice. when mike talking about how much he cares about another boy at dinner made nancy storm off, ted said "see what happens?" and three seasons later mike's worried about losing el because he likes boys. mike not keeping quiet about homophobia at school ended with him getting forced off a cliff and almost dying, and to tie into that, ted's "so if your friend jumps off a cliff, you're gonna jump, too?" comment foreshadows how mike caving to peer pressure at the snow ball when everyone started heteronormatively pairing up led to the whole situation that he, el and will are in now. they're both right a lot more than people think but no one ever notices. getting some real "you're everything i might be and i'm everything you could have been" energy here