#the only thing we can do is continue liking/supporting pro-Byler comments on there when we see them

[theladyrebecca2]

It's human nature to gain or lose hope when you see Netflix socials promoting Byler or Midleven, but we've gotta pull back the curtain to see the full picture.

First, always remind yourself that the Stranger Things team and Netflix are completely separate entities. Netflix is the vehicle the ST team are driving their story on, but they're not the same people who actually create it. They get little to no say in what the ST writers write.

I say 'little' because the bones of each season will have been greenlit by select Netflix higher-ups (with NDA's signed). But if the Stranger Things team want Storyline A, and Netflix were to say no, what about Storyline B? Then the ST team are absolutely capable of standing their ground and not moving. Perhaps some compromises can be made, but the final say will be down to how stubborn the ST writers can be. This was made apparent by the Duffer Brothers’ open stance on the writing and acting strikes, which directly opposed Netflix. It mattered to them that in the future, writers will continue to have control over their work. That Netflix can't just weasel out of their contracts with shows and write their own endings with AI. Right now, Netflix provide funding, connections, and a platform to host stories on. The ST team provide their content, the original idea, the heart and soul. It's a mutually beneficial relationship.

When it comes to promoting stuff on social media, we have several teams working separately. This leads to exchanges like this from the Netflix Tudum event:

This is two completely different social media teams interacting with each other. Most important to remember though - right now, the Netflix social media team won't know anything about Season 5. The earliest they may be told anything important will be at the start of the Season 5 promotional campaigns, but even then, it's not a given. NDA's will be in effect at Netflix right up until the bitter end. The social media people will be working in tandem with the marketing team, all of them given set content or working under guidelines when told what they can promote/ talk about.

Secondly, they're just ordinary people doing their job. When it comes to liking comments or replying to them, it will all differ depending on which person happens to be logged into the Netflix account at that time.

For ST5, it looks like Dana and Chris are two Senior Social Media Managers at Netflix US:

But look at all the related connections, and you begin to realise just how many people make up these social media teams (and marketing, which is related). And remember, this is just Netflix US - not the ST team.

So just think about how each person has their own opinions, has their own views on the show. How many of these people might ship Byler? How many ship Midleven? I bet they have their own interpersonal work politics behind the scenes, hoping their idealised ending is the right one.

My point is, there's no point freaking out about this occuring underneath Netflix US's recent post about ST S5:

All this shows is that we have a Midleven shipper in the social media team. After Season 4, a lot of people got excited at this:

But again, all this indicates is that we also have a potential Byler shipper in the Netflix UK team. It's just as pointless getting happy and excited about pro-Byler stuff on there, as it is to get worried or upset about pro-Midleven stuff.