#the wheeler family

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things Spoilers on X: "Nell Fisher, who recently starred in Red Dead Evil, is rumored to be joining the cast of #StrangerThings5 as the new recast of Holly Wheeler! https://t.co/qLRnrv51vh" / X

Are they planning to give Holly a larger role in S5, and maybe even have Holly join her siblings and the Party in their fight against Vecna?

I know she's 6 in S4, but if they're doing the two year time jump, she'll be 8 by 1988, and could arguably contribute more story-wise beyond just being a background character.

[your-friendly-neighbourh00d-fag]

(^ he gets boyfriend priveleges from argyle. if you even care.)

[messrsbyler]

because of his family’s neglect, mike has learned there’s no used on being loud and ask for help because people won’t come to his aid. he’s learned his problems and vulnerability doesn’t matter and if anything it makes people step away, so instead of showing it he hides it and turns to people to care for them hoping that they won’t walk away if they need him, and to guarantee they’ll need him mike will not show his weaknesses so others won’t doubt if they can rely on him or not.

because of her family’s neglect, nancy learned to be completely independent and go after the things she wants on her own, asking for little help if any. she’s gotten so used to not being looked after or heard (something that’s drilled in her brain even deeper during her time on the hawkin’s post) that she’s grown to be apathetic to most people when first meeting them (example: robin) and even more so with the members of her own family (mike especially)

[uselessnbee]

actually

i have decided

i am gatekeeping Mike Wheeler from his parents

he's my son now

they suck and can fuck off they are not allowed to have any interaction with him or opinions on him or anything

i will protect him with my life and will personally fist fight them

i will find a way to get teleported into the show just so can bitch slap them for hurting my son (and Nancy too) i swear

[faramirsonofgondor]

There is something so interesting about the Wheeler kids! Like they’re all super curious/ambitious children and it almost makes we worried for them, especially Holly. I also really like how their curiosity shows itself differently for each of them.

Nancy’s curiosity and ambition stemmed from wanting to find Barb in S1, then to seeking vengeance for Barb’s death in S2, then to prove herself in S3, and then to protect the group and seek answers for Fred’s death in S4.

Mike’s curiosity and ambition mostly stem from his desire to protect the party (mostly Will), in S1 his curiosity about Eleven and her background and what she knows is because he wants to get Will back, and in S2 his curiosity comes from trying to help Will figure out what’s going with him and the Mind Flayer. We get a few moments of curiosity from Mike in the later seasons as well but they’re not as obvious like the earlier seasons (for instance the little moments Mike checks on Will to make sure he’s okay, trying to understand Eleven’s point of view when shes upset with him in S4, etc.) I honestly think part of it is that he’s worried that if he keeps being curious and looking for danger then he’ll find it and someone will get hurt, so chooses to remain oblivious or not seek any deeper answers until he starts to realize that in doing so he’s hurting the people around him.

I think Hollys character is so interesting when it comes to her curiosity, mostly because it stems from her childhood innocence. Like her little moments of curiosity are really setting up something bigger for her character, she’s really one of the only character to get so close to and actually see the monsters from the Upside Down without knowing the whole truth. In S1, she’s the 1st person (other than Joyce, Will, and the people @ the lab) to see the demogorgon. In S3, she’s the one who first sees the Mind Flayer moving through the woods towards Hopper’s cabin. In S4 she notices the first few particles from the Upside Down. These are all things she just stumbles upon but it’s clear that she’s also very curious towards what’s going on.

However like I kinda said earlier with Mike, there is a lot of danger that comes with their curiosity. In S1, Nancy’s curiosity leads to her being trapped (briefly) in the Upside Down with Demogorgon,and Mike’s curiosity leads to him and the party being threatened multiple times because he’s harboring Eleven. In S2, while Nancy’s ambitions led to her exposing Hawkins Lab, it also means that the government is probably keeping a closer eye on her to make sure she doesn’t speak out. Mike’s curiosity in S2 leads to him emotional distress at many different points, considering he had to watch Will seize when the soldiers were burning the Upside Down, had to deal with the fear and realization that Will might forget who he is, had to watch a shit ton of people die in the lab and deal with the fact that he might not make it out of there, AND had to hear Joyce’s screams as Bob got ripped apart. He was honestly going through it that whole season. In S3, Nancy’s curiosity and ambition lead to her getting fired and then her having to Mrs Driscoll act all possessed and shit. Then in S4, Nancy’s curiosity indirectly leads to Fred’s death, as well as her own possession by Vecna.

All things considered I don’t really think that all of the Wheeler kids are gonna make it out of S5 unscathed.

[shippingfangirl013]

Anyone else realize after writing an analysis on the Wheeler family, that your own family IS the Wheeler family?

And you later realize you are simultaneously Nancy and Mike…?

Nancy, because she was kind of pushed into the role of being the emotionally available “adult” figure, and keeping the family together in a sense. . . the responsibility of sibling care can be deflected unto the eldest child at a young age and can sometimes cause some resentment for your younger siblings. Occasionally, you get the helicopter parenting style paired with the golden child trope and mothers living vicariously through you.

(I know that when I was younger, I didn’t understand why other kids were allowed to be kids, while I was basically helping to raise my siblings, and it made me a little bitter, but as I’ve gotten older, I became very close with my siblings.)

And Mike because I was also left to my own devices for hours. I was the “you’re mature for your age” kid, the kid that took charge in serious situations. Mike, as a character, has an innate desire to be needed by others and I think a lot of that had to do with his parents and how he was raised. At the deepest part of the character, he feels unwanted and unloved by his parents. The Wheeler kids feel like mistakes, because their parents are not emotionally available.

Ted and Karen are emotionally unavailable parents, and because of this, we frequently see that Mike struggles with talking to his parents. His mom tries to be there, but does Karen ever actively listen to her children? Nancy is constantly saying that Karen doesn’t listen to her (an argument I constantly have with my own mother), and Mike is never quick to open up to his mom either. It’s like walking on eggshells, because one wrong answer, one wrong opinion, and it’s like your parents (or at least my mom, in my case) will turn on you.

I’m just wondering if anyone else has noticed any parenting trends with the Wheeler family… they hit a little too close to home for me sometimes.

There could be more to it here, because nothing is ever just black and white, but this is just a bit of what I’ve noticed between my own family and the Wheeler family.

I had a much better worded draft of this post, but my phone died as I went to post it, and deleted the better version. So, now we’re dealing with version until I have the energy to update it.

[boysdontcryboycry]

ngl i'm actually so curious who of the Wheelers can actually Play the piano. like, can Mike or Nancy play? is it for Karen? Ted? because aside from the lamp on top of it always being on we also see the music sheets on it shift. sometimes there aren't any on the stand like in s1 but then later on there's music sheets propped up ready to sit down and play. so clearly it's not a rich middle class decorative piece. someone is actively playing this thing. and i wanna know who it is soooo bad

saaaaaaame like ! what are you DOING here man ! like does ted have an actual hobby? does karen? did they make either nancy or mike take lessons? do nancy or mike like playing piano? is this a musical household??? i need to know so badly why have the duffers done this to me

AAAAAAAAAAA

[bylerserotonin]

I think we don’t talk about Vecna showing Nancy her entire family dying…everything else in that vision came true. This adds to my list of reasons why I’m a ‘Mike dies but is brought back with gay love’ truther.

[arimabari]

-sees Miku trending on twitter- fuck it. Idaho Miku

[jonathanbyersphd]

Oh, it is OVER for the Wheeler Siblings

[cloudycleric]

my mom wants me to paint this mural but with mike & will. one thousand million notes & i’ll do it

[messrsbyler]

went back to the scene in season 2 during the wheeler’s dinner, where karen is scolding mike for taking nancy’s money and lists him some of the things he’s done throughout the year and how this isn’t even strike three. maybe this is a reach, but i have a pretty cemented view on karen as a mother so… what karen says is “we’ve been patient michael” and for some reason that rang the alarms in my brain.

because karen says “we’ve been patient” as in “we’ve given you time and tolerated your bad behavior” and that just sits wrong with me. karen doesn’t say “we’ve been patient and understanding” or “we’ve been patient and there for you, but we can’t do more if you don’t work with us”. no. karen says “we’ve been patient” and then “this isn’t strike one. it’s not even strike three” and that sounds to me as in “we’ve given you time to lick your own wounds and we’ve overlooked your behaviour that clearly is a sign that something is wrong, but you still can’t get over the traumatic experience you went through on your own last year” a reach? maybe, but aligns with my view of karen.

it’s like back in season 1 when mike skips school and karen finds him at home. mike is so worried she’ll be mad at him (because it’s happened before that karen ignored mike being sick and sent him to school either way), but this time karen tells him she isn’t mad because she knows mike must be going through a lot with everything happening with will, and that’s where the scene stops. i don’t remember if this is the scene where she offers mike to go with her to get some shopping done or not and mike rejects her or what (i think that’s a different scene), but my point here is that karen sees mike is portraying an odd behavior (staying at home without telling anyone), she gives him a small talk, and then tolerates/overlooks said behavior. she doesn’t dig deeper to find the cause of said behavior, she just assumes she knows it and allows mike to act on it instead of truly being there for him with actions and not just words.

so when mike in season two is having all these problems at school with his bad behavior, karen is patient with him and overlooks it or doesn’t present any consequences to mike’s actions, letting him be and expecting him to get better with the power of time alone. and when mike doesn’t get better and karen deems she’s given him enough time, she punishes mike for not living up to expectations and not healing at the pace she set even though she’s not actively tried to help mike through his process. same with ted btw this applies for both of them.

mike’s parents set a timer on mike for him to heal of the trauma he underwent, and leave him alone to process it and heal from it on his own. or at least that’s what i get from that exchange at the table.

maybe i’m reaching, but i wouldn’t be surprised if mike’s parents did something like this…

oh, and this applies for nancy too with her trauma regarding barb’s death. we see nancy telling karen no one is listening to her, because it is true! when nancy was being interrogated and the cops paid more attention to a teen’s sexual life than the disappearance of yet another kid in town, karen didn’t have nancy’s back.

instead, once they go back home, karen reprimands nancy for lying to the cops and because she had sex with steve. karen is following her own agenda not seeing her daughter’s distress for her best friend, and nancy has to explode at her saying no one is listening.

and then in season two, knowing nancy’s friend is still missing, karen and ted still show no behavior of caring about nancy’s trauma or keeping an eye on nancy’s behavior and the signs that show she’s not okay. nancy returned home with alcohol spilled all over her, drunk out of her mind, brought back by a guy that isn’t her boyfriend late at night, and her parents didn’t notice a thing? and then nancy managed to go to murray’s house and spend the night away without any alarms activating in karen and ted’s head? even though nancy IS struggling with her trauma and guilt, so this is the moment for karen and ted to keep an eye in nancy’s behavior so they can be there for them. but they don’t, they just overlook because they expect things to be over and for their kids to have healed already. they aren’t involved in their process of healing, they just stand on the side and wait for their kids to push their way through.

just like how karen said “he’ll come to us when he’s ready,” she and ted keep waiting for their kids to be ready on their own and seek them out instead of being there for them.

[foreverautumn89]

Jonathan's mix tape for Will S1

When you watch the scene from S1 when Will is in the hospital and just came back from the upside down and Jonathan already has a new mix tape already made for Will and you ask yourself how he made that so fast when he just spent a large portion of time thinking Will was dead.

And you realize that Jonathan was still making mix tapes for Will to listen to after he thought Will was dead and never coming back.

Realizing that Jonathan would have just listened to that alone in his room crying and thinking of Will who'd he never see again.

[spirit-meets-the-b0ne]

God I love Dustin Henderson so much man, I know Will is in love with Mike because only a deeply down bad homosexual would be able to say Mike “is the heart” when Dustin is alive and in the party. Dustin is the one constantly mediating in S1 between Mike and Lucas, he’s even insecure of his own newness to the group when he conciliates. Because even though the party are all HIS best friends he is able to rationalize why they might have a hierarchy based on seniority. Mike makes it clear that isn’t the case. It’s partly why Dustin is quicker to accept Eleven and partly why he’s so open to including Max “as the new kid” because that was him once. Dustin’s iconic “she’s our friend and she’s crazy!” Dustin and Lucas having parallel deviations from their code of honor in ST2 and Dustin being (so dramatic ik) literally ready to fall on the sword for his misdoings. Dustin basically involving Steve out of necessity but then cultivating that relationship to make Steve a good friend, Steve who had the shittiest friends in high school and attention for all the wrong reasons. Steve never had a true friend in his life and then some 12 year old basically gave him a crash course. In ST3 when Dustin earnestly challenges Steve’s socially conditioned need to be seen as cool only for Steve to become bffs with a band geek. A band geek who is also a lesbian that Steve would rather be seen as a rizzless hack of a womanizer than out her to anybody, even Dustin. All of Dustin and Steve. Dustin going from calling Steve a douchebag, to Eddie saying the kid worships him and thinks he’s a total badass. Dustin who in ST4 is once again demolishing social norms of high school vs middle school because FUCK, his friend is in middle school! His friend Erica, his comrade Lady Applejack, is a black girl in junior high and he dgaf what anyone thinks about it. ALL OF DUSTIN AND ERICA. Dustin teaching Erica to embrace her inner nerd, to Erica staunchly declaring “I’ve bled with him!” When asked if she knows Dustin. Dustin who is the FIRST person that Max goes to when shit hits the fan in ST4 because god damn dude Dustin is the heart. Dustin’s unwavering support of Eddie even when the evidence is stacked against him, Dustin always believed in Eddie Munson. Dustin is the only one who truly offers Wayne condolences. He is the friend of all friends. Dustin is constantly carrying the party through crisis and discomfort, he’s dedicated, he’s unabashedly caring, and he’s the character that is able to socially move across the board in every direction. I fuckin love this little curly haired drama king because these geeks would be LOST without him!!! If Dustin isn’t the heart; he’s the Central Nervous System, he’s the nucleus, he’s fucking vital to not only the party but every other tertiary character of importance. He’s constantly inspiring and providing direction. He’s a goofball, he’s wise beyond his years, he’s a lover and he’s a fighter, he always has a plan and he always has a bad idea, he’s the voice of reason and the resounding falsetto alarm of things gone wrong, he’s never done anything wrong ever in his life, one time something ate his cat but besides that. He’s my heart of the show damn it!

[imfinereallyy]

“Dad is going to be very angry,” El says with wide eyes taking in the scene before them.

“You think Hop will kill him?” Steve says as he leans against the doorway, eating a Twizzler.

El looks at Steve momentarily, sticking her hand out for some candy. Steve hands her one without hesitation. El rips a piece off before speaking. “Oh yes. He might ask you to help hide the body.”

Steve nods solemnly, “I’ll do what needs to be done. Mikes’s my least favorite child anyway.”

“Hey!” Mike yells, gaining the duo's attention. It brings them back to the scene they walked in on. Mike and Will, with the door closed (no three inches in sight) on top of each other, making out.

Steve doesn't think he’ll ever get that image out of his brain.

“Chill, Wheeler, I'm joking,” Steve says pointedly before turning to El and mouthing no, I'm not.

El giggles, and Steve can't help but feel like he won a prize at the sound.

“I'm sorry, El.” Will blushes with shame, like he is betraying his sister somehow.

El just shrugs, “I do not care. But Dad might. He hates Mike.”

Steve snorts, “That's the understatement of the century. I don't think Hop has ever hated someone’s partner like he has Mike. Honestly, I was surprised he liked Eddie. I mean like is a strong word. But he tolerates him.”

Will pipes up, “I think he does mostly because he knows you'll move out, and he only just got you to agree to stay here.”

Steve shrugs, “I’ll take what I can get. At least he doesn't walk on me having sex.”

“We weren't having sex!” Mike practically screams. Hands up exasperated. “And don't talk about you and Eddie; it's gross.”

Will blushes deeply with head in his hands, “Oh, God.” El pats him on the shoulder in sympathy.

“Also, this wouldn't have happened if you weren't an idiot and just knocked!” Mike stomps. Jesus, this kid is 15 acting 6.

“I was the one who walked in, Mike. I wanted to know if Will wanted to watch a movie.” El says coldly, getting defensive of her brother.

Mike clams up, Steve can't help but feel smug.

“Who’s having sex?!?” A distinct Hopper-like voice echoes through the house.

Will and Mike share a panicked look while Steve and El take more Twizzlers from the bag.

“Oh no. Mike! What are we going to do?”

Mike sputters, “He doesn't have to know it was us! And we weren't having sex!”

Will looks at him like Mike is the biggest moron he's ever met. Steve loves the kid (despite early protest) but has to agree. “Oh gee Mike, I wonder who he will think it was about. Steve? Who is dating a man who isn't here and keep in mind, it's Steve. Who is our brother, and five years older than us? And in a relationship? And let's not forget..is Steve?!”

“This is fair.” Steve agrees. If anyone but Baby Byers had attempted to say that, Steve would have been pissed. But it's Will, so it's coming from a good place.

“Also! Also! The other person here is El! Who is my sister! Not to mention your ex—”

“—well it could have been—”

“Micheal Steven Wheeler, if the next words out of your mouth are it could have been you and El, I will never be kissing you again.” Will uses a deathly tone. Steve isn't convinced he didn't get from El.

“Your middle name is Steven?” Steve fills giddy.

“Shut up Steve!”

Will pinches his brows, “And you idiot, if it were you and El, you would still he toast.”

Steve whistles, “Shit, Will. Next time I need to win an argument against Eddie. I'm coming to you.”

“How long does it take for dad to get upstairs?” El interrupts.

All of them look down the hall. “Huh, maybe we are in the clear,” Mike whispers.

“I said who is having sex?!?” Hopper comes thundering up the stairs.

“I think this is what Max calls a jinx.” El looks at Mike unphased.

Steve can't help but feel a little bad for Will. He looks panicked around the room, probably looking for a hiding place. Steve knows that it isn't that same fear Will once had of Lenny, Hop wouldn't hurt them ever, but he can't help but feel a little protective of him. Steve knows all too well how the fears of biological fathers can sneak up on you, even if you know you're safe. “Don’t worry, Will. I'll make sure Hop takes it easy.”

Will relaxes, “Thanks Steve.”

“What about me?” Mike asks, eyes wide.

El shares a look with Steve. Spending as much time as they have lately has allowed them to talk without speaking most of the time. It freaks everyone but Robin out (she gets it). Seconds go by before they both nod in agreement.

Steve and El both wip their heads towards Mike, and Steve says, “You were grossed out by my relationship and called me stupid. Suffer.”

Mike's outcry is in synch with Hop breaking through screaming, “There better be three inches!”

[conflictofthemind]

Thoughts on "Escape from Camazotz"

Oppressive Suburbia, Conformity, and Season 5 Themes

I've long thought that a major focus of Season 5 will be the contrast between the families of The Wheelers and The Byers, and exploring how non-traditional family environments can be freeing vs the oppressive structure of the nuclear family.

In a Wrinkle In Time, Camazotz is a planet controlled by the big bad of the book, the "IT", who forces the citizens into a conformity that resembles American suburbia. All of the houses the same, the citizens the same, doing the same things at the same time without individual identity. Without anything different. Different means a lot of things, but with Stranger Things dropping different in reference to Will's identity and the presumable themes of this season, it will heavily codify as queerness and how it threatens the cisheterosexual family model.

Henry was raised in the 1950s, a decade still revered by conservatives for it's traditional family dynamics that supposedly were the peak of culture and happiness for all. That was all a lie, of course, and Henry knew so as he shows to Nancy and Eleven during his monologue. The second most conservative decade aside from the 1950s in American society is widely considered to be the 1980s.

The Creels will serve in parallel to The Wheelers; the worst example of what they could become and the damage that this type of family could do to a child that is different in any way. Notice how Vecna selectively shows Nancy visions of The Wheelers dying, but not anyone else she may consider family or friends (like Jonathan).

That is; unless they change their ways and come together as a healthy functioning family facing their traumas, The Wheelers will be toast.

Karen has been moved up to a main character role this season. Ted's actor says the father starts to show up more for Holly (hold that) and realizes he wants to act differently. Holly has been recast. Finn has said Mike goes on a much more personal journey this season, and steps up as a leader.

Oh, also: the catalyst for all of this is that Holly goes missing. The contrast will help show how the Byers (including El and Hopper here) were able to pull together and help solve Will's disappearance, versus how the Wheelers as a closed off nuclear family grapple with Holly's vanishing.

Each of the Byers is in some kind of a non-1950s conformist relationship, but particularly Will (not in one now but we all know he will be). I think El might represent, after she breaks up with Mike, the fear of the unmarried woman being satisfied without a husband. The above shot really emphasizes my point.

I predict that Will will end up coming out to his family rather early on, and we will see all of them immediately accept him with little surprise or push-back. Will is a visible gay man who comes from an open minded non traditional family (divorced, non-married, adoptive) that is willing to have honest conversations.

But this theme will place the most focus on the Wheelers. Mike is the main character of said family and this will particularly focus on his arc, and his acceptance of his queerness in the midst of suburban conformity.

He is not visible, he comes from a Reagan-supporting family who don't communicate with each other. He is not particularly close with his family like Will is. He pushes his feelings down and tries his damn hardest to be normal despite it all. His trauma hasn't really been addressed at all. He is falling back into his usual habits - the one thing he dared to do different (grow his hair long) has gone back to how it was.

It's not all doom and gloom though. This season above all will be a redemption arc of the American nuclear family, how they choose to escape their conformity and learn to be there for each other, thus overpowering Vecna. Not that the Wheelers are going to end this personally.

"Great, more hysteria. Just what we need". "It's the news, now indistinguishable from the tabloids".