#vecna spying

[there-was-a-hole-here-itsgonenow]

Will’s JAWS Poster: Targeting Mike

In Worlds Turned Upside Down, JAWS is mentioned as a source of film inspiration for the show—a source of inspiration for who we now know is Henry/Vecna.

I like that the word ‘haunting’ is used to describe “the key inspiration for [ST’s] monster.” That’s precisely what Vecna does. He terrorizes by using what haunts Hawkins’ residents, lurking in the dark recesses of their minds/ sense of reality as he spies on them. We have seen the JAWS poster in Will’s rooms. We know it represents the dangers of the Upside Down/Vecna coming up to the surface.

There’s an interesting specificity to the times we most notably see this poster in the series: during heart-to-heart scenes between Will and Mike in s2 and s4.

In s2, when Mike is in Will’s room after Will is possessed, we see Mike trailing along the drawn tunnels on the wall. As he slowly reaches the JAWS poster and passes it, we get these lines in order:

Some of him is there (Mike gradually passes the poster—). But some of him is here (—and now the poster is between Mike and Will) too. Through JAWS, we can establish that the Mind Flayer/Vecna is here, right here in the room with Will and Mike. Spying on them.

As the scene continues, the poster is not only behind them but between them and not in-focus/ blurry. The JAWS poster may not be hugely noticeable if you aren’t thinking about it, but it’s there and stays between them through a chunk of the scene as Will tells Mike the horrors he experiences due to his connection with the Mind Flayer: his now-memories, remembering them all the time, and seeing and feeling what the Mind Flayer does.

And Mike says “maybe that’s good.”

When Mike says this line, JAWS has shifted from between Will and Mike to behind Mike.

The poster was already behind Mike. It was there when Mike placed himself on the opposite side of it, very close to it. The poster, while Will is talking, is just framed in such a way that it falls evenly between Will and Mike’s heads. You can see the distinction before and after “maybe that’s good,” because there is a clear shift towards Mike’s head; especially as the scene goes on:

S2 wasn’t the first season to show suspicious imagery that looks like Mike was being watched/spied on. It continues in every season. But here, with that JAWS poster representing a haunting, villainous monster, we know that is what’s happening to Mike in this scene too. Here, Mike has once again involved himself in helping/saving Will. He knows about the tunnels under Hawkins now. He’s learning about what Will is experiencing. He talks about spying back on the monster, and the JAWS poster closes in behind him. This is a symbolic indicator that Vecna is honing in on Mike, targeting him for his interference/ his close bond with Will.

Will then expresses worry over the Mind Flayer spying back. Mike says he won’t. “We won’t let him.”

But the emphasis against ‘not letting him’ states otherwise:

Will’s drawing gets closer to us every time we cut back to it. The poster also peeks out from behind Mike’s head when he says “We won’t let him.” In true Jaws fashion, the threat moves closer and closer in, his sights set on his prey as he prepares the attack. You don’t simply thwart what he’s doing. Vecna was already spying back in this scene, and the framing of the poster throughout it shows us Vecna has a specific target on Mike.

Then in s4, you see the poster again. This time the poster is solely behind Mike and can be seen in all noticeability while he’s having his reconnecting heart-to-heart with Will.

We see JAWS very blatantly while Mike talks to Will about ‘working together’ as “a team. Friends… Best friends.” In other words, united. Working together, being together, makes the two of them stronger. Vecna knows this. He’s experienced it; especially when Mike reached a possessed Will with his monologue, allowing Will to secretly communicate through Morse Code. Unlike in s2, the JAWS poster is never positioned between Will and Mike. Only behind Mike, once again showing a clear—and more threatening—target on Mike’s back. And from this scene onward, Mike and Will + the Cali crew have shots that suggest outside forces spying on them.

Notice the first shot; Mike is in center-frame with his back facing us. We’re meant to take this as a hint that it’s Mike in particular who is being watched and targeted.

Additionally, the fact that the JAWS poster belongs to Will and is in his s2 and s4 bedrooms, where we prominently see it between him and Mike + solely behind Mike, makes it an indicator that Vecna has continued to spy on Will despite him having moved to Lenora. I’ve seen it discussed many times before that Will is still a spy for Vecna, just unknowingly. With this analysis in mind, it makes sense. S3 didn’t end with a truly dead and defeated monster. Will left Hawkins but Vecna’s connection to him was never severed. S4 ends with Will still feeling him.

S4 also ends with Mike by Will’s side. Vecna’s sights on Mike remain and he’s preparing the attack.

[manic-pixie-aquarius]

omg omg this just gave me the thought what if he DOESN'T choke someone to LITERAL DEATH cause he does not need the guilt of that... And instead....

(adding this pic cause it looks like its from the same scene)

What if Vecna's influence on Will ramps up this season (like season 2) and he does find it hard to control himself so he does end up maybe choking someone until he's able to snap out of it...

And maybe that's why Will is sitting across from everyone in both of these scenes, for safety. If this is true it would break my heart--for Will to feel like he isn't trusted... But at the same time it ties in with the Will Villain Arc many have been hoping for.

nope dont want this...please duffers stop making my boy suffer 😭

[henrysglock]

Superspy!

This post is just me breaking off the UD double agent section from my time loop theory post (14 Jan. 2024). It's not new, just wanted it separate for ease of referencing.

I'm not sure if anyone else outside the my discord server has noticed this, but in every season there's at least one instance of the UD just...offering up information.

"It does?"

Yup! Let me explain.

On first glance, we look at things like Nancy's vision and even El's vision with Billy in the cabin, and we go "Oh, it's because [insert "the bad guy's cruel/he wants to scare her/his hubris will be his downfall/all serial killers want to be known for their crimes" etc here]"...but maybe that's not the case.

For example: Vecna told Nancy his backstory, and then he immediately went

"Oh hey, so not only am I revealing my identity (Which may help you find out more about me via lab records later on, things like...maybe a list of my abilities, or my weaknesses, like the fact that I have a nut allegry. Allegedly.), but I'm also gonna give you a sneak peek of my apocalypse plans. For free. As a treat. Don't use these to prepare or anything. I'm totally not giving you a head start".

Terrifying, yes. A taunt and a threat on surface view, yes...but also showing his hand. "I want you to tell Eleven everything you see" Why. Why would he want that? He may be confident in his plans, arrogant, even...but he's not that stupid.

I'm serious, though. Check it out in comparison to Henrys visions of the future. The pattern is patterning:

We can track that back to El's cabin scene with Billy, wherein he tells her she shouldn't have looked for him, warns her that they all can see her, and that they're going to be coming after her...and he cries about it. That's vision Billy. That's someone else who piggybacked into El's mind from Billy's mind. Billy doesn't have powers. He can't piggyback into minds. That's not real Billy, just like how Billy in Max's vision wasn't the real Billy. That's someone with the ability to piggyback into minds (sit with that for a beat, it'll come to you). The person giving El that vision warns her.

Why on earth would that person tell her that they can see her, that they're coming for her? That's sensitive information! It would be smarter to let her think she's safe and use that false sense of security to catch her off guard.

In fact, this pattern patterns so well that I'd like to argue this: Henry's TFS visions, Nancy's vision, and El's vision are all the same type of behavior displayed in NINA's chess scene, just in different contexts.

Henry ("Henry") gives some kind of scary prophetic information ("He and the others are going to attempt to kill you", "I would very much like to show you where I am going", "You're going to kill me, aren't you?"), and then we're left to question if it's a scare tactic, manipulative misinformation, or helpful inside information.

It's not that the Mindflayer or Vecna can't hide things from people (see: "Somewhere he didn't want me to see")...like, say, the fact that the Mindflayer is now able to see El, or that Vecna's planning to open 4 gates with his 4 kills.

It's always this miraculous "Huh! Weird info-dropping behavior from the UD's side. Shouldn't look that gift-horse in the mouth though. It's probably just a writing oversight or a shoehorned exposé, so really there's no need to question it." situation where it's just...information that's offered up with no real explanation.

Some of my favorite examples:

...and it's all topped off with Max's line:

"He's been telling us his plan this whole time".

That is to say...You're telling me:

The first message from the Upside Down isn't any of the messages that are concretely Will's, but instead it's the one that's a repetitive Henry line...and it's conveyed in a distinctly not-Will style? A message that saves Joyce, something that's definitely not in the UD's best interest given her tenacity in finding her boy...but is definitely coming from the UD nonetheless?

Will, who fell total prey to the Mindflayer in less than 3 days, was not only able to figure out how to defeat the Mindflayer, but was also strong enough to convey it in Morse code? The Mindflayer, who is able to keep secrets (see below), just...let that information slip?

El, who acknowledges that the Mindflayer is more than able to hide things from her, is suddenly sent into Billy's memories and allowed to find the source completely unimpeded? (and she was sent, you can look at the positioning on "Billy's" hand in real time if you think I'm exaggerating)

The Mindflayer, as "Billy" (Remember: not actually Billy, because Billy can't give visions or invade minds), is telling El that because he's able to see her now, and that she shouldn't have looked for him? The Mindflayer, which was supposedly building the Fleshflayer to track El down and kill her? Suddenly he's telling her she shouldn't have done the very thing that allowed him to find her more easily?

Vecna's giving up all the information about himself and his plans before he's even gotten the 4th gate open, despite him being so secretive about it up until that point? He's not cocky enough to broadcast his plans earlier, but he is cocky enough to tip off the girl who found his family and drew all the connections...the "detective" of the group in ST3, about what's happening/going to happen...and tell her that she needs to tell Eleven, the girl who kicked his ass into Dimension X as an eight year old, all the future plans she sees?

Henry's visions in TFS are scaring him into resisting the Mindflayer, making it less likely that he's going to upgrade to killing humans, i.e. the very thing the Mindflayer wants him to do?

None of that makes any damn sense...until we hit this last point:

Orderly Henry is known for giving inside information about "Papa" to El with no clear motive other than getting her to leave the lab.

So, with this new frame of view, I'd like you to chew on this:

"He's been telling us his plan this whole time." vs "He's been telling us His plan this whole time."

By which I mean: "He's been telling us some other man's plan this whole time."

[Mike voice] Superspy.

As a parting thought, I made it all into a nice, neat set of collages:

I'll leave you all with this final, parting bit, too:

None of this even touches on them shoehorning in an entire arc about a spy who goes by the name Enzo/"Henry".

He isn't actually named Enzo/Henry (he's Dmitri), though (hello Edward), but he is working as a guard and feeding inside info about the KGB (CIA equivalent) to Hopper/a "bald" American:

...in hopes of setting said bald American free from prison/hell:

...only to get himself caught up in a creature massacre:

That kills off all the other guards and shaved-head inmates (while he himself is the sole "inmate" with longer hair) and sent on the run afterward.

Okay. I guess. That's fine. Nothing smells Creel-y about that.

Not mention, of course, the interpretation of the Russia arc paralleling Vecna and Hopper rather than El and Hopper. Local father figure gets his ass kicked and sent to "hell" from which he has to escape to go home. Like. Yeah, I get it.

I'd like to posit that this might be a spot for further exploration irt multiple parallels -> multiple versions of events, as per my series on the NINA fight (which showed us at least 3 tangibly different endings for the 4.07 fight). We could very well have one version focused on a Murray/Yuri type deal, one with a Hopper type deal, and one with an Enzo type deal depending on which ending they were involved in. That's just speculation atm though.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Hello Mr. Dapper! Love this blog and your many reimaginings of classic dnd deities and creatures. I was curious about something: Considering your dislike of purely evil gods and DnDs future focusing on the guy, what are your thoughts on Vecna?

Deity: Vecna, the Whispered One

My task of overhauling d&d’s villanous pantheon was started by a simple critique:  that if god was evil, there still needed to be a reason for people to worship it. To go with one example,  So many of the death gods in d&d want to kill everything that lives, yet they’re still presented as having legions of followers who are happy to die for them in opposition to the party.   You can say “Oh they’re just brainwashed, crazy cultists” but that’s just bad writing and thematically empty, neither of which I want for the sort of games I run. 

Vecna is actually an interesting case study in that he’s an outwardly wicked deity that has a theme which people would actively want to follow:   As a god of secrets, Vecna is the patron of any who will sacrifice anything to learn the answer to their problems, or conversely, the ones desperate to ensure their own secrets will never be known.  The story of Vecna as a mortal mage who attained first lichdom, then godhood is an aspirational one for all those power mad occultists out there, a common enough demographic in the d&d world both as villains and as player characters. 

Cults of Vecna worshippers likewise make sense as the whole point behind the historical practice of mystery cults was that those at the upper levels maintained their power through control of information and access to secret learnings.  You want to learn how to do magic? To speak to the dead? To protect your secrets from being known? Put on this ominous robe, learn the secret handshake, and don’t forget to drop your tithe intto the altar’s collection skull. Think of it like a forbidden knowledge based MLM. 

 Here’s some adventure hooks: 

While many of the whispered one’s acolytes dedicate themselves to discovering to the delving of arcane mysteries, others focus their attention on more worldly secrets. A powerful noblewoman is being blackmailed by a worshipper of Vecna not only for personal enrichment but also as an act of devotion, after he uncovered proof of indiscretions that would ruin her reputation.  While she’s too afraid to go for help herself and risk exposure, a devoted servant has seen her hidden suffering and has contacted the party for aid. 

Barely disguising its fiendish nature, a devil in service to Vecna approaches the party with an offer to reveal the secret intents or weaknesses of their enemies, if only they will deign to meet its terrible price.  While this information could do great good, or even save lives, just how low are the heroes willing to stoop? 

Seeking out the aid of a powerful mage, the party discover the old man on the brink of nervous collapse, having looked to deeply into the void and filled his mind with visions best left unmentioned.  Haunted by nightmares both real and imagined, he needs their help in quieting his mind through the gathering of rare ingredients and the distillation of a potent elixir. The process is not without risk however, are the party willing to help if it means erasing the information they need from his head, to say nothing of potentially lobotomizing the poor wizard? 

Art

[coniangray]

Whos watching life in Hawkins??

This hit me earlier when I realized all four stories of st4 had someone/ something being a know-it-all god or a heterodiagetic narrator watching and knowing everything all at once.

But not everywhere (pun intended)

All four storylines have both types of narrators:

A homodiegetic one, this being a character involved in the story and showing their prescription of things

A heterodiagetic one, aka the know-it-all god, recording and watching all the other characters.

Homodiegetic:

For the Hawkins plot it was max. For California it was Will and Mike. For the lab it was eleven, and for the prison it was Hopper (and I think Joyce on her way there, since the prison plot is somehow separate from Joyce and Yuri's plot).

I can tell, because we SEE all of those characters feelings displayed on screen in one way or another. Max was curious during the curse, therefore bringing the whole team together, Wills lingering in California was also shown through him only, Hopper's desparation and fear for joyce not making it safe ect.

The only one I'm on the fence about is Mike, since the last time we got a scene from his prospective was in s2 or at the rain fight in s3 I think. Aka, Mike's pov was not shown enough in s4, but it was there.

Heterodiagetic narrator:

This might sound tricky at first but it's not. Even though this narrator is not supposed to be a character at all: instead, they're just a messenger who convey the story from the writer to the reader (as all narrators do). They're a ghost, an entity, aka the camera of the characters.

But in this case, the narrator is in the show. Each plot has its own one, and that's what considered a god of their own nature.

I realized this from the security cameras and the memory storage of Brenner in Nina scenes. He was keeping and choosing which ones to show to El, aka choosing her path instead of her, which becomes clear in the show later on.

In Alaska, there was also security footage to which jopper had also access to later on.

As for California, they were also recorded/watched at some point. When? Right before the shooting.

The jokes about house arrest in this scene made me think the guards that were supposed to keep them same weren't just sitting, they were most likely recording the activity in the house due to protocol (at least i wanna believe it, considering Mike's house was anf might still be bugged since the end of s1 and the flashbacks in s2).

Also, in the van, they were most likely watched by El after she gained her powers.

And if all of these plots were watched by someone, then who was watching Hawkins?

Vecna.

I realized it from this video; vecna was legit searching for a source, another mind to curse in order to complete his plan.

The camera panning made me think he had access to anyone he wanted to. He could've chosen literally anyone in replacement of mike, but he went for Patrick instead.

Why? Because he knew he was in the same group with Lucas and Jason. As we saw, attacking Patrick triggered not just these two, but in total five people and the entire Hawkins team.

And became the wirters chose to plot wise.

My point is, the dynamics changed after his death, even in the slightest, bringing Lucas closer to max.

Now, because these gods are characters too, their own thoughts may interviene with what we see/ are shown, therefore leading everything back to homodiegetic or 1st person pov.

The main occupants here are Henry and of course, Brenner. Its like a domino effect, once brenner was watching one and now one is watching hawkins.

Their motives also beg to differ; Brenner was focusing more and only on logic, hence one disobeyed that rule and only relied on emotions, especially anger, to get his powers to their fullest potential, and thats what he also taught eleven.

But the main know it all god; The Mindflayer.

It literally watches everyone. Dustin said it himself:

A five star general that can open gates and watch. Tell us just His side of the story, messing with others memories, especially Wils, and everything related to him and el.

Aka, he can just change every detail he wants simply because he was watching.

Because his lenses were stronger than the other characters, and becuase he had and still has a devoted spy. A spy that can absorb information from inside.

And that spy is Will. even in season 4, even in the byler scenes, EVERYWHERE.

That kiiinda sounds like a hyperboly, but because the connection was there, it doesnt mean it was strong. The closer he got to hawkins, the stroger it got, thats why he felt him so intenesely at the cabin.

And here comes the unreliable narrator.

Most scenes are not shown excactly how things happen. Theyre not objective, theyre subjective, given how at least one persons pov is always involved.

This is also why there are a lot of variations of just one memory, why the void version of their timeline is slightly differrent, and why even though will saw mileven happy during the rinkomania skating scenes, an outsiders pov showed how they actually felt, dissapointed by everything.

One other thing id like to add, will MIGHT be playing the god role here too, taking in mind his ongoing connection with vecna and how this could eventually be displayed in vecnas mind if he wanted to. Hence the whole spy thing.

There was a post i read about El trading places with max and exchaging herself with a variant from another timeline, and that adds another layer to the unreliable narrator imo, thinking how the two days later el has different memories and knowledge than the el we knew from before and is now possibly dead.

The thing is, this unreliable narrator thing has SO many layers, and therfore shapes somewhat smalll plot holkes within scenes, especially in s1,2 and 4.

And it got even messier im 3 given hoe focusing solely on the mainstream 80's summer slasher movie vibe, some characters arcs were lost or outshined by others that had the chance to change their arcs for the better.

Yes, im talking about will who was sidelined a lot and then this was decided to be used as a weapon for the connection between him and the ud.

All the arcs are intertwined, but i CANT solve this untill we get s5. Its honestly frustrating like GIMME THE SOLUTION BRUHHHH

[chirpsythismorning]

Static kiss truthers live your truth

[http-byler]

☆ SUPER SPY ☆

[stevesbipanic]

You know what would be hilarious? Murray being Vecna's spy all along. He's just a really shitty general. The man has demon energy in the same way Shane Madej does. He's a chaotic little demon man. When Joyce confronts him with it he's like, "Well I have been the only one believing in the conspiracy theories I thought it was obvious I was in on it." He's just not wanting participate in Vecna's war but these silly little humans Vecna whines about all the time are so stupid he can't help himself but help them.

[your-stranger-halfblood-things]

GUYS GUYS I HAD A BIG BRAIN IDEA

So basically I'm gonna write a fic about this, but here is the idea:

Vecna kidnaps Will, and Mike goes looking for him in the Upside Down. Mike ends up dying down there by Vecna and his demo-animals. Will feels like it's his fault because Vecna is still a part of him and about the fact that he is the spy for Vecna and now his best friend (lover) is dead because of him.

I'm not sure of the ending yet, so if you have any ideas, I'm up for listening. Like do I want this to be angsty and depressing at the end? Or do I want Will to find light in his sadness? Or a secret third option?

[reikunrei]

I’ll be honest, I kind of don’t think Will’s gonna have powers 😶 like, at least not in the way that El does. I won’t be put off if he does, because I can see it making sense, but at the same time… I kind of just want it to be like. his powers are his love and compassion, his kindness and understanding. his powers are literally “kill them with kindness.”

idk it just feels�� weird? to give him actual superpowers? like I’d rather they be metaphorical than anything. because we’ve established that Vecna can’t be beaten with power and fists and fighting. so unless Will’s powers are vastly different than what we’ve seen in the show already, I just feel like it would be pointless? idk lol like. I feel like it would be way more impactful if Vecna was defeated by the “simple” act of love instead of anything directly supernatural. it would even aid in El’s personal arc that she doesn’t need to be a superhero to be important…

and like I can be swayed on this for sure, bc obviously El’s powers are strongest when she channels them through love, so boom makes sense to tie that to Will too, and I am not immune to Superpowers Are Cool, especially not in the Superpowers Are Cool TV Show, but. idk. idk! just thinking thinking…

[kore-of-the-underworld]

am i the only one who feels as if who wins the final battle in s5 depends on will

like in the show will has an almost telepatic link to vecna that we are not even sure if he (vecna) knows about

if vecna is aware of the bond there is a chance that he might once again use will to spy on the party,but if he's not and will tells the party t might work the opposite way

but its more likely for vecna knowing because then it would explain why he let will escape the UD when he was a kid(that or he has powers), there is just something about will that vecna essentially need whether it is his powers or just to use him as a spy,his mere existence is very questionable and gives me a lot of questions i hope s5 answers

[silly-jellyghoty]

I can live with this

I want kas Eddie to be a total pain in the ass for vecna. I want him to make dumb faces behind vecna's back while he's giving a menacing speech. I want him to dress up the demobats in stupid dog costumes and walk them around the upside down on leashes. I need vecna to sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose (what's left of it) whenever kas Eddie comes up with a 'master plan' but it's really just him making an excuse to go into the real world and get a burger. Vecna sends him on 'missions' so he can get some peace and quiet.

[henrysglock]

LOVE the Creelarke content, please make more!

Btw what if "Every Breath You Take" played cuz he's been spying on Scott

we got a whole ass year to go and very little to fill it!! creelarke full steam ahead!!

[fairyrona]

SO

We know that Should I Stay or Should I Go is a choice that Will will have to make in s5.

But I think we've already been given as an answer to that question.

Season 5. Chapter 1. Scene 1. The first song we hear?

Should I stay or should I go?

Season 4. The first song we hear?

The preacher knows I'm gonna stay.

The more interesting part is that,

If I go, there will be trouble / and if I stay it will be double.

Presuming that Vecna will be slowly eating away at Will, and that Will is aware of it happening? Staying might not be the good thing we're hoping it is.

Going and separating himself from the rest; denying Vecna the occasion to use him as a spy would be worse, but staying and risking a repeat of s2 is also bad.

I'm guessing it's actually gonna cause a lot of trouble.

And I love that for us.

[chirpsythismorning]

@greenfiend got it! It's his watch!

Will went from wearing his watch on his left arm for four seasons, to suddenly wearing it on his right for the final season.

Now, this may seem insignificant to some, but there are a lot of different aspects of this that make it hard to write off completely.

For starters, the only reason I noticed this was because people were freaking out that something might be wrong with Will's arm since Noah covered it up in that recent bts. But when I went back to look at it, I was instantly confused by the fact that his watch was on his right arm and not his left.

Which brings me to another aspect of this that has been talked about, but not nearly enough. There was even a tiktok someone made (that I can never find when I'm looking for it), that speculates Will is somehow being guided by the mindflayer in s3. And they had the proof to back it up too imo.

They showed how it was Will who suggested they go to the hospital in s3, and not only that, but as he was saying this, he is isolated from everyone else on his own in the background. And this continues in the hospital, with Will not being included in shots that have literally everyone else, and when he is there, there is a huge shadow next to him, with there being visible distance between him and the others.

When I saw this I was obviously shook and wanted to dig into it a little deeper, bc if this is actually happening, there's gotta be more hints pointing to it right? And I discovered that it just so happens Will chooses a different arm to reach for his neck, at a very incriminating moment in the season...

Here we have Will reaching for his neck with his left arm in 3x01.

And here we have Will reaching for his neck with his right arm, seconds before saying He's back in 3x03, and for the rest of the season up until the finale...

While editing this, I came across something a bit terrifying, and so I have to share it now.

I was rewatching some of the cabin scenes, because I figured, if there's a lot of hints that Will is compromised at Heather's and at the hospital, then why wouldn't there be hints about it at the cabin as well. And obviously there is. The main one being that the mindflayer found them in the first place. How did it do that exactly? Not to mention Will's weird sort of glances at El as she talks about the mindflayer, but to be fair you could just write that off as nerves on Will's part. So whose to say that is definitive proof that Will is compromised?

I say this next sequence most definitely is...

Here we get a pan around the room as everyone tries to help block different points in the cabin that mindflayer might try to get in from.

And here we have Will and Lucas working together to block this window.

Then we leave Will and follow Lucas around the room as he continues the effort to prevent the mindflayer from getting in.

And this continues until we make a full loop back to where we started. The first shot we get after that long pan is of Nancy grabbing the gun off the table, with Will busying himself in the background by the bookcase, in that exact same spot he was helping Lucas a few moments before.

Now, sure, you could say that Will is just being thorough here. Maybe he just wanted to make sure the bookcase was properly covering the window. Because wouldn't it be a disaster if he hadn't made sure and the mindflayer ended up entering in through that exact spot???

Oh wait... It did.

Now idk if Will is aware of what's going on. I would think he's not doing this intentionally because he's putting everyone including himself in danger.

But what I do know is that it is painfully ironic that this is happening after Mike said in the previous season that they would not let this very thing happen. And now suddenly in s3, Mike isn't there to really be a 'we' with Will anymore, at least not until it's too late. At first it's mostly Will's fault because he brushes Mike off when he asks at the movies. Fair enough. But then it happens a second time, maybe worth mentioning to Mike now, but when Will turns around, Mike is running off with El. And finally at Castle Byers after the rain fight, which is literally the moment the mindflayer apparently decides that he needs Will again, which checks out based on the events that seem to be following here... It's kind of funny, in like a tragic way, but still comical nonetheless.

But anyways, back to wrist business. Here we have the last time Will reaches for his neck in s3, and thankfully he switches back to his left arm.

What a nice way to close things off. So at least we know he's no longer compromised and is free from any sort of spying, right? Right?...

How am I'm supposed to stay calm knowing they switched to putting his watch on his right arm now?? Knowing all of this?

I mean you can even take this back to the very beginning, when Joyce said that Will had a birthmark on his right arm upon identifying his body at the morgue. They don't show us, in fact they make it quite difficult for us to see because they give us a reflection of him from inside of the room as we look on at Joyce from the window on the outside. But it's implied the birthmark was there and Joyce was just still refusing to believe it was him anyways. Because if it wasn't there, she would have used that as an argument going forward, as that was the whole of her mentioning it in the first place.

And not only that, but there is an almost eerie focus on Will's wrists throughout the entire show, which is hard to ignore when looked at all together, especially in the context of all of this.

I already covered s3 pretty extensively before this, so let's just jump to s4.

S4 is sort of the odd man out compared to the previous 3 seasons. While it's hard to pinpoint any sort of consistency here, given that they're not even in Hawkins until the very end, there still manage to be some shots that center Will's arm in a way (specifically his right arm), that I don't know if I can ignore given everything that has led up to this, and what may still lie ahead.

This is low-key reminding me of how bylers geek out over the fact that Will used his right hand to use morse code and warn them to close the gate back in s2, and the fact that it was the same hand Mike held earlier in that season, when he told him that they wouldn't let the shadow-monster spy...

Okay now it's not funny anymore...

Which one is different?

[love-byers]

....wait . there are people who don't think the show is centered around will? there are people who don't think a core part of s5 will be wills culmination as a character?? there are people who don't think the entire supernatural plot will circle back to will???

besides the fact that the duffers LITERALLY CONFIRMED that will is the center of s5...

the show itself literally tells you. that is the narrative they've been pushing the entire time.

the entire first season is about finding will. every single plotline is connected to finding will.

mike and the boys are using el to find will

jonathan and nancy are working together to hunt the monster they believe has taken will and barb

joyce is trying to communicate with will to find out where he is and how to save him

hopper is a cop investigating the case, and eventually he and joyce team up to investigate further into the lab conspiracy, believing it's tied to wills disappearance

a massive chunk of s2 is about wills connection to the upside down. he's being hunted by the mind flayer and used as a spy, causing a lot of the conflict but also leading to the resolution.

now that we know vecna was behind all of that, that open so many doors for will in s5. if you use your fucking peanut brain for 5 seconds you'll realize there are lots of things we don't know surrounding will and vecna that will come to light in s5. vecna specifically sought will out and hunted him down. remember s2?

"It wanted to kill you?"

"Not me. Everyone else."

we're also getting flashbacks of will in the upside down so we can see exactly what happened to him the week he was there. clearly there's something important we don't know about. the upside down is literally frozen on the day will went missing. but will isn't important and won't be a big part of s5?

s3 is the first time will is less significant to the plot. he still has the connection to the mind flayer and his ability to sense it is still relevant to the story and helps push it along. bit still, he had significantly less lines and screen time. much of his story is portrayed as him struggling to 'grow up' and not being interested in romance like the others. there are several jokes that present will as simply being childish and reluctant to grow out of it. which a lot of people found sort of annoying. i remember seeing a lot of people enjoying s3, but wishing will had more depth and importance.

but we now know that that's not the whole truth. all of that, him being annoyed and disinterested by romance, just wanting to play dnd with the party, and fighting with mike was all subtext leading into his sexuality and the fact that he's in love with mike. that's been confirmed by actors and the duffers themselves. though will's sexuality was always hinted at, it wasn't meant to fully come to light until s4. so they tried to pass it off as will just being childish. they tried to pass of mike and wills conflict as only being about dnd and growing up. a prime example of this is will tearing down castle byers after his fight with mike. he rips the photo of the core 4 as the ghostbusters down the middle, aka where he and mike are in the center. that is easily passed off as just being about the friend group. people BELIEVED that it was just about the friend group, and that there was no way will was in love with mike. but it's now literally confirmed that he is. like it's insane how many people never even considered that as a possibility. people literally just tune out parts of the show they don't immediately find interesting. i've seen so many comments on byler scenes, for example "it's not my fault you don't like girls", saying "wait i don't remember this scene when did he say that??" people just don't pay attention or think deeper than surface level, which in this case is okay because wills sexuality was meant to be something you slowly realized. the problem comes when people just start denying its significance and refusing to see it for what it is.

if you take in all of will's story with mike and whittle it down to "stupid gay crush on best friend" i don't know what show YOUVE been watching. did you forget that will only remembered his mom and mike when he was possessed and lost his memory? that mike recounting the day they met was enough for will to break through and communicate while possessed? that will puts mikes happiness before his own? that will has literally said he needs mike and always will?

it's not a crush that will can just get over. you know we actually have an example of a simple crush and it's dustin and max. how did that work out? dustin got over max very quickly and it's no biggie. he didn't go on a monologue about how he needs max and always will. he just thought she was cool and pretty.

also, the show spends so much time getting the audience to feel bad for will and want to see him happy. you are SUPPOSED to like him. you are supposed to have empathy for him. will is written to be extremely gentle, kind, and selfless.

will is too nice to say anything bad about anyone, even after being viscously bullied and called slurs for years. even by his own father, WHO HE STILL CANT TALK BAD ABOUT!!!

no matter how much will suffers, he remains kind and selfless. he gave a girl his tonka truck knowing joyce couldn't by him another one. mike says they shouldn't give up on looking for him because will sacrificed himself in dnd to save the party. remember the whole thing in s2 about joyce getting on will for constantly apologizing even when he did nothing wrong? there is no point to that besides evoking empathy for him!!!!! he is sweet and sensitive and doesn't deserve any of this!!!!!!!!

and about bylers being delusional for thinking will and mikes relationship will be a big part of s5 and the culmination of everything in a show about monsters killing people, here's a quote from shawn levy, who has directed many stranger things episodes

"People talk about mythology and The Upside Down, and all that is huge, but the magic of S5 are the characters who find sense of belonging with other and through that connection, become heroes."

everyone loves the stranger things relationships until they're queer. when they're queer suddenly there's no time for romance in a sci fi show, the writers actually suck, and they're just baiting. lumax and their love for each other was a core plot of the season where the big bad was trying to kill her all season. there is an entire plot point about max's memory of kissing lucas at the snow ball saving her life. in a show like this, there is time for relationships and supernatural stuff because they are interwoven when the time comes. they can do the exact same thing with byler in s5. s5 is going to be the longest season thus far. there will definitely be time for relationship development.

so yeah. call me delusional but i don't think the show will end with wills feelings for mike unresolved or with them just evaporating. given everything we know about s5 (relationships and finding belonging being an important factor, noah and finn constantly filming together, leakers saying will has a love interest) and everything we already know about the relationship formulas in ST, literally all the signs are pointing to byler. the only rebuttal people have is calling us delusional because the writers just wouldn't do that. if you actually push past the heteronormativity and consider the fact that the duffers do want to represent queer people in a way that doesn't reinforce the idea that we can never find love or be happy, things will start making a lot more sense.

i'm sorry to have to say this about mike but mike is a character presumed straight who hasn't been super relevant in the supernatural plot for 2 seasons now, just as long as will. his significant plot points are related to el or will. relationship development. and unlike will, he has been an ACTUAL asshole!!!! lots of people stopped liking mike as much after s2 because of his personality change. (ofc i still love mike, but there's been multiple plot lines about mike being a dick for no reason and apologizing for it) but no one has VISCERAL hatred for him like they do will byers. not saying mike deserves hate, cause he certainly doesn't, but the problems people have with will, they only have with will. any other character doing it is fine. 2 seaons of wills feelings for mike is boring and distracting but 2 seasons of mike having the same 'i love you' problems with el isn't?

i'm not saying the sudden hate for will is because it's now clear that he's gay but im kind of saying it

some people can't sympathize with queer issues because they don't care about queer people. they don't empathize with queer people. queer issues bore them.

will byers i will ALWAYS defend you. you are safe with me pookie