i realised everytime mike and will fight, it’s will calling mike out for being a bad friend and mike just responds with something along the lines of “im not gay”
your point about it being a core queer experience to be super possessive about one particular friend is SPOT ON. the writers clearly have an understanding of these fundamental experiences that are intrinsically related to discovering queerness and they bring that out in mike super well
exactly!! I feel like it’s a part of Mike’s character that the fandom doesn’t consider enough and would make Mike being explicitly queer make so much sense
Oh. My. God. I didn't realize that was a queer experience, holy śĥïṭ. I was *super* possessive of my best friend when I was 8, to the point where I excluded my siblings from hanging out with us and said something really cruel to one of my brothers (and my mom beat me for it). Looking back, I just thought I was a jerk (which I was), but I didn't know that was a queer thing.
@@sassylittleprophetTHE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I WAS IN 6TH GRADE. and I was a summer camp counselor for the 11/12 year old boys and I saw it happen with two of my campers
@@benwilliams3698 Possibly? It's fairly common in children, especially if they feel like a friendship is threatened or have bad experiences with loss. It can be a crush, but doesn't have to be. My childhood best friend was possessive because her parents divorced and she struggled to cope. That's a pattern I see quite commonly in students as well.
Okay, I am a HUGE Byler skeptic, but your video has definitely swayed me. Part of my skepticism stems from your point about Netflix’s homophobia, but it definitely seems more plausible based on your arguments. Now, something you didn’t mention is that in the scene where Will and Mike reconcile in Season 4, there is a track playing and I IMMEDIATELY recognized it. That track is from Season 2 and it’s called On The Bus. That track plays while Max and Lucas are on the bus about to encounter the Demodogs and is also the moment they really connect ROMANTICALLY. In this moment we KNEW Max and Lucas would get together. For that same track to play during another emotional connection between two characters, those being Will and Mike immediately shifted my viewpoint. Wonderful video, 10/10
thank you so much! I never noticed that before but that is so interesting!!! If there's one thing stranger things loves to do its call back to moments in the soundtrack, so that makes complete sense.
Id like to add that when mike went to talk to El and Will in S4 after Rinkomania, he closed Wills door and left Els open. Like maybe privacy was only required for one conversation perhaps
I've never noticed that before but that is such a good observation omg. You're so right, Mike saw his chat with Will as far more intimate than his one with El
39:07 THANK YOU OMG, he clearly grew his hair out because of Eddie and the stylist said that Mike was wearing converse because of Eddie in s4 and that he got influenced by Eddie (his clothes got darker), he had a puppy crush on Eddie like the one Dustin had on Nancy in s1 and s2
@@BrianStorm742 Well this video is an analysis of Mine character viewed from the perspective of a queer kid hiding their queerness. Which is why they will consider this act a puppy crush. I don't think there's anything bad about it!
no i absolutely LOVE mike sm. i used to dislike him because of how he acted towards his friends but then i tried to put myself in his shoes and like. yeah. he's literally a teenager who has gone through so much and has no idea how to regulate and express his emotions. also literally just a teenager. i get him SO much. he's like my ultimate kinnie. i could write so many essays about this guy about so many topics, as a queer who experienced BAD comphet. about how he can't distinguish platonic love from romantic, about how his parents' relationship affects his, about how he's genuinely so selfless and how he JUMPED. OFF. A. CLIFF. as a TWELVE YEAR OLD. for his best friend's teeth. he cares so much about his friends and el and will but he's actually so insecure as a queer in the 1980s like UGHHH. i love character studies about mike so much, and ESPECIALLY about his internalized homophobia and his queerness. this is a joy to watch. we as a society need to understand Mike Wheeler more.
I also feel like the other characters come from a more healthy household. Like if you compare Lucas and Dustin's upbringing, they come from good parents who are kind and caring toward them. Mike's family is dysfunctional, and he doesn't feel as comfortable to open up to them. I think season 5 will be when he opens up to his mom though, like when we saw her saying that she wants Mike to be able to trust her, and she wants him to feel like he can talk to her and don't have to hide anything. That HAS to come full circle (it can explain why they always kept her in the loop and made her a character poster), she will be the person that Mike comes out to first
@@growingupwithdisney ooooh that will be exciting to see Mike coming out to her! Yeah they have continued to keep Karen in the loop and I've been excited to see what big things will happen with her !
thank you so much! I completely agree with literally everything you're saying. Mike is such a complex character, but he's so misunderstood and people constantly belittle his trauma and his family circumstances as to why he's like how he is
I never noticed the blue/yellow color thing. But, now that it was mentioned: When Mike sees Eleven for the first time in Season 1 when he, Lucas and Dustin are looking for Will, she's wearing a yellow shirt. When Mike first reunites with El and Will in California, he's wearing a blue shirt with a yellow shirt over it. When he's talking to El in her room, both he and she are wearing blue shirts and the curtains in the room are yellow. Mike *could* possibly be bi. He wasn't just interested in El when she looked like a boy. When the kids were going to take her to school to get to the ham radio set, he looked pretty impressed and smitten when she came out of the room wearing a wig and a dress. He blurted that she looked pretty, then nervously covered it up saying, "GOOD. You look pretty *good.* " And his eyes did light up when she entered the Snow Ball.
Well it was established a while back that Mike's color is blue. Will is yellow and El is purple. Not only have both Mike and Will have worn both blue and yellow shirts ( especially in seasons 3 and 4 ) but Mike's bedroom is all blue, and both in Hawkins and Lenora, Will's bedroom is all yellow.
I never really caught or understood why mike and will were shipped other than will being gay; But this essay REALLY made a lot of things make sense. I can definitely say that I truly believe they might be endgame
i love how much attention you paid to the first two seasons because a lot of people gloss over that time and just talk about how close mike and will were, but there are a lot of very specific details and important transitions between s2 and s3 that are really crucial to his queer coding
thank you! I definitely agree, season 1 and 2 are often ignored but they are so essential to setting up the more explicit queer coding of season 3 and 4
even looking at mike from a pov of someone who doesn’t care what ship is endgame, it’s just so clear that’s he’s SO queer coded. i think a lot about why. like why is mike so queer coded? why did they make will be in love with mike??? if we don’t get answers to those questions in season 5 ill be really upset.
I don’t really see it. I mean, why would they pair him up with Eleven for 5 seasons just to introduce this new ship at the end of the series? It seems so rushed.
@@voiceunderthecovers it’s not a new thing though they hinted at will being in love with mike in season 3 and season 4 solidified it. It was always there but people generally don’t pay attention to it in the midst of everything else
@@Laurica-lb6nv Yeah.. but Mike never shows any attraction to Will. Like, good for Will, but this 5 season long relationship he’s had with Eleven can’t just be neglected or forgotten for the sake of a new ship that’s barely gotten any focus in the show.
Ok the way I would SCREAM if Robin and Will (my 2 favorite characters) formed a friendship ??????????!!!!! ALSO WHAT IF SHE IS THE FIRST PERSON WILL OUTRIGHT CONFESSES TO????? I would turn off the show at that point because I would be completely 100% satisfied!
i’m praying that it isn’t a Supernatural situation where will confesses and then just dies or sacrifices himself or something lol. idk why but i can see it happening
This is, flat out, the best analysis on Mike's queerness, because it's not only very detailed, but it also fully considers his relationship with El, because most analyzers either completely forget it or ignore a big part of its significance. Well done!
my parents think my obsession with mike wheeler is because i have a crush on him, but little do they know that it's actually because of his whole queer subtext and internalised homophobia. idk what they will think when season 5 comes out and my facade is unveiled
Ugghhhh I am SO READY to see Mike taunted by Vecna, dropped into the horror of the upside down version of his interactions with Will, Eleven, hell I can even imagine a brief Eddie cameo to touch on his little crush on him. AHHH AND THEN HE HAS TO FACE ALL THE FEELINGS HE HAS BEEN RUNNING FROM AHHHHH
Honestly, biggest thing is there’s a pretty hard break between Mike’s direction in seasons 1&2 and seasons 3&4, so if they go this direction they’d have to be masterful with their writing. Honestly, I don’t ship it. Let will be happy with somebody ELSE.
@@mariajosecontrerasmorales7487 lmfaoooooooo and then it jump cuts to real life and everyone around him is just like "uhh mike? mike? why are you shouting 'im not gay!'?" hahahah
This is also a problem with the way boys tend to be raised and you can see the mirror sentiment coming from his parents who , at least the mom, wanted to meet the antiquated ideas of her own 50s parents.
One of my main arguments for why Byler endgame would just straight up be better writing is Eleven herself. I’ve seen people argue that she deserves to be happy and so the writers should just keep her and Mike together and that pisses me off because it implies that the only way for her to be happy is to be in a romantic relationship which is just not true. Here’s the thing, Eleven spent her entire life being experimented on in a lab and when she finally escaped, she immediately got into a relationship with the first boy she ran into before she even knew what a romantic relationship was. Like, Mileven knew each other for a week and then they kissed. Eleven learns a lot about how the outside works through watching TV. That’s been established so many times in the show, how important TV has been to her since she escaped, and we see this in her relationship with Mike as well, she bases their entire relationship on what she sees on TV. She has nothing else to go off of. And bottomline is that El has spent her entire life being told by others what to do, how to act, who to be. She is now surrounded by people who love her and care about her but even with the best intentions both Hopper and Mike and even Max have done this to her as well. I think that Eleven deserves to be happy, and for that she needs the space to figure out who *she* wants to be without anyone else butting in. And that means letting go of her relationship with Mike because she’s not going to be able to do that as long as she’s still tied to him in that way.
I also came from tumblr, and honestly internalised homophobia really is the most sensible (if its the right word?) reason to Mike's actions, the main reason I believe byler may be canon. Especially since the alternate feels a bit ooc/digressive to Mike's character. Great video/analysis btw
I completely agree. Mike’s behaviour in season 3 and 4 doesn’t make any sense without the context of his internalised homophobia because without it we lose his likeable traits for no reason. Thank you I’m really glad you liked it!
@@jonathanshapiro6593 Right, unfortunately it's not out of the realm of possibility that it's just bad writing. The example is Hopper. His character has completely changed since third season. He became an abusive, jealous man with serious anger issues. In the first two seasons he was a very different, more complex and better character. Pop Culture Detective has a great video on Hopper.
The blue yellow thing actually represents queer colour codes as yellow is the closeted colour which makes soooo much sense with it's use here especially for mike, and blue as well as tealish colours being used are just part of the gay flag
@@lizardofthestars ooooh! I am rewatching the series after learning about queer codes and am about to start season 4 😵💫 I can't wait to see it all haha !
@@lizardofthestars okay ! I just watched and I found a particular scene weird.. it's when they're in the upside down and Steve is shirtless and he has this kinda flirty moment with Nancy and then all of a sudden Eddie interrupts it by throwing a jacket at his face and says "for ur modesty" (to cover himself) and eddie looked kinda pissed I think so idk it felt like he was jealous hehe cuz there was no need to interrupt a romantic moment and make him cover his *handsome body that Nancy seemed attracted to 😭
Yep, it's surprisingly common in queer media. The likes of Heartsopper heavily lean into the blue and yellow colour scheme. I think Young Royals uses it a bit too.
This video expresses everything I've felt for a long time. As a massive Mike fan during S1 and 2, it just utterly blew my mind how different he seemed out of nowhere in S3 and 4(S3 in general just felt so different from the previous 2 seasons. The Upside Down is one of the central pieces of conflict in S1 and 2. But in S3 we only see it one time and that's when Billy first tries calling for help). Mike is one of the core members in S1 and is an extremely helpful person to Will in S2. But in S3 he just gets relegated to being El's boyfriend. It just never made sense. And if S5 reveals that Mike doesn't have any reason for suddenly switching his behavior around Will, the show will have essentially turned one of its best characters into one of the most insufferable for no reason. Mike doesn't care that Lucas ends up dating Max despite his initial dislike of her. Nor does he react negatively to Dustin dating Suzie. So why does Mike react so negatively at the beginning of S4 when he's under the impression that Will might like a girl? It is the first thing he asks about upon seeing Will so we're meant to know it's important. But if Mike is 100% straight, his interactions for the past two seasons literally just stop making sense. I really hope season 5 doesn't let us down. Not just as a Byler fan. But as a Will AND Mike fan in general
This video made me see everything in a new light… I always thought Will was gay and read all the subtext easily (I suppose because I relate to Will more?) but I never really understood all the byler hype because I wasn’t sure they would ever canonically make Mike gay (especially because him and eleven are so popular). Hell I wasn’t even sure they would ever acknowledge it with Will until season 4 dropped either! This video though man, it had me saying “I never noticed that” out loud several times! This video really convinced me byler is the way to go (and simply the much better relationship!) but I’m gonna try not to get my hopes up too high although I believe in the shows ability to make this happen (with what they’ve already written and laid out for us) im still not convinced they’ll do it. You’ve got me really excited for season 5 though! And okkkk TH-cam this was the last stranger things video I needed, I’ll rewatch now!!
thank you so much! I'm really glad I convinced you. I just think that all the evidence so obviously points to the only satisfying ending being byler endgame - you just need to know where to look for the evidence! :)
damn this was your FIRST video essay? easily my FAVOURITE video essay now from the first minutes on, enjoyed literally EVERY SECOND of it!!! truly amazing, the amount of time you put into this with such extremely deep and detailed research and observation just truly blew my mind!! thank you so so much for this, I love it :)
thank you so so much! it was quite a long process but I enjoyed it so much and hopefully ill have more material soon to do some further byler analysis! :)
i want to definitely keep my delusions in check as someone who’s shipped byler since 2017 after season 2 , but i think mike will end up being an incredibly badly written character if he didn’t have internalised homophobia. giving him a ‘homophobic’ arc towards will would make no sense considering how protective he had been of will in s1 & 2. love the video !! you pointed out everything i couldn’t explain with words lol
im a byler truther after this video. i now have come to the conclusion that s3 and s4 were received so poorly because the audience didn’t pick up on the queer subtext and probably most still wont until after s5. then everyone will rewatch the show and realize everything they missed and praise the later seasons. otherwise, they fumbled the script horrendously. god please let them be gay together
I truly dont rely on these writers to nail this, even though theyve stumbled onto an easy goldmine of writing gold. Usually its the easy successes that get completely destroyed by writers who squander their own works.
Recently I was recommended a ton of byler videos and i watched a lot of them. I really like all the analysis and theories, especially since Mike and Eleven relationship is quite bad since season 3. But I can't stop thinking about Destiel in Supernatural. There was a lot of subtext, even more sometimes. But in the end we got nothing. That's why I watch those videos lightly because I fear that a lot of byler stan will be disappointed
Ohh, i can relate. I wasn't a Destiel fan in the beginning, then stopped watching for a few years and then when I saw some clips of Dean talking about Cas I was immediately like: "OMG, they're really doing that! They're definitely gonna confirm they're gay! Wow", but then I got into the show again and well... the 15x18 happened and there was the most terrible ending for the show. I really hope the creators of Stranger Things are not gonna do something like that. I mean, I am still mad about Supernatural and Supergirl where there was A LOT of subtext and the showrunners could've made them such beautiful slowburns, but they chose to just queerbait their whole audiences FOR YEARS. At least Destiel got confirmed sort of, but what they did with Supergirl is just illegal 😑 I really have hope for Byler, although I've gotta take a lot of fan theories with a grain of salt 😥
@@virginialee5065 Exactly I didn't even watch Supernatural but the backlash was so big. And unfortunately for stranger things even though there is some things that can be read as queercoded for Mike, I feel the arguments are a little light compared to Destiel. Like I said I didn't watch the show but I saw videos like this one, collecting every clues and I can be pretty safe to say it was clear queerbating. I feel like almost every one watching Supernatural shipped Destiel, and same goes for Supergirl as you described it, but for Byler the opinions are more divised. And sometimes I do feel people are overanalyzing it, like I didn't think Mike was queercoded before stambling upon those types of videos. For Will it's more clear. And I do feel bad for him because my boy deserves to be happy.
Oh God, you just made me relive the trauma of Destiel... I really hope it won't be the case here. But if it is... then fanfictions at least still exist.
have you listened to the songs in Finn's playlist "STurn"? it was confirmed by Caleb that the cast made playlists for their characters in s5 and STurn is Finn's playlist for Mike, it has songs with lyrics like "besides i don't wanna be the one who's coming out first" which means Mike wants Will to come out first as gay before him because he's scared, and lyrics like "it's so easy to lie to myself and pretend that i could love you but i can't" which is about Mike's pov of mlvn, he can't love El because he's gay and it has a song about a milkshake and about how a relationship wasn't built to last (mlvn, they had milkshakes in s4) and in s5 Mike is wearing Will's shoes ( 1:10:22 ) which is a thing for couples and Will is wearing Mike's clothes, plus they made Will spell "lover" in the words game in a bts picture ( 1:10:48 ) because he's gonna have a lover (Mike) and a reliable leaker said that Will's love interest (boyfriend) is gonna be Mike, Will is definitely staying at Mike's which would be perfect for them as a couple 1:14:37 according to a leaker Mike's s5 arc: self-discovery (being gay) and not trying to be normal anymore (not trying to be straight anymore, El's s5 arc : self-discovery and familiar love (family) and Millie said that El is trying to find out who she is without Mike and her arc is about being independent
STurn is so interesting I have listened to it so many times!! All the lyrics are so fun to analyse and I really think it completely hints to how his arc is going to play out in season 5. I really hope post season 5 Finn talks about it in interviews and his thought process behind it.
@@EggyEggPie the music video for that particular song is... /quite/ interesting haha, I'd recommend checking it out! it definitely has queer vibes as well as a character very very reminiscent of Will
@@miahh_5185they mean that they believe what they planned for the show they created is Byler, but then becomes doubtful when remembering they are two straight yt men
@@diosito9161THAT'S EXACLY WHY I T THINK!!!! Also until the duffers say word by word that they are straight I am not going to believe anyone, they did all this! I not only trust them, I know these are their plans and I love them for that.
6:50 in this scene they played lyrics that say "and we kissed as though nothing could fall" while he was thinking about Will and in s3 when they used this song again they cut those lyrics, they're reserved to Byler
Every day I'm torn between "there is no way mike doesn't end up loving will" and "you're crazy, do you really think they would make the protagonist of one of the most popular series gay" but videos like this one help me ease the conflict lol
This is a real and valid reading of the material, and I agree that it would be a good way to salvage Mike's dogshit character writing. Queer folks (myself included) have been "seeing things" in media for literal centuries. It's a long tradition. Do I think it was in any way intentional by the writers? Fuck no. The Duffers are two cishet gen x men who set out to make a nostalgia-bait 80s anthology series and ended up with something that very quickly became too unwieldy for them. Please please please continue to "see things that aren't there," ship who you want, MAKE ART, but don't give the Duffers credit for something YOU had the extraordinary creativity and insight to make and see. It might (MIGHT) go canon, but if it does, it was because y'all saw something amazing in the show that the creators didn't.
Ohhh your mention of the theory that Mike wrote a letter to Will which was signed it as ‘love Mike’… it got me thinking. What if that ties into the Will’s “forgotten” birthday plot line? What if the reason that Mike “forgot”, why he didn’t bring Will a gift or even a card, was that he signed it as ‘love Mike’ and freaked tf out over it. That’s why he refuses to acknowledge Will’s birthday
42:32 plus he has no idea Will is gay and he was literally thinking that Will made a painting for a girl he liked (and he got jealous about it but tried not to show it)
OMG. omg. This video essay OPENED MY EYES. I used to think people who believed Byler would become canon were delusional (sorry!). I thought, even though Will was very clearing pining over Mike and Mileven seemed kinda like a sunk ship, I thought, no way does Mike return Will's feelings. No way Mike Wheeler would be queer. (admittedly, I've only watched each season once and its been a hot minute).... THIS VIDEO ESSAY THOUGH. I was HOOKED. I was CONVINCED. The way you laid out all of the evidence made it seem so clear. You connected all the dots throughout all four seasons to reveal this beautifully intricate picture of Mike's queerness and how that has impacted his character. If the Duffer brothers make Byler official in season five (which is looking like a very real possibility!!),,,,,,, that would be MONUMENTAL. oh my god. The two main characters from one of the biggest shows of the past decade,,,,,,, getting together and being happy,,,,,,,,, breaking off the central straight ship of the show that actually does not work very well,,,,,,,,, not going with the sad gay unrequited crush on the main character,,,,,,,,, the over arching depiction of internalizated homophobia,,,,,,,, ohh my goddddddd....... It's making me sick, I want this is happen SO BAD now!!!! Also, this was your FIRST video essay?????? I am seriously impressed. 80 minutes of well-thought out, well organized, and well articulated content! I'm looking forward to your next video essays, whatever they may be on!!!!
to be honest i never finished stranger things, the last i watched was season 3, but this made me want to do a rewatch to pay more attention to this!! as a queer kid i did pick up on byler even back then just like many of us did, but seeing everything wrapped up nicely in this video was very satisfying!!! thank you for this :)
thank you!! You should definitely give it a rewatch and watch season 4. Once you look at it with this context it is so fun to pick out the bits you missed, and season 4 is great even without the progression of byler
Honestly I see myself and Mike I even treated my bff I had a crush on horribly because I was afraid to fall deeper for her. Externalized homophobia really is a terrible thing.
I wonder if perhaps in the final season, because the Duffers said a lot of people are going to die, maybe El ends up dying. She is the gateway to the Upside Down in a sense. Maybe they also almost lose Will. I definitely don’t think Will will die; the whole first season revolved around him almost dying. It would be completely anticlimactic in terms of the overarching plot to kill him off (also, the poor thing has had a rotten time of it in all the seasons so far, and the Duffers said the final season would be great for Will. They even fixed that rotten bowl cut of his!). Maybe El sacrifices herself for Will because he was implanted with that slug that ties him to the Upside Down as well. Maybe that kind of kicks off the protective feeling in Mike again, you know, [i.e., Will almost dying]? Maybe somehow Mike and Will end up together at the end. I do think Mike admires El and loves her in a way, but I think it’s significant he always calls her a ‘superhero.’ It’s more childlike admiration at how cool and badass she is, and a lot of internalized homophobia and repression of any small feelings he may have in the other direction. It would make sense to me that maybe Mike and Will kissed at some point before Mike met El [just a little peck or something, but that would be a big deal in both their minds in a time where being gay is such a big deal and bad], as Will is so sure of his love for Mike when he confesses to him in season 2. The way he talks about ‘us’ and the painting and all that suggests they had some history that Mike abandoned out of fear and admiration/crush on El (perhaps his admiration/awe for the girl, confusingly mixing into his hope to be straight, and in his innocence he’s like, this is close enough to love?). It would also explain his unnecessary harshness towards tender-hearted Will, especially in season 4. He is aggressively rejecting him out of fear. It is rural Christian America in the 80s, after all, so repression and fear would make sense! I also think it’s hinted Mike had a crush on Eddie - a cute older boy he admires. I think there’s something bubbling under the surface that’s subtly suggested by the ‘Fever’ (the song being about being struck with a feverish crush one cannot shake) song choice being laid over Mike’s POV. Also, he’s giving major puppy heart eyes while staring at Eddie. Also, for repressed Mike, who may be in denial of his true nature [bisexuality? whatever feelings towards the same sex, whatever form they take], that would make his life difficult in his small Christian community. This one-sided crush could be a refuge for him. Eddie is almost a celebrity or cult leader type figure, and this one-sided love, admiration, service, crush sort of thing fits the bill anyway [as in it’s sort of socially appropriate in this context, for the socially conscious Mike this may provide him a refuge for his feelings, even if for Mike it climbs a bit past just admiration for Eddie]. He can love him quietly in a sense. Additionally, Eddie being older as well as his celebrity/cult-leader-like status to Mike probably makes him feel out of reach and a ‘safe’ object of affection and crush in a sense for Mike. It might even be that Mike’s private acknowledgment of his feelings and attraction to Eddie makes it easier to accept the love of his best friend Will, who is sweet but whose affection is repulsive to Mike. Perhaps it helps Mike realize this repulsion is not due to his sexuality but to his fear and internalized homophobia. Look up the video “Mike Wheeler’s POV on Eddie Munson” by Emily; her description also does a beautiful job explaining the subtext. Anyway, just my two cents :)
this was a phenomenal video essay! it made very important points that some others definitely do miss and I think you really highlighted the importance that making stranger things into essentially a queer allegory could hold. if they actually make season 5 as we hope they will, they would have genuinely gave a gay relationship more developments, hints and build up than a straight one, it will not be something relegated to the side lines. It would make Mike truly an excellent portrayal of growing up queer and dealing with confusion, comphet and internalised homophobia and that would be a very valuable, true to life, complex expression of queer identity in such a mainstream show! I think it's likely to happen more so because religion is emphasised as a theme is season 4 and it would tie to the plot somewhat loosely if it wasn't used to highlight Mike's queerness and overall pre conceptions to adhere to traditional heteronormative values. It's even directly linked to the plot as when Eddie is introduced and presented as a freak, one of the first thing he says is "sodomy" and he is later on developed as viewed by the conservative town as a satanist cult leader. Also I heard they were filming in a church quite a lot for season 5, specifically Mike and Will scenes so I feel like that only adds to the context of internalised homophobia framed through religious guilt.. Anyway that was so great, I loved it!
thank you so much! Mike as a character has so much potential, and just like you said by showing that explicitly on screen it would be so monumental. So many people would finally see themselves portrayed on screen and it would make the whole show groundbreaking!
32:43 oh my gosh i love your point about childhood = accepting queerness and how in this scene he was leaning into that!! it is also important to note that he interrupted himself after talking about toys, saying, 'sorry that made me sound like a seven year old'. i think it also shows that he still struggled a lot with accepting his queerness
It's really refreshing to see a queer-coding analysis that focuses on the writing aspect of Stranger Things compared to a lot of analysis videos which focus on the visual clues (not that I don't adore those videos too lol). Thanks for making this video!
I recently rewatched Stand By Me, now as an adult and got VERY queer vibes between two of the main boys of the group, Gordie and Chris. Chris shares the same overprotective feeling towards Gordie that Mike shows for Will. Would love to see a comparison, especially because Stand By Me is an obvious inspiration for Stranger Things (a group of weird tween boys looking for a body)
There’s an analyst who’s a fan of Byler that does this exact comparison!! Lesbianmindflayer It’s been quite a while since her last vid so not sure if she still doing them but the vids are all still there
Byler is actually parallelled with scenes of Gordie and Chris at least 2 times that I can think of, once in s2 (when Will wakes up from a nightmare/vision) and once in s3 (Will and Mike's last convo before Will moves away). like the above comment says, I'm pretty sure Lesbianmindflayer points out both these instances, and it's just a great channel overall for anyone interested in Byler
This is a pretty good analysis! The only thing I feel different about is that I think Mile is gay and no bi, I don't think he ever had romantic feelings for Eleven.
i agree with this so bad. ive always seen it as el was mike's first female friend, and since liking girls was expected of him, he attributed his genuine care for her wellbeing as romantic love. also just a handful of comphet. liking the opposite gender just cuz you _"have"_ to.
@@azr3ii Exactly! It was the heteronormativity. It was also interesting how they stressed so many times in season 1 that she didn't even look like a girl, she looked like a boy. I think that's what made it easier for him to think he likes her, my guy probably didn't realize he was gay. I think he realized it in season 3.
I genuinely find it really hard and farfetched to see Mike as gay and not bi. You’d have to be a bit oblivious to not read his feelings for El (in Season 1 and 2, mostly) as absolutely romantic. Two things can be true at once. He had genuine romantic feelings for both parties at different periods in time. I don’t really see the point in trying to steer him to a single direction. I think it’s fine to headcanon a show to fit your own sensibilities if you so can, but pretending the writers didn’t mean something they clearly did is weird to me. (Also, mind you, this is coming from someone monosexual myself).
@@20000dino I'm not sure why, but it seems to bother you that people interpret Mike as gay. When we're talking about queer coded characters, the writers' intent is really unclear and I really don't think you're the authority on whether they wrote Mike to have romantic feelings for El 😅 We're all speculating and having fun here, imo Mike's dynamic with El can be easily read as a comphet situation. This isn't us viewing the media incorrectly, just differently than you are.
I'd almost managed to forget how pissed off I was about the cancelling of "I am not OK" and then you reminded me, how dare you! 😭 Also, utterly amazing first video essay, I loved it and strongly agree that internalised homophobia/biphobia is one of the only ways his actions make any sense.
I love videos like this! Please consider putting subtitles or including a transcript for disabled viewers so we can fully enjoy it without having to rewind constantly 🙏🏽
@@Elvele hey TH-cam annoyingly won’t let me turn on automatic subtitles for this but my tumblr mutual is working on subtitling the entire video so I’ll let you know once it’s done! :)
I was really not seeing the byler storyline and thought people were a bit delusional even though I'm a lesbian (mainly because queer-baiting shows traumatized me) But now ? Not only you convinced me, but also hyped me SO MUCH. This would such an amazing story. I'd love for Eleven to finally be on her own, independant. You also reconciled me with Mike, who was my favorite character at first. I'll be sooo disappointed if it's not the case, and Netflix homophobia is not making me confident.
it’s a very common experience to not at all see byler until someone points it out with proof XD i realised after s3 came out when people were showing all the parallels
this is CRAZY u are so right this is true like u completely convinced me. the clear patterns and behavior you pointed out makes it seems so obvious. thanks for all your work on this! awesome analysis.
I saw your post on tumblr that you were gonna post this video an i got so excited!! this is such a good analysis, thank you for putting in the work!! ^^
thank you so much!!! I had so much fun making the video because it was so satisfying joining everything up in each season and seeing how that made him queer or showed his internalised homophobia. He’s a way more complicated character than so many people think.
THANK YOU SO SO MUCH for dropping an hour n a half mike wheeler queer analysis while we're nearing the end of 2024- it's been a long time since I felt optimistic about the finale of this series after that cast chaos, especially noah and so on. Hearing all the classics pointed out combined with your great commentary was such a joy to sit through! I felt like a dying plant on a desert being watered for the first time in a decade lol
thank you so much!! I honestly feel like all us bylers are dying plants in the desert but analysis and Tumblr is honestly how I survive. I feel like we just need to remind ourselves that why would they introduce a love triangle in the first place is if its going to end with the same couple it started with.
That's exactly what I've been thinking: it would be such a great storytelling if Mike was queer, but such terrible, sloppy storytelling if he wasn't. And I'm so glad to see a Byler supporter who can acknowledge the possibility that the latter might turn out to be the truth, rather than put the Duffers on a pedestal. But I do hope Byler is canon, even if I'm not convinced it will be.
i was quite shocked when you said this was your first video essay, it's so well made! Your editing, narration and points made are great, the audio is a little weird, but it doesn't take away the quality of the video, good job!
thank you so much! I've been wanting to make one for a while so I've watched loads haha. I was bit stuck with the audio because I had to record on my phone, but hopefully I can get a microphone in the future!
this is one of those things that I've noticed signs of while watching, but this video puts them together in such a comprehensive way. lovely first video!
I really hope they make it explicitly cannon that mike is queer at least to a degree, I don’t really ship him with either will or eleven very much but i feel like it would make it a lot more fully fleshed, and hopefully give el a good opportunity to not lean on mike so much emotionally when he doesn’t really treat her the way she needs. i always found it a little sad watching el care so much about her relationship with mike but it doesn’t seem reciprocated well, and it feels like she needs to be able to stand on her own. personally i think itd suck to just keep them together, but that’s just how i think 😭
I am a 34yo lesbian watching random videos while on the office, in China. Now, I really don't care too much about Mike and Will because I never payed enough attention, but after this video, i guess i am a shipper now. Thanks or not thanks, come back later and will let you know hahha.
I watched this video twice today. The second watch came from sending it to a friend and without noticing I clicked on the link myself and let it play again. Didn't bother to stop it, since it's a great video that was worth watching twice
crazy thing is that when byler happens bc honestly the way they frame them together in general is pointing to that and with all the hints....if it doesnt happen it will just be bad writting and them destroying mike's character for no reason which i dont believe they would do so yeah the crazy thing is that people will really come out and say that this relationship was forced and it doesnt make sense like i can already see that
It’s forced cuz they wrote themselves into a corner, if they don’t make byler, it’s bad writing, if they do make byler, they frankly didn’t do a good job showing us any interest in will from mike in season four.
@@jonathanshapiro6593 honestly kinda true the hints are extremely subtle if you don't analyze them like that you can't see them to be frank I only started seeing it when I watched season 4 and then after watching these types of videos I realized I missed many hints and they almost seem obvious now also I mostly take as concrete evidence the hints that involve the production like the camera work ,lighting,wardrobe,backgrounds and stuff like that bc you know for a fact whatever is there would be on purpose since they are prepared from scratch and most of those are very valid but the majority of viewers doesn't pay attention to things like that so yeah....
@seelesims honestly it might just be that but also I don't think the viewers are given the chance to see them bc mileven is so in their face that they can't consider anything else or not even think about it
Also, if any show were to do this - and many would not, even with how traitorous to the narrative integirty it would be - I think the show about outcasts that remember, was not intended to be as big as it is, and had homophobia as a major antagonist from episode 1 is more likely to. Lots of shows wouldnt and NETFLIX might often not, but they've been renewed. Season 5 won't be cancelled. From here, they can do what they as writers want.
damnnn. damn. i really never thought of it more than will having a one-sided thing for mike but this video essay is hella convincing me. i don’t think netflix itself has the guts to go for a byler ending but that doesn’t mean it’s not what the writers wanted or intended.
i had no idea people hated mike... ive always seen him as a very realistic boy going through puberty and changing and that causing friction between him and his friends
I mean for a tv show with an actual narrative and themes... I don't think that's a good enough reason to go 180 on your friends There needs to be a bigger reason here for such DRASTIC character change. If it was a minor change, I can see the writers playing into that concept. But no. Mike isn't a real boy that just behaves randomly and does random things because of nothing but hormones and because he's "human". He's not actually a living person, he's a fictional IDEA created by adults. All his actions and choices are planned out by someone, and they need to serve the greater story or it'll be scrapped for more important storylines.
@@moveslikeninja1 i never felt like mike really... changed that drastically. he just grew up and at that age people get selfish and focus more on themselves and can forget others have feelings. i didnt even know people hated mike until now bc to me he was always just a very well written, realistic depiction of a teen boy. its honestly one reason i like the show so much. if the characters didnt feel real and have real life issues to contend with alongside the monsters and stuff, id probably not be as invested frankly
this video has my heart. thanku so much for 1 hr 20 min of analysis, mad respect. i so look forward to things u mentioned: who will mike call when he will be in distress, mike confronting his queerness in vecnaland, mike and will having a real mutual intimate moment and unguarding their true feelings for each other. And lastly, Mainstreaming LGBTQ centrality through mike and will which could potentially make this show seminal in TV series category. if byler is the endgame then i must say Duffer brothers are two geniuses, their deeper understanding of real homosexual experiences is impressive to me. i am glad their story wasn't rushed but given enough time to develop, its subtle and yet its there, much like how real feelings are. The way Mike is a "normal mike" around "his girlfriend eleven" even when they are alone together ! but he gets awkwardly nervous around his "best friend will" is perfect case for slow-burn, sexual tension, crush taking away ur mental peace kinda thing which is to die for. if they kill mike or will, i will question everything, As the cliched template for mainstream shows: the 'BURY UR GAYS TROPE' to never award gay couple a happy ending is signature lazy unimaginative storyline syndrome. i expect duffer brother to do justice to stranger things in S5.
thank you so much! It has the potential to be such a beautiful story because, like you said, there's so many complexities and nuances to their relationship. I absolutely can't wait for what happens in season 5!
SOMEBODY ELSE IS ALSO UPSET ABOUT THE SHOW "I'M NOT OKAY WITH THIS' IM FINALLY NOT THE ONLY ONE!!!!!!!!!!! Ended it on a goddamn cliffhanger and then fucked off into the sun without finishing the damn story!!! Wtf netflix!!! ALso yes, I cannot fucking wait for season 5, the Duffer Bros wrote themselves into a deep hole. I hope they can get themselves out and that Byler can be canon.
I think you seriously _underestimate_ the intensity and severity of homophobia in the 1980s. Merely being accused was cause of immediate and relentless physical assault. The idea of having teens coming out in a regular high school and not being instantly violently ostracized by everyone, is the nice but frankly least realistic part of Stranger Things. That sort of thing could only happen in the most radical communities in that decade.
It scares me a lot the amount of hate from the general audience from the monster that is Stranger Things when they explicitly reveal Mike's queernes, because at least for me (and I know not just me) thats the only way (eliminating the possibility that he's just a jerk, which I hate cause we already seen he's not), and because the story it's been building up so great, so human to be possibly rejected. Thank you for sharing, this is very well done! BYLER ENDGAME🗣🗣 hashtagmikesapologistalways
Look, I really enjoyed the video. But I was in the trenches during the johnlock conspiracy. It's fun to try and read into things and explain away weird decisions by the creators, but please prepare yourself for the likely end result being that the show was just bad. Sometimes they don't do more takes, not because they thought the acting was perfect, but because they were out of time or money or skill or anything. Sometimes the writers just write badly, either because of interference or because no-one can be perfect. Sometimes a show you think is an ally turns out to have some really messed up takes in retrospect. Sometimes, a one way sign is just a white elephant. Have fun, but take care.
Every single time I think about Mike/Will and how awfully Mike treated him later on, my mind drifts to the Reagan sign in front of Mike’s house. The show has always had some underlying political/social commentary happening. Mike coming from a “haves” situation while Will, like most of us, is among the “have nots”. Mike’s parents are together with a stay-at-home mom and a father working a steady job while Will’s single mom struggles with her job at a local store. Couple this societal hierarchy (one which Mike didn’t seem to care about early on, Will was his best friend full-stop regardless of class/queerness) with the way Reagan supercharged homophobia in the 80s, well, we’ve got ourselves a recipe for a very difficult/confused teenager. Unless his family ends up broke, being queer is literally the only thing that will force Mike from his position of privilege. That’s a terrifying realization but it could make for some compelling TV. Fingers crossed the Duffers land the plane with the last season! So much of this feels intentional that a serious misstep will be such a missed opportunity.
I stopped being interested in Stranger Things during season 3 so I've been off the bandwagon for a while, but this is honestly such a good essay and as a queer person, there were a LOT of queer coded scenes between the protagonists. I'm not saying they're all gay, but they're all definitely within the spectrum of queer and I feel like the fandom should talk more about that possibility
AHHH! YOU SOLD ME. i thought byler was plausible but i never noticed it came so strongly from both sides. seeing the car painting scene with will crying just made me wail. i really hope the writers continue to be smart for the final season. this show is a gem. also, if you’re reading this, your analysis was fantastic. i haven’t been thinking about stranger things for at least a year now. thank you for such a thorough and passionate video :-)
haven’t watched the video yet but mike makes me emotional and i love him so i know im gonna love this one edit: one minute in and im literally going to cry thinking about him!!
I think it would be a great move to have Mike and El not stay with each other, if anything because they were literal children when they got together. The reason that they haven't been working in the past couple of seasons may simply be because they're growing up. Puppy love is cute and a very special stage of development in a person's young life, but it doesn't stand on the same foundation as _real_ love that's made to last, and that's communication and trust. Two things Mike and El haven't been able to establish together leaving childhood.
I just wouldn’t get your hopes up. There was even more evidence for Sherlock/John in the final season of Sherlock and we were bitterly disappointed, to the point where some johnlockers needed to call s****** hotlines. I’d hate to see will/Mike shippers the same. You can hope but…I wouldn’t count on it ever becoming canon, honestly.
this is definitely valid but i feel like the creators of stranger things would be more open to a main queer relationship considering their openness with queerness within the show. in sherlock it was just queerbaiting
Yeah this whole video is like TJLC whiplash to me. Probably just another fan analysing a show better than its creators. That being said, Sherlock's hints towards Johnlock were typically either pointless little things that fans convinced themselves were hints, or overt explicit queerbaiting. Hints regarding Mike and Will are too subtle to fall into that last category, at least.
Comparing a show made by the BBC, to a Netflix show, is ridiculous. The two studios are so different. Netflix made sex education and other VERY explicitly queer shows, bbc has done nothing even close.
A show's writing is never bad on purpose. Queer readings are always valid, and I can see a world where they MAYBE (and that's a real maybe) do something with Mike, but his writing in s3 and 4 is just bad. Finn Wolfhard is super checked out in s3, and mostly back on his game in s4, but I can promise you that wasn't intentional.
@@Futurebound_jpg "BBC has done nothing close" don't get me wrong, I'm not gonna go to bat for the BBC of all things, but they've produced and distributed shows that have significant queer characters, plotlines, and themes too (Killing Eve, Torchwood, Gentleman Jack, and some recent episodes of Doctor Who just to name a few off the top of my head). Torchwood really pushed the envelope at the time from what I understand when it comes to the sheer amount and quality of queer representation. Both Netflix and the BBC have the typical studio homophobia that they hold onto because they're scared of alienating the prejudiced portions of their audiences
great video giving a comprehensive breakdown of all the signs pointing to mike's queerness! i've watched ST but have no connection to the fandom but heard people shipping byler. before this video i figured it was just a case of a fandom shipping mlm just for the vibes since i hadn't seen anyone breakdown mike's queerness like this, but now i'm fully on board. as much as i would adore for them to become canon (or at least acknowledge mike's queerness) and think it would be brilliant writing, i'm unfortunately traumatized and have seen writers fumble at not taking the chance to make their writing make sense by making one of the leads queer / making an mlm ship endgame (cough supernatural cough cough dean winchester cough destiel) so i'm gonna go into season 5 expecting absolutely nothing so that i won't get my heart broken and might get pleasantly surprised in the end if they do actually acknowledge it 😁
I think season 4 is definitely the strongest evidence for byler and Mike’s internalized homophobia. Before season 4 I always knew that Will was probably queer and that he even might have a crush on Mike but I never thought Mike might reciprocate. Even the first time I watched season 4 I picked up on Mike acting strange but I was thinking maybe he’d figured out wills feelings for him or something but going back and reflecting on it it really doesn’t seem like will is acting different or weird at all it’s all Mike just trying to “act normal” in a way that feels way too forced and hints at internalized homophobia. Then learning about all of the subtle clues like the yellow/blue color theory and the comparisons with the shows other couples it seemed like way too much to be a coincidence especially with how much work goes into all of the subtle details in this show
I really want you to right, but I'm actually terrified that Mike's decline really just stems from bad writing since he's mot the only character it's happening to
ur mic is not superb but it's good enough and what matters is the message you are presenting... and it was really good! this is a very well made Analysis. It did improved around 25 minute mark
video just started (40 secs in) but i love mike so much no matter what bc hes got that disaster bisexual energy that i relate to. i hope little man gets his shit sorted next season
i realised everytime mike and will fight, it’s will calling mike out for being a bad friend and mike just responds with something along the lines of “im not gay”
When Mike thinks will is precieving them in a romantic and will just says “we used to be best friends” like Mike u literally lost aura in that scene
@@rubisocoolmwah exactly!
the thing is he doesn't even know Will is gay, it was confirmed by Finn twice
@byler.truther8129 I think whats even more ironic is that for years noah schnapp has outright denied will being gay
"I'm not gay, Mike." _shuts door_
your point about it being a core queer experience to be super possessive about one particular friend is SPOT ON. the writers clearly have an understanding of these fundamental experiences that are intrinsically related to discovering queerness and they bring that out in mike super well
exactly!! I feel like it’s a part of Mike’s character that the fandom doesn’t consider enough and would make Mike being explicitly queer make so much sense
Oh. My. God. I didn't realize that was a queer experience, holy śĥïṭ. I was *super* possessive of my best friend when I was 8, to the point where I excluded my siblings from hanging out with us and said something really cruel to one of my brothers (and my mom beat me for it).
Looking back, I just thought I was a jerk (which I was), but I didn't know that was a queer thing.
@@sassylittleprophetTHE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I WAS IN 6TH GRADE. and I was a summer camp counselor for the 11/12 year old boys and I saw it happen with two of my campers
Wait is this why my best friend during my childhood was possessive of me? Cause I was of him as well in a way. Dam.
@@benwilliams3698 Possibly? It's fairly common in children, especially if they feel like a friendship is threatened or have bad experiences with loss. It can be a crush, but doesn't have to be.
My childhood best friend was possessive because her parents divorced and she struggled to cope. That's a pattern I see quite commonly in students as well.
Okay, I am a HUGE Byler skeptic, but your video has definitely swayed me. Part of my skepticism stems from your point about Netflix’s homophobia, but it definitely seems more plausible based on your arguments. Now, something you didn’t mention is that in the scene where Will and Mike reconcile in Season 4, there is a track playing and I IMMEDIATELY recognized it. That track is from Season 2 and it’s called On The Bus. That track plays while Max and Lucas are on the bus about to encounter the Demodogs and is also the moment they really connect ROMANTICALLY. In this moment we KNEW Max and Lucas would get together. For that same track to play during another emotional connection between two characters, those being Will and Mike immediately shifted my viewpoint. Wonderful video, 10/10
thank you so much! I never noticed that before but that is so interesting!!! If there's one thing stranger things loves to do its call back to moments in the soundtrack, so that makes complete sense.
Id like to add that when mike went to talk to El and Will in S4 after Rinkomania, he closed Wills door and left Els open. Like maybe privacy was only required for one conversation perhaps
That's interesting. What he sees as more intimate. Also, other little details. Hers is open to start. 3 inches😢
I've never noticed that before but that is such a good observation omg. You're so right, Mike saw his chat with Will as far more intimate than his one with El
Nah it’s probably a callback to hopper
@@jonathanshapiro6593 I think they meant that her leaving it open was but him not closing it might not have been
39:07 THANK YOU OMG, he clearly grew his hair out because of Eddie and the stylist said that Mike was wearing converse because of Eddie in s4 and that he got influenced by Eddie (his clothes got darker), he had a puppy crush on Eddie like the one Dustin had on Nancy in s1 and s2
@@byler.truther8129 or he just admired Eddie and wanted him to find him cool
EXACTLY! Dustin was always closer to Eddie than Mike so why not just get him to imitate Eddie's style in season 4 unless Mike had a little crush
@@BrianStorm742 There is very little difference between those two things when you're a gay teenager discovering yourself.
@@jijitters I'm well aware due to personal experience, but there is a difference and it matters for the outcome.
@@BrianStorm742
Well this video is an analysis of Mine character viewed from the perspective of a queer kid hiding their queerness. Which is why they will consider this act a puppy crush.
I don't think there's anything bad about it!
no i absolutely LOVE mike sm. i used to dislike him because of how he acted towards his friends but then i tried to put myself in his shoes and like. yeah. he's literally a teenager who has gone through so much and has no idea how to regulate and express his emotions. also literally just a teenager. i get him SO much. he's like my ultimate kinnie. i could write so many essays about this guy about so many topics, as a queer who experienced BAD comphet. about how he can't distinguish platonic love from romantic, about how his parents' relationship affects his, about how he's genuinely so selfless and how he JUMPED. OFF. A. CLIFF. as a TWELVE YEAR OLD. for his best friend's teeth. he cares so much about his friends and el and will but he's actually so insecure as a queer in the 1980s like UGHHH.
i love character studies about mike so much, and ESPECIALLY about his internalized homophobia and his queerness. this is a joy to watch. we as a society need to understand Mike Wheeler more.
Well said 👏🏻
I also feel like the other characters come from a more healthy household. Like if you compare Lucas and Dustin's upbringing, they come from good parents who are kind and caring toward them. Mike's family is dysfunctional, and he doesn't feel as comfortable to open up to them. I think season 5 will be when he opens up to his mom though, like when we saw her saying that she wants Mike to be able to trust her, and she wants him to feel like he can talk to her and don't have to hide anything. That HAS to come full circle (it can explain why they always kept her in the loop and made her a character poster), she will be the person that Mike comes out to first
@@growingupwithdisney ooooh that will be exciting to see Mike coming out to her! Yeah they have continued to keep Karen in the loop and I've been excited to see what big things will happen with her !
Are you me?
thank you so much! I completely agree with literally everything you're saying. Mike is such a complex character, but he's so misunderstood and people constantly belittle his trauma and his family circumstances as to why he's like how he is
I never noticed the blue/yellow color thing. But, now that it was mentioned: When Mike sees Eleven for the first time in Season 1 when he, Lucas and Dustin are looking for Will, she's wearing a yellow shirt. When Mike first reunites with El and Will in California, he's wearing a blue shirt with a yellow shirt over it. When he's talking to El in her room, both he and she are wearing blue shirts and the curtains in the room are yellow.
Mike *could* possibly be bi. He wasn't just interested in El when she looked like a boy. When the kids were going to take her to school to get to the ham radio set, he looked pretty impressed and smitten when she came out of the room wearing a wig and a dress. He blurted that she looked pretty, then nervously covered it up saying, "GOOD. You look pretty *good.* " And his eyes did light up when she entered the Snow Ball.
blue does meet yellow in the west
@@growingupwithdisney Oh, yeah. And I forgot about THAT blue/yellow instance.
Well it was established a while back that Mike's color is blue. Will is yellow and El is purple. Not only have both Mike and Will have worn both blue and yellow shirts ( especially in seasons 3 and 4 ) but Mike's bedroom is all blue, and both in Hawkins and Lenora, Will's bedroom is all yellow.
@@pllandstfan and ive seen a theory that mike only liked el in ig se 1 and 2 is bc she looked like a boy or was speculated to be will
I never really caught or understood why mike and will were shipped other than will being gay;
But this essay REALLY made a lot of things make sense.
I can definitely say that I truly believe they might be endgame
i love how much attention you paid to the first two seasons because a lot of people gloss over that time and just talk about how close mike and will were, but there are a lot of very specific details and important transitions between s2 and s3 that are really crucial to his queer coding
thank you! I definitely agree, season 1 and 2 are often ignored but they are so essential to setting up the more explicit queer coding of season 3 and 4
even looking at mike from a pov of someone who doesn’t care what ship is endgame, it’s just so clear that’s he’s SO queer coded. i think a lot about why. like why is mike so queer coded? why did they make will be in love with mike??? if we don’t get answers to those questions in season 5 ill be really upset.
I don’t really see it. I mean, why would they pair him up with Eleven for 5 seasons just to introduce this new ship at the end of the series? It seems so rushed.
@@voiceunderthecovers it’s not a new thing though they hinted at will being in love with mike in season 3 and season 4 solidified it. It was always there but people generally don’t pay attention to it in the midst of everything else
@@Laurica-lb6nv Yeah.. but Mike never shows any attraction to Will. Like, good for Will, but this 5 season long relationship he’s had with Eleven can’t just be neglected or forgotten for the sake of a new ship that’s barely gotten any focus in the show.
@@voiceunderthecovers did you.. watch the video?
@@Jirachtic most of it is reaching and delusions
Ok the way I would SCREAM if Robin and Will (my 2 favorite characters) formed a friendship ??????????!!!!! ALSO WHAT IF SHE IS THE FIRST PERSON WILL OUTRIGHT CONFESSES TO????? I would turn off the show at that point because I would be completely 100% satisfied!
I ADORE Will and Robin so much and personally I need Robin as byler wing man no. 1 because she would finally get these fools together
on my hands and knees praying this isnt a bbc sherlock situation
Omg same
🙏🏼
not even comparable mate. give up your expectations it won’t happen
i’m praying that it isn’t a Supernatural situation where will confesses and then just dies or sacrifices himself or something lol. idk why but i can see it happening
This is, flat out, the best analysis on Mike's queerness, because it's not only very detailed, but it also fully considers his relationship with El, because most analyzers either completely forget it or ignore a big part of its significance. Well done!
my parents think my obsession with mike wheeler is because i have a crush on him, but little do they know that it's actually because of his whole queer subtext and internalised homophobia. idk what they will think when season 5 comes out and my facade is unveiled
LMAO SAME
SAMEEW
pretend you had no idea LMFAO
Ugghhhh I am SO READY to see Mike taunted by Vecna, dropped into the horror of the upside down version of his interactions with Will, Eleven, hell I can even imagine a brief Eddie cameo to touch on his little crush on him. AHHH AND THEN HE HAS TO FACE ALL THE FEELINGS HE HAS BEEN RUNNING FROM AHHHHH
MEEEEE YEAHHHH
I imagine Vecna saying "this is your last time running away Michael Wheeler" or "I know what you are Mike Wheeler" 😂
Honestly, biggest thing is there’s a pretty hard break between Mike’s direction in seasons 1&2 and seasons 3&4, so if they go this direction they’d have to be masterful with their writing. Honestly, I don’t ship it. Let will be happy with somebody ELSE.
@@mariajosecontrerasmorales7487
lmfaoooooooo and then it jump cuts to real life and everyone around him is just like "uhh mike? mike? why are you shouting 'im not gay!'?" hahahah
@@mariajosecontrerasmorales7487 "I know what you are Mike Wheeler" lmfaoo
15:50 i love the point you make about comphet and mike only viewing girls as 'relationship goals' rather than potential friends!
This is also a problem with the way boys tend to be raised and you can see the mirror sentiment coming from his parents who , at least the mom, wanted to meet the antiquated ideas of her own 50s parents.
Have i watched stranger tings? Nah. Am i going to watch this video essay? Fuck yeah dude
If you liked this video essay, you might like Stranger Things.
SAME. I watched a few video essays and tons of videos, but I watched only season 1 yet, years ago. Definitely gonna binge the show when I can ✨
YESSS
I envy you i want to watch it for the first time again
Me too
One of my main arguments for why Byler endgame would just straight up be better writing is Eleven herself. I’ve seen people argue that she deserves to be happy and so the writers should just keep her and Mike together and that pisses me off because it implies that the only way for her to be happy is to be in a romantic relationship which is just not true.
Here’s the thing, Eleven spent her entire life being experimented on in a lab and when she finally escaped, she immediately got into a relationship with the first boy she ran into before she even knew what a romantic relationship was. Like, Mileven knew each other for a week and then they kissed.
Eleven learns a lot about how the outside works through watching TV. That’s been established so many times in the show, how important TV has been to her since she escaped, and we see this in her relationship with Mike as well, she bases their entire relationship on what she sees on TV. She has nothing else to go off of.
And bottomline is that El has spent her entire life being told by others what to do, how to act, who to be. She is now surrounded by people who love her and care about her but even with the best intentions both Hopper and Mike and even Max have done this to her as well. I think that Eleven deserves to be happy, and for that she needs the space to figure out who *she* wants to be without anyone else butting in. And that means letting go of her relationship with Mike because she’s not going to be able to do that as long as she’s still tied to him in that way.
agreed, shes gotta be free. maybe she could go back to those super powered guys in season 2
I also came from tumblr, and honestly internalised homophobia really is the most sensible (if its the right word?) reason to Mike's actions, the main reason I believe byler may be canon. Especially since the alternate feels a bit ooc/digressive to Mike's character.
Great video/analysis btw
I completely agree. Mike’s behaviour in season 3 and 4 doesn’t make any sense without the context of his internalised homophobia because without it we lose his likeable traits for no reason. Thank you I’m really glad you liked it!
alternatively, the writers are kind of ass, would not be their first fumble
@@jonathanshapiro6593 Right, unfortunately it's not out of the realm of possibility that it's just bad writing.
The example is Hopper. His character has completely changed since third season. He became an abusive, jealous man with serious anger issues. In the first two seasons he was a very different, more complex and better character. Pop Culture Detective has a great video on Hopper.
The blue yellow thing actually represents queer colour codes as yellow is the closeted colour which makes soooo much sense with it's use here especially for mike, and blue as well as tealish colours being used are just part of the gay flag
In S4, Steve wears yellow and Eddie wears blue, coincidence….?
@@lizardofthestars ooooh! I am rewatching the series after learning about queer codes and am about to start season 4 😵💫 I can't wait to see it all haha !
@@lizardofthestars okay ! I just watched and I found a particular scene weird.. it's when they're in the upside down and Steve is shirtless and he has this kinda flirty moment with Nancy and then all of a sudden Eddie interrupts it by throwing a jacket at his face and says "for ur modesty" (to cover himself) and eddie looked kinda pissed I think so idk it felt like he was jealous hehe cuz there was no need to interrupt a romantic moment and make him cover his *handsome body that Nancy seemed attracted to 😭
Yep, it's surprisingly common in queer media. The likes of Heartsopper heavily lean into the blue and yellow colour scheme. I think Young Royals uses it a bit too.
Hey, I'm genuinely curious about yellow being the closeted colour because I never heard it before. Where did you get that info?
This video expresses everything I've felt for a long time. As a massive Mike fan during S1 and 2, it just utterly blew my mind how different he seemed out of nowhere in S3 and 4(S3 in general just felt so different from the previous 2 seasons. The Upside Down is one of the central pieces of conflict in S1 and 2. But in S3 we only see it one time and that's when Billy first tries calling for help). Mike is one of the core members in S1 and is an extremely helpful person to Will in S2. But in S3 he just gets relegated to being El's boyfriend. It just never made sense. And if S5 reveals that Mike doesn't have any reason for suddenly switching his behavior around Will, the show will have essentially turned one of its best characters into one of the most insufferable for no reason. Mike doesn't care that Lucas ends up dating Max despite his initial dislike of her. Nor does he react negatively to Dustin dating Suzie. So why does Mike react so negatively at the beginning of S4 when he's under the impression that Will might like a girl? It is the first thing he asks about upon seeing Will so we're meant to know it's important. But if Mike is 100% straight, his interactions for the past two seasons literally just stop making sense. I really hope season 5 doesn't let us down. Not just as a Byler fan. But as a Will AND Mike fan in general
This video made me see everything in a new light…
I always thought Will was gay and read all the subtext easily (I suppose because I relate to Will more?) but I never really understood all the byler hype because I wasn’t sure they would ever canonically make Mike gay (especially because him and eleven are so popular). Hell I wasn’t even sure they would ever acknowledge it with Will until season 4 dropped either!
This video though man, it had me saying “I never noticed that” out loud several times! This video really convinced me byler is the way to go (and simply the much better relationship!) but I’m gonna try not to get my hopes up too high although I believe in the shows ability to make this happen (with what they’ve already written and laid out for us) im still not convinced they’ll do it. You’ve got me really excited for season 5 though!
And okkkk TH-cam this was the last stranger things video I needed, I’ll rewatch now!!
thank you so much! I'm really glad I convinced you. I just think that all the evidence so obviously points to the only satisfying ending being byler endgame - you just need to know where to look for the evidence! :)
damn this was your FIRST video essay? easily my FAVOURITE video essay now from the first minutes on, enjoyed literally EVERY SECOND of it!!! truly amazing, the amount of time you put into this with such extremely deep and detailed research and observation just truly blew my mind!! thank you so so much for this, I love it :)
thank you so so much! it was quite a long process but I enjoyed it so much and hopefully ill have more material soon to do some further byler analysis! :)
i want to definitely keep my delusions in check as someone who’s shipped byler since 2017 after season 2 , but i think mike will end up being an incredibly badly written character if he didn’t have internalised homophobia. giving him a ‘homophobic’ arc towards will would make no sense considering how protective he had been of will in s1 & 2.
love the video !! you pointed out everything i couldn’t explain with words lol
im a byler truther after this video. i now have come to the conclusion that s3 and s4 were received so poorly because the audience didn’t pick up on the queer subtext and probably most still wont until after s5. then everyone will rewatch the show and realize everything they missed and praise the later seasons. otherwise, they fumbled the script horrendously. god please let them be gay together
thank you so much! Mike's character literally makes no sense without his internalised homophobia!
I truly dont rely on these writers to nail this, even though theyve stumbled onto an easy goldmine of writing gold. Usually its the easy successes that get completely destroyed by writers who squander their own works.
"An easy goldmine of writing gold"
As opposed to a goldmine of what other kind of precious metal?
Recently I was recommended a ton of byler videos and i watched a lot of them. I really like all the analysis and theories, especially since Mike and Eleven relationship is quite bad since season 3. But I can't stop thinking about Destiel in Supernatural. There was a lot of subtext, even more sometimes. But in the end we got nothing. That's why I watch those videos lightly because I fear that a lot of byler stan will be disappointed
Ohh, i can relate. I wasn't a Destiel fan in the beginning, then stopped watching for a few years and then when I saw some clips of Dean talking about Cas I was immediately like: "OMG, they're really doing that! They're definitely gonna confirm they're gay! Wow", but then I got into the show again and well... the 15x18 happened and there was the most terrible ending for the show. I really hope the creators of Stranger Things are not gonna do something like that. I mean, I am still mad about Supernatural and Supergirl where there was A LOT of subtext and the showrunners could've made them such beautiful slowburns, but they chose to just queerbait their whole audiences FOR YEARS. At least Destiel got confirmed sort of, but what they did with Supergirl is just illegal 😑 I really have hope for Byler, although I've gotta take a lot of fan theories with a grain of salt 😥
@@virginialee5065 Exactly I didn't even watch Supernatural but the backlash was so big. And unfortunately for stranger things even though there is some things that can be read as queercoded for Mike, I feel the arguments are a little light compared to Destiel. Like I said I didn't watch the show but I saw videos like this one, collecting every clues and I can be pretty safe to say it was clear queerbating. I feel like almost every one watching Supernatural shipped Destiel, and same goes for Supergirl as you described it, but for Byler the opinions are more divised. And sometimes I do feel people are overanalyzing it, like I didn't think Mike was queercoded before stambling upon those types of videos. For Will it's more clear. And I do feel bad for him because my boy deserves to be happy.
Oh God, you just made me relive the trauma of Destiel... I really hope it won't be the case here. But if it is... then fanfictions at least still exist.
@@tiramisunsun Fanfictions are my fuel.... Without them my heart would be dead inside
@@NerveUnderscore I relate way too much to that statement. If ao3 ever shuts down I am doomed
have you listened to the songs in Finn's playlist "STurn"? it was confirmed by Caleb that the cast made playlists for their characters in s5 and STurn is Finn's playlist for Mike, it has songs with lyrics like "besides i don't wanna be the one who's coming out first" which means Mike wants Will to come out first as gay before him because he's scared, and lyrics like "it's so easy to lie to myself and pretend that i could love you but i can't" which is about Mike's pov of mlvn, he can't love El because he's gay and it has a song about a milkshake and about how a relationship wasn't built to last (mlvn, they had milkshakes in s4) and in s5 Mike is wearing Will's shoes ( 1:10:22 ) which is a thing for couples and Will is wearing Mike's clothes, plus they made Will spell "lover" in the words game in a bts picture ( 1:10:48 ) because he's gonna have a lover (Mike) and a reliable leaker said that Will's love interest (boyfriend) is gonna be Mike, Will is definitely staying at Mike's which would be perfect for them as a couple
1:14:37 according to a leaker Mike's s5 arc: self-discovery (being gay) and not trying to be normal anymore (not trying to be straight anymore, El's s5 arc : self-discovery and familiar love (family) and Millie said that El is trying to find out who she is without Mike and her arc is about being independent
I LOVEEEE THAT PLAYLISTTTT
STurn is so interesting I have listened to it so many times!! All the lyrics are so fun to analyse and I really think it completely hints to how his arc is going to play out in season 5. I really hope post season 5 Finn talks about it in interviews and his thought process behind it.
@@losersitsbyherself I love love LOVE STurn !! I still wonder what Block Rockin' Beats could mean... it's a vibe tho!
god i love this, I literally have an exam in a day and a half and I'm screaming in my room just watching that video byler
@@EggyEggPie the music video for that particular song is... /quite/ interesting haha, I'd recommend checking it out! it definitely has queer vibes as well as a character very very reminiscent of Will
I believe in Byler sm but then I remember it lies in the hands of 2 straight yt men and I get a little nervous
God forbid they do what they want and planned to the show THEY created
you are so real for that
@@miahh_5185they mean that they believe what they planned for the show they created is Byler, but then becomes doubtful when remembering they are two straight yt men
@@diosito9161THAT'S EXACLY WHY I T
THINK!!!! Also until the duffers say word by word that they are straight I am not going to believe anyone, they did all this! I not only trust them, I know these are their plans and I love them for that.
It was 100% an intentional choice to have an argument that PERFECTLY syncs to "Gotta Go My Own Way"- HSM2
I think about that scene comparison at least once a week
6:50 in this scene they played lyrics that say "and we kissed as though nothing could fall" while he was thinking about Will and in s3 when they used this song again they cut those lyrics, they're reserved to Byler
Me, clicking on the video: “Mike? Queer? Yeah right”
Me, 30 minutes in: “god damnit you convinced me 🤯”
ahh I'm so glad I did!
Every day I'm torn between "there is no way mike doesn't end up loving will" and "you're crazy, do you really think they would make the protagonist of one of the most popular series gay" but videos like this one help me ease the conflict lol
This is a real and valid reading of the material, and I agree that it would be a good way to salvage Mike's dogshit character writing. Queer folks (myself included) have been "seeing things" in media for literal centuries. It's a long tradition. Do I think it was in any way intentional by the writers? Fuck no. The Duffers are two cishet gen x men who set out to make a nostalgia-bait 80s anthology series and ended up with something that very quickly became too unwieldy for them. Please please please continue to "see things that aren't there," ship who you want, MAKE ART, but don't give the Duffers credit for something YOU had the extraordinary creativity and insight to make and see. It might (MIGHT) go canon, but if it does, it was because y'all saw something amazing in the show that the creators didn't.
Agree
Ohhh your mention of the theory that Mike wrote a letter to Will which was signed it as ‘love Mike’… it got me thinking.
What if that ties into the Will’s “forgotten” birthday plot line?
What if the reason that Mike “forgot”, why he didn’t bring Will a gift or even a card, was that he signed it as ‘love Mike’ and freaked tf out over it. That’s why he refuses to acknowledge Will’s birthday
42:32 plus he has no idea Will is gay and he was literally thinking that Will made a painting for a girl he liked (and he got jealous about it but tried not to show it)
OMG. omg. This video essay OPENED MY EYES. I used to think people who believed Byler would become canon were delusional (sorry!). I thought, even though Will was very clearing pining over Mike and Mileven seemed kinda like a sunk ship, I thought, no way does Mike return Will's feelings. No way Mike Wheeler would be queer. (admittedly, I've only watched each season once and its been a hot minute)....
THIS VIDEO ESSAY THOUGH. I was HOOKED. I was CONVINCED. The way you laid out all of the evidence made it seem so clear. You connected all the dots throughout all four seasons to reveal this beautifully intricate picture of Mike's queerness and how that has impacted his character. If the Duffer brothers make Byler official in season five (which is looking like a very real possibility!!),,,,,,, that would be MONUMENTAL. oh my god. The two main characters from one of the biggest shows of the past decade,,,,,,, getting together and being happy,,,,,,,,, breaking off the central straight ship of the show that actually does not work very well,,,,,,,,, not going with the sad gay unrequited crush on the main character,,,,,,,,, the over arching depiction of internalizated homophobia,,,,,,,, ohh my goddddddd....... It's making me sick, I want this is happen SO BAD now!!!!
Also, this was your FIRST video essay?????? I am seriously impressed. 80 minutes of well-thought out, well organized, and well articulated content! I'm looking forward to your next video essays, whatever they may be on!!!!
to be honest i never finished stranger things, the last i watched was season 3, but this made me want to do a rewatch to pay more attention to this!! as a queer kid i did pick up on byler even back then just like many of us did, but seeing everything wrapped up nicely in this video was very satisfying!!! thank you for this :)
S5 is coming so that might be the perfect time
fancy seeing you here twitter friend! not really surprised tough honestly :))
I think season four was the best season since 1 so I recommend rewatching then catching up
thank you!! You should definitely give it a rewatch and watch season 4. Once you look at it with this context it is so fun to pick out the bits you missed, and season 4 is great even without the progression of byler
@@skyolor4750 omg helloo😭
Honestly I see myself and Mike I even treated my bff I had a crush on horribly because I was afraid to fall deeper for her. Externalized homophobia really is a terrible thing.
I wonder if perhaps in the final season, because the Duffers said a lot of people are going to die, maybe El ends up dying. She is the gateway to the Upside Down in a sense. Maybe they also almost lose Will. I definitely don’t think Will will die; the whole first season revolved around him almost dying. It would be completely anticlimactic in terms of the overarching plot to kill him off (also, the poor thing has had a rotten time of it in all the seasons so far, and the Duffers said the final season would be great for Will. They even fixed that rotten bowl cut of his!). Maybe El sacrifices herself for Will because he was implanted with that slug that ties him to the Upside Down as well. Maybe that kind of kicks off the protective feeling in Mike again, you know, [i.e., Will almost dying]? Maybe somehow Mike and Will end up together at the end. I do think Mike admires El and loves her in a way, but I think it’s significant he always calls her a ‘superhero.’ It’s more childlike admiration at how cool and badass she is, and a lot of internalized homophobia and repression of any small feelings he may have in the other direction. It would make sense to me that maybe Mike and Will kissed at some point before Mike met El [just a little peck or something, but that would be a big deal in both their minds in a time where being gay is such a big deal and bad], as Will is so sure of his love for Mike when he confesses to him in season 2. The way he talks about ‘us’ and the painting and all that suggests they had some history that Mike abandoned out of fear and admiration/crush on El (perhaps his admiration/awe for the girl, confusingly mixing into his hope to be straight, and in his innocence he’s like, this is close enough to love?). It would also explain his unnecessary harshness towards tender-hearted Will, especially in season 4. He is aggressively rejecting him out of fear. It is rural Christian America in the 80s, after all, so repression and fear would make sense! I also think it’s hinted Mike had a crush on Eddie - a cute older boy he admires. I think there’s something bubbling under the surface that’s subtly suggested by the ‘Fever’ (the song being about being struck with a feverish crush one cannot shake) song choice being laid over Mike’s POV. Also, he’s giving major puppy heart eyes while staring at Eddie.
Also, for repressed Mike, who may be in denial of his true nature [bisexuality? whatever feelings towards the same sex, whatever form they take], that would make his life difficult in his small Christian community. This one-sided crush could be a refuge for him. Eddie is almost a celebrity or cult leader type figure, and this one-sided love, admiration, service, crush sort of thing fits the bill anyway [as in it’s sort of socially appropriate in this context, for the socially conscious Mike this may provide him a refuge for his feelings, even if for Mike it climbs a bit past just admiration for Eddie]. He can love him quietly in a sense. Additionally, Eddie being older as well as his celebrity/cult-leader-like status to Mike probably makes him feel out of reach and a ‘safe’ object of affection and crush in a sense for Mike.
It might even be that Mike’s private acknowledgment of his feelings and attraction to Eddie makes it easier to accept the love of his best friend Will, who is sweet but whose affection is repulsive to Mike. Perhaps it helps Mike realize this repulsion is not due to his sexuality but to his fear and internalized homophobia.
Look up the video “Mike Wheeler’s POV on Eddie Munson” by Emily; her description also does a beautiful job explaining the subtext.
Anyway, just my two cents :)
love this!
The shade on his bowl cut is REAL 😭
Mike is not gay. And that’s really alright.
@@MunchieMystic well, saying he’s straight is also a headcannon because the duffer brothers haven’t confirmed his sexuality yet.
While there still is a possibility of him being straight, being gay would make his actions much more sense.@@MunchieMystic
this was a phenomenal video essay! it made very important points that some others definitely do miss and I think you really highlighted the importance that making stranger things into essentially a queer allegory could hold. if they actually make season 5 as we hope they will, they would have genuinely gave a gay relationship more developments, hints and build up than a straight one, it will not be something relegated to the side lines. It would make Mike truly an excellent portrayal of growing up queer and dealing with confusion, comphet and internalised homophobia and that would be a very valuable, true to life, complex expression of queer identity in such a mainstream show! I think it's likely to happen more so because religion is emphasised as a theme is season 4 and it would tie to the plot somewhat loosely if it wasn't used to highlight Mike's queerness and overall pre conceptions to adhere to traditional heteronormative values. It's even directly linked to the plot as when Eddie is introduced and presented as a freak, one of the first thing he says is "sodomy" and he is later on developed as viewed by the conservative town as a satanist cult leader. Also I heard they were filming in a church quite a lot for season 5, specifically Mike and Will scenes so I feel like that only adds to the context of internalised homophobia framed through religious guilt.. Anyway that was so great, I loved it!
thank you so much! Mike as a character has so much potential, and just like you said by showing that explicitly on screen it would be so monumental. So many people would finally see themselves portrayed on screen and it would make the whole show groundbreaking!
32:43 oh my gosh i love your point about childhood = accepting queerness and how in this scene he was leaning into that!! it is also important to note that he interrupted himself after talking about toys, saying, 'sorry that made me sound like a seven year old'. i think it also shows that he still struggled a lot with accepting his queerness
It's really refreshing to see a queer-coding analysis that focuses on the writing aspect of Stranger Things compared to a lot of analysis videos which focus on the visual clues (not that I don't adore those videos too lol). Thanks for making this video!
How does this not have more views 🙏😭
bc most people don’t agree like me i’m just gonna watch it go see peoples point
@@practicalgamer4991 real
My bf is a firm believer in Mileven but personally, Byler is 100% endgame. Thank you for making this, this was really fun to watch.
thank you!!
Noah Schnapp is a zionist btw. It's disgusting that yall still support this ship when the actor is such a shitty person.
I recently rewatched Stand By Me, now as an adult and got VERY queer vibes between two of the main boys of the group, Gordie and Chris. Chris shares the same overprotective feeling towards Gordie that Mike shows for Will. Would love to see a comparison, especially because Stand By Me is an obvious inspiration for Stranger Things (a group of weird tween boys looking for a body)
There’s an analyst who’s a fan of Byler that does this exact comparison!! Lesbianmindflayer
It’s been quite a while since her last vid so not sure if she still doing them but the vids are all still there
@@laurenroxbrough-gj5cj omg thanks I’ll have to check them out!
Stand By Me has been on my watchlist for ages but this has made me want to watch it even more!
Byler is actually parallelled with scenes of Gordie and Chris at least 2 times that I can think of, once in s2 (when Will wakes up from a nightmare/vision) and once in s3 (Will and Mike's last convo before Will moves away). like the above comment says, I'm pretty sure Lesbianmindflayer points out both these instances, and it's just a great channel overall for anyone interested in Byler
This is a pretty good analysis! The only thing I feel different about is that I think Mile is gay and no bi, I don't think he ever had romantic feelings for Eleven.
i agree with this so bad. ive always seen it as el was mike's first female friend, and since liking girls was expected of him, he attributed his genuine care for her wellbeing as romantic love. also just a handful of comphet. liking the opposite gender just cuz you _"have"_ to.
It's literally canon that he liked her in a romantic way, why is it so hard to accept that he can just be bissexual
@@azr3ii Exactly! It was the heteronormativity. It was also interesting how they stressed so many times in season 1 that she didn't even look like a girl, she looked like a boy. I think that's what made it easier for him to think he likes her, my guy probably didn't realize he was gay. I think he realized it in season 3.
I genuinely find it really hard and farfetched to see Mike as gay and not bi. You’d have to be a bit oblivious to not read his feelings for El (in Season 1 and 2, mostly) as absolutely romantic.
Two things can be true at once. He had genuine romantic feelings for both parties at different periods in time. I don’t really see the point in trying to steer him to a single direction.
I think it’s fine to headcanon a show to fit your own sensibilities if you so can, but pretending the writers didn’t mean something they clearly did is weird to me.
(Also, mind you, this is coming from someone monosexual myself).
@@20000dino I'm not sure why, but it seems to bother you that people interpret Mike as gay. When we're talking about queer coded characters, the writers' intent is really unclear and I really don't think you're the authority on whether they wrote Mike to have romantic feelings for El 😅
We're all speculating and having fun here, imo Mike's dynamic with El can be easily read as a comphet situation. This isn't us viewing the media incorrectly, just differently than you are.
I'd almost managed to forget how pissed off I was about the cancelling of "I am not OK" and then you reminded me, how dare you! 😭
Also, utterly amazing first video essay, I loved it and strongly agree that internalised homophobia/biphobia is one of the only ways his actions make any sense.
I love videos like this! Please consider putting subtitles or including a transcript for disabled viewers so we can fully enjoy it without having to rewind constantly 🙏🏽
@@Elvele hey TH-cam annoyingly won’t let me turn on automatic subtitles for this but my tumblr mutual is working on subtitling the entire video so I’ll let you know once it’s done! :)
I was really not seeing the byler storyline and thought people were a bit delusional even though I'm a lesbian (mainly because queer-baiting shows traumatized me)
But now ? Not only you convinced me, but also hyped me SO MUCH. This would such an amazing story. I'd love for Eleven to finally be on her own, independant.
You also reconciled me with Mike, who was my favorite character at first.
I'll be sooo disappointed if it's not the case, and Netflix homophobia is not making me confident.
it’s a very common experience to not at all see byler until someone points it out with proof XD i realised after s3 came out when people were showing all the parallels
this is CRAZY u are so right this is true like u completely convinced me. the clear patterns and behavior you pointed out makes it seems so obvious. thanks for all your work on this! awesome analysis.
thank you!!!
I saw your post on tumblr that you were gonna post this video an i got so excited!! this is such a good analysis, thank you for putting in the work!! ^^
thank you so much!!! I had so much fun making the video because it was so satisfying joining everything up in each season and seeing how that made him queer or showed his internalised homophobia. He’s a way more complicated character than so many people think.
THANK YOU SO SO MUCH for dropping an hour n a half mike wheeler queer analysis while we're nearing the end of 2024- it's been a long time since I felt optimistic about the finale of this series after that cast chaos, especially noah and so on. Hearing all the classics pointed out combined with your great commentary was such a joy to sit through! I felt like a dying plant on a desert being watered for the first time in a decade lol
thank you so much!! I honestly feel like all us bylers are dying plants in the desert but analysis and Tumblr is honestly how I survive. I feel like we just need to remind ourselves that why would they introduce a love triangle in the first place is if its going to end with the same couple it started with.
That's exactly what I've been thinking: it would be such a great storytelling if Mike was queer, but such terrible, sloppy storytelling if he wasn't. And I'm so glad to see a Byler supporter who can acknowledge the possibility that the latter might turn out to be the truth, rather than put the Duffers on a pedestal. But I do hope Byler is canon, even if I'm not convinced it will be.
i was quite shocked when you said this was your first video essay, it's so well made! Your editing, narration and points made are great, the audio is a little weird, but it doesn't take away the quality of the video, good job!
thank you so much! I've been wanting to make one for a while so I've watched loads haha. I was bit stuck with the audio because I had to record on my phone, but hopefully I can get a microphone in the future!
this is one of those things that I've noticed signs of while watching, but this video puts them together in such a comprehensive way. lovely first video!
I really hope they make it explicitly cannon that mike is queer at least to a degree, I don’t really ship him with either will or eleven very much but i feel like it would make it a lot more fully fleshed, and hopefully give el a good opportunity to not lean on mike so much emotionally when he doesn’t really treat her the way she needs. i always found it a little sad watching el care so much about her relationship with mike but it doesn’t seem reciprocated well, and it feels like she needs to be able to stand on her own. personally i think itd suck to just keep them together, but that’s just how i think 😭
if mike turns out to be queer, finn wolfhard will officially have zero straight characters
I am a 34yo lesbian watching random videos while on the office, in China.
Now, I really don't care too much about Mike and Will because I never payed enough attention, but after this video, i guess i am a shipper now. Thanks or not thanks, come back later and will let you know hahha.
I never watched the show but i am totally convinced and now a stan
I watched this video twice today. The second watch came from sending it to a friend and without noticing I clicked on the link myself and let it play again. Didn't bother to stop it, since it's a great video that was worth watching twice
thank you so much!
crazy thing is that when byler happens bc honestly the way they frame them together in general is pointing to that and with all the hints....if it doesnt happen it will just be bad writting and them destroying mike's character for no reason which i dont believe they would do so yeah the crazy thing is that people will really come out and say that this relationship was forced and it doesnt make sense like i can already see that
oh this will definitely happen
It’s forced cuz they wrote themselves into a corner, if they don’t make byler, it’s bad writing, if they do make byler, they frankly didn’t do a good job showing us any interest in will from mike in season four.
@@jonathanshapiro6593 honestly kinda true the hints are extremely subtle if you don't analyze them like that you can't see them to be frank I only started seeing it when I watched season 4 and then after watching these types of videos I realized I missed many hints and they almost seem obvious now also I mostly take as concrete evidence the hints that involve the production like the camera work ,lighting,wardrobe,backgrounds and stuff like that bc you know for a fact whatever is there would be on purpose since they are prepared from scratch and most of those are very valid but the majority of viewers doesn't pay attention to things like that so yeah....
@@luckypuffs7463are the hints subtle or are we so used to hetreo couples being the norm that when a gay couple is slow burn it’s easy to deny 🤔
@seelesims honestly it might just be that but also I don't think the viewers are given the chance to see them bc mileven is so in their face that they can't consider anything else or not even think about it
What you said about In Memoriam is the same thing that happens in Song of Achilles and I want to recommend it
I will definitely read it thank you!
Also, if any show were to do this - and many would not, even with how traitorous to the narrative integirty it would be - I think the show about outcasts that remember, was not intended to be as big as it is, and had homophobia as a major antagonist from episode 1 is more likely to. Lots of shows wouldnt and NETFLIX might often not, but they've been renewed. Season 5 won't be cancelled. From here, they can do what they as writers want.
damnnn. damn. i really never thought of it more than will having a one-sided thing for mike but this video essay is hella convincing me.
i don’t think netflix itself has the guts to go for a byler ending but that doesn’t mean it’s not what the writers wanted or intended.
i had no idea people hated mike... ive always seen him as a very realistic boy going through puberty and changing and that causing friction between him and his friends
I mean for a tv show with an actual narrative and themes... I don't think that's a good enough reason to go 180 on your friends
There needs to be a bigger reason here for such DRASTIC character change. If it was a minor change, I can see the writers playing into that concept. But no. Mike isn't a real boy that just behaves randomly and does random things because of nothing but hormones and because he's "human". He's not actually a living person, he's a fictional IDEA created by adults. All his actions and choices are planned out by someone, and they need to serve the greater story or it'll be scrapped for more important storylines.
@@moveslikeninja1 i never felt like mike really... changed that drastically. he just grew up and at that age people get selfish and focus more on themselves and can forget others have feelings. i didnt even know people hated mike until now bc to me he was always just a very well written, realistic depiction of a teen boy. its honestly one reason i like the show so much. if the characters didnt feel real and have real life issues to contend with alongside the monsters and stuff, id probably not be as invested frankly
this video has my heart. thanku so much for 1 hr 20 min of analysis, mad respect. i so look forward to things u mentioned: who will mike call when he will be in distress, mike confronting his queerness in vecnaland, mike and will having a real mutual intimate moment and unguarding their true feelings for each other. And lastly, Mainstreaming LGBTQ centrality through mike and will which could potentially make this show seminal in TV series category.
if byler is the endgame then i must say Duffer brothers are two geniuses, their deeper understanding of real homosexual experiences is impressive to me. i am glad their story wasn't rushed but given enough time to develop, its subtle and yet its there, much like how real feelings are. The way Mike is a "normal mike" around "his girlfriend eleven" even when they are alone together ! but he gets awkwardly nervous around his "best friend will" is perfect case for slow-burn, sexual tension, crush taking away ur mental peace kinda thing which is to die for.
if they kill mike or will, i will question everything, As the cliched template for mainstream shows: the 'BURY UR GAYS TROPE' to never award gay couple a happy ending is signature lazy unimaginative storyline syndrome. i expect duffer brother to do justice to stranger things in S5.
thank you so much! It has the potential to be such a beautiful story because, like you said, there's so many complexities and nuances to their relationship. I absolutely can't wait for what happens in season 5!
SOMEBODY ELSE IS ALSO UPSET ABOUT THE SHOW "I'M NOT OKAY WITH THIS' IM FINALLY NOT THE ONLY ONE!!!!!!!!!!! Ended it on a goddamn cliffhanger and then fucked off into the sun without finishing the damn story!!! Wtf netflix!!! ALso yes, I cannot fucking wait for season 5, the Duffer Bros wrote themselves into a deep hole. I hope they can get themselves out and that Byler can be canon.
Exactly!!! The show literally had a PERFECT set up for a season 2 then they just decide to cancel it?! I'm so excited for season 5 though
00:23 completely unrelated topic but VOCALOID MENTIONED!!!
Damn i didn't see it before but you do make a lot of compelling arguments! I'm gonna scream if this is rly endgame
How did you change my view of both stranger things and mike?? Omg amazing video essey !! I hope ur predictions cone true!!
I'm so glad I did! Honestly the show could become INCREDIBLE in season 5 if they just did things right!
movie length video essay on mike wheeler oh BOY did i hit the lottery
I think you seriously _underestimate_ the intensity and severity of homophobia in the 1980s. Merely being accused was cause of immediate and relentless physical assault. The idea of having teens coming out in a regular high school and not being instantly violently ostracized by everyone, is the nice but frankly least realistic part of Stranger Things. That sort of thing could only happen in the most radical communities in that decade.
It scares me a lot the amount of hate from the general audience from the monster that is Stranger Things when they explicitly reveal Mike's queernes, because at least for me (and I know not just me) thats the only way (eliminating the possibility that he's just a jerk, which I hate cause we already seen he's not), and because the story it's been building up so great, so human to be possibly rejected. Thank you for sharing, this is very well done! BYLER ENDGAME🗣🗣 hashtagmikesapologistalways
Look, I really enjoyed the video. But I was in the trenches during the johnlock conspiracy. It's fun to try and read into things and explain away weird decisions by the creators, but please prepare yourself for the likely end result being that the show was just bad. Sometimes they don't do more takes, not because they thought the acting was perfect, but because they were out of time or money or skill or anything. Sometimes the writers just write badly, either because of interference or because no-one can be perfect. Sometimes a show you think is an ally turns out to have some really messed up takes in retrospect. Sometimes, a one way sign is just a white elephant.
Have fun, but take care.
Every single time I think about Mike/Will and how awfully Mike treated him later on, my mind drifts to the Reagan sign in front of Mike’s house. The show has always had some underlying political/social commentary happening. Mike coming from a “haves” situation while Will, like most of us, is among the “have nots”. Mike’s parents are together with a stay-at-home mom and a father working a steady job while Will’s single mom struggles with her job at a local store. Couple this societal hierarchy (one which Mike didn’t seem to care about early on, Will was his best friend full-stop regardless of class/queerness) with the way Reagan supercharged homophobia in the 80s, well, we’ve got ourselves a recipe for a very difficult/confused teenager. Unless his family ends up broke, being queer is literally the only thing that will force Mike from his position of privilege. That’s a terrifying realization but it could make for some compelling TV. Fingers crossed the Duffers land the plane with the last season! So much of this feels intentional that a serious misstep will be such a missed opportunity.
Noah Schnapp is a raging zionist btw. Yall should not be supporting and watching this shit
I stopped being interested in Stranger Things during season 3 so I've been off the bandwagon for a while, but this is honestly such a good essay and as a queer person, there were a LOT of queer coded scenes between the protagonists. I'm not saying they're all gay, but they're all definitely within the spectrum of queer and I feel like the fandom should talk more about that possibility
AHHH! YOU SOLD ME. i thought byler was plausible but i never noticed it came so strongly from both sides. seeing the car painting scene with will crying just made me wail. i really hope the writers continue to be smart for the final season. this show is a gem.
also, if you’re reading this, your analysis was fantastic. i haven’t been thinking about stranger things for at least a year now. thank you for such a thorough and passionate video :-)
haven’t watched the video yet but mike makes me emotional and i love him so i know im gonna love this one
edit: one minute in and im literally going to cry thinking about him!!
Oh i got chills listening to you. I really appreciate your analysis and i very much look forward to hearing more of your insight
You got chills listening about a Zionist 🤣🤣🤣
thank you so much! I hope to get out another byler video as soon as we get some sort of season 5 content!
Never did I notice the 'one way' sign before but its my new favourite thing
I LOVE that sign so much, I NEED IT, having a “one way” sign to the closet is SO FUCKING GOOD
I think it would be a great move to have Mike and El not stay with each other, if anything because they were literal children when they got together. The reason that they haven't been working in the past couple of seasons may simply be because they're growing up. Puppy love is cute and a very special stage of development in a person's young life, but it doesn't stand on the same foundation as _real_ love that's made to last, and that's communication and trust. Two things Mike and El haven't been able to establish together leaving childhood.
I just wouldn’t get your hopes up. There was even more evidence for Sherlock/John in the final season of Sherlock and we were bitterly disappointed, to the point where some johnlockers needed to call s****** hotlines. I’d hate to see will/Mike shippers the same. You can hope but…I wouldn’t count on it ever becoming canon, honestly.
this is definitely valid but i feel like the creators of stranger things would be more open to a main queer relationship considering their openness with queerness within the show. in sherlock it was just queerbaiting
Yeah this whole video is like TJLC whiplash to me. Probably just another fan analysing a show better than its creators.
That being said, Sherlock's hints towards Johnlock were typically either pointless little things that fans convinced themselves were hints, or overt explicit queerbaiting. Hints regarding Mike and Will are too subtle to fall into that last category, at least.
Comparing a show made by the BBC, to a Netflix show, is ridiculous. The two studios are so different. Netflix made sex education and other VERY explicitly queer shows, bbc has done nothing even close.
A show's writing is never bad on purpose. Queer readings are always valid, and I can see a world where they MAYBE (and that's a real maybe) do something with Mike, but his writing in s3 and 4 is just bad. Finn Wolfhard is super checked out in s3, and mostly back on his game in s4, but I can promise you that wasn't intentional.
@@Futurebound_jpg "BBC has done nothing close" don't get me wrong, I'm not gonna go to bat for the BBC of all things, but they've produced and distributed shows that have significant queer characters, plotlines, and themes too (Killing Eve, Torchwood, Gentleman Jack, and some recent episodes of Doctor Who just to name a few off the top of my head). Torchwood really pushed the envelope at the time from what I understand when it comes to the sheer amount and quality of queer representation. Both Netflix and the BBC have the typical studio homophobia that they hold onto because they're scared of alienating the prejudiced portions of their audiences
great video giving a comprehensive breakdown of all the signs pointing to mike's queerness! i've watched ST but have no connection to the fandom but heard people shipping byler. before this video i figured it was just a case of a fandom shipping mlm just for the vibes since i hadn't seen anyone breakdown mike's queerness like this, but now i'm fully on board. as much as i would adore for them to become canon (or at least acknowledge mike's queerness) and think it would be brilliant writing, i'm unfortunately traumatized and have seen writers fumble at not taking the chance to make their writing make sense by making one of the leads queer / making an mlm ship endgame (cough supernatural cough cough dean winchester cough destiel) so i'm gonna go into season 5 expecting absolutely nothing so that i won't get my heart broken and might get pleasantly surprised in the end if they do actually acknowledge it 😁
thank you! I too am traumatised from previous shows but I'm hoping this one will be different (although I might regret saying that)
I LOVE your take on this. Best hour and twenty minutes I've spent in a while
YES YES YES thank you for this I’ll definitely be sure to look for more posts 😊
the way this was more entertaining and enjoyable to watch than a full feature length film says a lot about how good your videos are!
omg thank you!
this was so in depth, ive been saying this for ages but your break things down incredibly well
I think season 4 is definitely the strongest evidence for byler and Mike’s internalized homophobia. Before season 4 I always knew that Will was probably queer and that he even might have a crush on Mike but I never thought Mike might reciprocate. Even the first time I watched season 4 I picked up on Mike acting strange but I was thinking maybe he’d figured out wills feelings for him or something but going back and reflecting on it it really doesn’t seem like will is acting different or weird at all it’s all Mike just trying to “act normal” in a way that feels way too forced and hints at internalized homophobia. Then learning about all of the subtle clues like the yellow/blue color theory and the comparisons with the shows other couples it seemed like way too much to be a coincidence especially with how much work goes into all of the subtle details in this show
At first I was doubtful that Byler would be canon, but I now honestly believe it’s possible 🥹
One video essay made me a Soriku believer. Now another made me see the queer light of Mike Wheeler. Thank you 🙏
everyone needs to see the queer light of Mike Wheeler!!
I really want you to right, but I'm actually terrified that Mike's decline really just stems from bad writing since he's mot the only character it's happening to
Great reading!! If you are correct it would literally turn the duffer brothers into good writers, which would be wild.
ur mic is not superb but it's good enough and what matters is the message you are presenting... and it was really good! this is a very well made Analysis. It did improved around 25 minute mark
this was so enlightening thank you so much for your work
This is such a good queer reading of Mike 💌
I haven't seen Stranger Things in WHILE but I could give it a rewatch now
video just started (40 secs in) but i love mike so much no matter what bc hes got that disaster bisexual energy that i relate to. i hope little man gets his shit sorted next season
1:02:36 he also makes that face when his character lies like Trevor in Ghostbusters when he said he was 17
Not my whole friend group of 5 members having Mike as our favourite character and then half of the fandom hates him-
THIS VIDEO SAID EVERYTHING I WAS THINKINGGG!!!!! IVE WATCHED A MILLION BYLER VIDEOS AND THIS IS THE BEST BY FAR
that's such a compliment thank you so much!
@@losersitsbyherself pleaseeee make more longer videos 🙏🙏🙏🙏