This video isn’t really about byler, it’s about signs Mike is gay. Be that through queer coding or moments that show his disinterest in girls and interest in boys. (Which goes beyond Will)
@@AliensInTheChaquetrixin season 3 the beginning in the movie theater when Mike is asking will if he’s ok, it’s very subtle but he looks at his lips for a sec
@@Lilt348 hmm idk though because he does seem conflicted but I don't think that's due to will, he realised he was a bad friend and he wants to re connect, and every time will pretends he's speaking about els feelings but it's his it is a little awkward it's like mike is confused by him, not to mention its the 80s is sad but its very unlikely they could just be together naturally.
THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT MIKE'S PARALLELS WITH JACK. Those two have a similar storyline and I can see the Duffer Brother's taking inspiration from Dawson's Creek. And as always, your videos are magnificent.
I'm still watching the show but I'm going to have a deep dive on Dawson's Creek and Stranger Things soon! But I wanted to touch upon a few things cause they're so similar!! Also thank you :)
5:00 I also feel a parallel between karen telling nancy that she can talk to her (about Steve) and karen telling mike that he can talk to her (about will)
I love byler content, I've been surviving on it for months. And I especially love how Mike confessed his love for Will in season 2. Like, that was so gay. I saw it the first time when it first came out and I noticed, but I told myself that they wouldn't do it like that. Now I know they are doing it like that.
I didn't think it was a mystery. I thought it was understood by anyone watching the show that he was a closeted homosexual. The thing is, he only seems to have eyes for just one guy... not really displaying any sort of attraction to any other male or having any interest in anything typically designated as "gay".
Demisexuals exists and can be gay, so interest in one guy is not a dealbreaker. About interests/hobbies, well, there's DnD. It's not stereotypically gay hobby, but it is (and I think was) quite popular among queer people.
If you pay attention to how Mike acts around Eddie, you'll see he kinda likes the male character and is admiring him whereas Dustin looks a bit uncomfortable in the scene where Eddie hugs both of them. Mike on the other hand likes this closeness. Not that he has a crush on Eddie but probably thinks he's attractive.
I looove watching your videos because I find queercoding in media super interesting but i always miss the little stuff when i'm watching shows/movies, your videos are amazing and super entertaining!! ❤️
ARGUMENT 3: Do not dilute the scene between Jonathan and Will by suggesting that the scene between Mike and his mom is the same. The reality is that at that point in first season Mike is hiding things from his parents. So he's acting cagey. Where as Jonathan actually notices Will and realizes that he might be gay. It's a heart-felt moment that gay kids dream about. That scene was for us.
CHAT can we say that when MIKE looks at Will or at Will’s mouth, Mike has his lips parted. What I mean by parted lips is when looking at someone or someone’s mouth shows that they are attracted to them or want to kiss them. Mike also shows other forms of attraction toward Will. Like how Mike licks his lips while or before talking to Will, he locks eyes with Will, HE EVEN TAKES DEEP BREATHS in some moments with Will. The double or even triple takes Mike does toward Will is a sign. Chat signs of interest Mike has for Will is undeniable for sure. 👏🤨
I think especially with that monologue he gave El in the last episode and she knew some of what he said wasn't true, I think Mikes secret will be coming out in season 5.
yes, also: I found it interesting that the now famous scene introducing us to the character of Eddie Munson had two songs by The Cramps playing over it, one per speech: I Was A Teenage Werewolf under the "Forced conformity, that's what's killing the kids" speech, and Fever, under the "You two are the future of Hellfire" speech. They have a similar sound, which makes them sound harmonious within the same overall scene, but they have extremely different themes! Whereas the former song echoes what is being discussed by Eddie (i.e. being an outcast), the latter song, a song about lust, has absolutely nothing to do with what anyone is talking about. However we see the overall cafeteria scene is shot it in predominantly Mike's POV and secondarily in Eddie's POV. So listening to the lyrics of the song with this in mind adds some very interesting subtext to the way Mike perceives Eddie. As we know in the show we've only explicitly gotten Dustin's dynamic with Eddie so far, and for some reason** we don't get much explicitly from Mike's perspective this season. But here, we can start to infer some of his perspective through a music choice like this, combined with him pulling most of the focus out of all the reaction shots. To make it less subtle than it was presented, I've layered the song over how it plays out in the scene and added the lyrics (you'll hear it fade in from its original volume at the beginning). Once you're aware of the song I hope you'll have a new added perspective on the scene! **It looks like The Duffers intend for Mike's true POV to be a surprise for next season given that he's been all of a sudden conspicuously pulled from driving any of the narrative this season. But screw that, I love knowing what a character is thinking!" - this is taken fromn the dexription of a video labelled mikes pov or something simialr
"The most queer-coded character I've ever seen" - Hello, Will is LITERALLY RIGHT THERE! Will may be established as gay by the actors and writers but he's never came out and said it in the show. which means he's still only "queer coded" and not canonically gay. It's like how JK Rowling said that Dumbledore was gay after harry potter ended and we only get the vaguest of coding in the books. (Rowling is a TERF but the example is relevant).
YOOO IM EARLY(ISH, I WAS PLAYING MM2 😭) BUT YESS MIKE GAY YES OMG Edit: I’m finally watching this video 2 weeks later- haha I just clicked the notif and left 💀 (haha terrible)
I love your videos, they're so insightful and thought-provoking! I've had so many internal dialogues (hopefully one day external when I can finally rewatch Stranger Things with my sister, lol) about the show and have also made me think more about other media I watch as well! Also, they're also just fun which is great!
I’m so happy to hear that! I feel similarly about Stranger Things the show has really shown me so many films, and shows I would’ve never even considered watching. But since it’s listed in the show I have because I was curious why. It’s so much fun and I hope you can have fun discussions with your sister in the future. I do the same with my brother! Haha
@@lesbianmindflayer I've always loved watching things with my brain turned off and can usually enjoy anything I watch but there's also something so fun about diving deeper into things like symbolism (even when sometimes I go off the rails just for fun by purposefully blowing things way out of proportion, lol). Yeah, me too, we usually have great back and fourths with things like this - like with a show we're currently watching - and we often have similar thoughts and opinions which is cool - so hopefully uni work lets up soon so we can go over Stranger Things again with a more analytical eye cos I was only 13 when it first came out, lol, so definitely wasn't looking at symbolism or deeper meanings, haha. I'm glad you can do that with your brother! It's always fun to have someone you can talk to about this stuff :D
In s1 when Mike and Lucas have their fight, Dustin tries to mend it by reminding Mike that Lucas is his best friend. Mike says that they're all best friends, but Dustin remains that Lucas and Mike are best friends. That always struck me as odd bc the season is all about Mike losing will. But it makes sense if we're accepting that even with the boys it is established that will and Mike's relationship is special and beyond the other friendships
That's really interesting especially considering, not just him not wanting to play DND with Will in season 3 but the fact he implied in their rain fight that they're all growing up now so it's time to focus on getting girlfriends and not DND anymore because it's for kids.
I hate to be the one to say it. Very nice video i really like the way you made it however a lot of these things could be nothing and this would be far fetched but do what you want do your thing keep it up
You can think what you like of course but people can still be gay or a lesbian even if they've dated the opposite sex. Most likely to hide their true sexuality and conform to the hetero normative. It's likely Mike was dating El to hide his true feelings and homosexuality. But you can have any opinion you want.
I gotta say I have serious doubts that Mike is gay. Will is 100% gay but I don't think Mike is the same. I feel like they're gonna do this whole thing of will telling Mike he feelings and Mike's gonna be like, "Nah dude" and will's gonna have to cope with that.
btw, in wrestling, boys don't just work out and hang out all day in that one piece - the wear it for practice, sometimes, and for competition - the fact that the ENTIRE gym is full of nothing but them in that outfit is just odd, and well beyond a "oops" by the people who make the show - everything is paid and budgeted for, so it had to be written this way and shot that way on purpose. (and they clearly only used acter who are very obviously above HS age for it too - which lets you get away with more without the audience raising an eyebrow). Since Mike does not seem to think it's weird or worth his "ew" face he uses plenty of other times, and that the camera starts in on those two young men who are all over each other - it's like, one of the most obvious coding's I have ever seen. Interesting that he talks to the only boy who is beefier compared to everyone else who is thin with some muscle and close to "ripped". It's like, in the ocean of guys he wants, he goes to where he won't be as easily turned out because talking to the other guys would be too distracting.
ARGUMENT 8: Mike and Dustin are looking for people to play D&D with the hellfire club. I literally just watched the scene over again. Mike ends up in the gym because he's desperate to find someone so he tries recruiting anyone... the scene is set up that he's asking the least likely person.. Mike's decided "Hey, if they like fighting... maybe they'll like fighting in Dungeons and Dragons". The scene is so short that it's purely for comedic effect. Just because there is double meaning in some things doesn't mean there is double meaning in everything.
These are things hardly anyone will pick up on so why would they just make mike come out in s5? It's too big of a shift. And why drag him and el for 4 seasons if there's nothing there. Now if he was bi and had to choose, I feel duped. An epic love story but not with who think, I'm not digging it.
I get ur point but also think about how el and Mike r barely ever ACTUALLY “together” they kiss once in szn 1, they don’t see i until the last 2 episodes of szn 2, and they only date for a few episodes in szn 3, and then they are long distance and in szn 4, and at the end of szn 4 mike says “she barley even spoke to Me” when will asks how they ade
@@SaturnG_url I agree but for season 2, I really don't count the very end of the 8th episode since it was only like a minute before the end credits when she walks into the Byers house and everybody else is there too. But even in the last episode, they are only briefly reunited until they discuss closing the gate and how to save Will. Then they are separated again for most of that episode when Hopper takes El to the lab, the Byers and Nancy take Will to Hoppers cabin and Mike stays behind with Steve and the other kids. It's practically not until the last couple of minutes before the end credits roll that El walks in the snow ball dance at the school to reunite with Mike again. We then learn that they officially started dating since the snow ball dance when the first episode of season 3 begins. But yeah I agree.
Bruh I’m not a hater, but I don’t like the idea of Mike being gay I also don’t think Mike is gay in the snowball dance. He pushes to go dance with the girl. Just saying I really don’t think he’s gay don’t take this as harm or anything.😊
ARGUMENT 11: Mike's stunned expression when El kisses him. (Last episode of season 3) You are 100% ignoring the context of the scene. He's obesssing over El. He's all "I'm going to call you so much you'll get annoyed". He's excited to see her at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's all the awkwardness of young love. "I like presents too". They're seperating and El is walking away and both of them are chicken to express how they really feel... until El finally sucks it up. Mike is bashfully trying to forget the moment where he overshared his feelings and he's trying to deny it and El ends up being the forward one. Mike is just stunned. Sorry. You're interpretation of that scene is so wrong. And season 4 proves it. He writes El a lot of letters and basically ignores Will. That's not someone who's into guys. I got my first girlfriend when I was 16 and I basically ignored her to spend all my time with my best friend because I was in love with him. If I were Mike and just dating El for show, then I would have been writing Will all summer and barely paying attention to El. Again. You're cherry picking clips of scenes to make your argument and ignoring the context of the scene.
In conclusion. while I respect that queer readings can add valuable perspectives to media and help audiences feel seen, I don't think your interpretation of Mike as queer-coded holds up in this case. Queer coding is an important tool for exploring identity and has been used effectively in many narratives. However, what you're presenting here feels more like confirmation bias and apophenia-seeing patterns where there aren’t any. Take the argument about Mike’s reaction to El in Season 3: the context of the scene shows awkward young love, not hidden queer attraction. His behavior throughout the season focuses on his feelings for El, not Will, and this continues into Season 4, where he writes El letters while barely paying attention to Will. It’s also worth noting that Will’s storyline is a clear example of queer coding. His unrequited love for Mike fits into a well-established queer narrative that resonates with a lot of people (myself included). I’d argue that the Duffer Brothers have deliberately built that tension around Will’s character rather than Mike’s. I believe it's important to distinguish between valid queer coding and instances where patterns are imposed on a character without clear textual support. While queer interpretations can be powerful and meaningful, they should be grounded in the actual context of the story rather than cherry-picked details. If I’m wrong and Season 5 takes Mike’s character in a different direction, I’ll gladly admit it. But based on everything we’ve seen so far, I think your argument is built on a shaky foundation. Let’s see how the story plays out.
Queer coding doesn't mean the character ever comes out - you can queer code two friends in a show and nothing ever happens between them. You can queer code two and only have one be gay (effectively come out to the audience and the other doesn't). Anyway, calling the gym scene with the wrestlers cherry picking it very strange - why does that scene need to exist at all, and why in that way. You DO know that boys on the wrestling team don't just walk around in that one piece for all of practice, right? Also, its not cherry picking if you can pick it out THIS much. Cherry picking is when an entire narrative says X=B, but you ignore that and all of the stuff that supports it to over focus on only a very small few things that say X=Z. Thats not what is happening here with this channels total view. Anyway, I dont personally care if his character ends up out and gay and all that, we have Will for that, and the coding of his best friend (which is stronger, IMO) can say much even if he never comes out. A contrast of two characters who are very much two choices and two paths for people a few years older than I was at that time.
@@xBINARYGODx Except that Queer coding emerged as a way for creators, especially in the film and entertainment industry, to include LGBTQ+ representation when overtly queer characters or themes were heavily censored or stigmatized. There is literally a story of Will coming out as gay in the story. There's no reason to queer code when the story is literally telling a queer story in Will. It makes no sense. More over OP is clearly claiming that Mike is gay when he's not.
ARGUMENT 9: March 21, 1986 (Show) - Aired episode of 60 minutes March 16th? The Sorry? Was that episode shown in an episode somewhere? Or is it just the alignment of dates? Do they just reference the show by name? Mike's is a character in a show set in the 80s. The show displays a historically contextualizing scene by showing 60 minutes that happens to be discussing a gay event. Mike must be gay! It is clear that the Duffer brothers are including queer themes in their story and it's clear that said 60 minute episode highlights one of the darker moments in queer history... But this isn't about Mike. If anything it's about Will and what historical context he's experiencing while dealing with coming out. This is probably your worst argument yet.
ARGUMENT 6: Mike's disgust face. The chemistry lab scene, they weren't even talking about girls. You're just showing his disgust face. Of course, he was annoyed with Max. She wasn't a part of the group. He's focused on El. It's all a growing up story. Seriously, grasping at straws.
Argument 8.2: The Editor's room. You're downright dishonest because those scenes are of him looking at strangers when he's interrupted everyone and they're staring at him. he looks at two people who look the most pissed off before seeing his sister. Literally the second group of people equally contains a guy and a girl.
No you’re definitely not the only one. I feel as if they’re taking random clips and just saying that it’s gay. I completely respect it but I don’t see it.
so this channel is..... what? Focus on children's sexuality? That would be a little bit weird. Seriously though, why would you obsess over a boys sexual preferences. I don't know if he is or not but why are you doing any of this? Edit* I was going to alter my post and remove the word "obsess" but after reading some of the comments here, I am going to leave it. Some of you are talking 4 years back that you have thought about it. You need to be on a list.
ARGUMENT 1: passing by a blurry reference on a map? That's queer coding? That's your best argument? (Presumably you present your best or second best argument as a hook). apophenia. noun. ap·o·phe·nia ˌa-pə-ˈfē-nē-ə : the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas)
Agreed. They just want him to be gay. The writers wouldn't have built up Mike & Eleven's relationship just to have him be gay with Will. I'm not even sure that Will is in love with Mike. I just think he's having a hard time being honest with his best friend about his sexual orientation.
![[Stranger Things] Mike & El Analysis (Volume 1)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TvHSWrxf3AM/mqdefault.jpg)
Ngl Im surprised his biggest proof wasn’t just all the times he stared at Will’s lips
This video isn’t really about byler, it’s about signs Mike is gay. Be that through queer coding or moments that show his disinterest in girls and interest in boys. (Which goes beyond Will)
Where did Mike do that though 🤨 I just started season 3 and I haven’t seen that happening
@@AliensInTheChaquetrixit happens loads in season 4 tbh it makes sense why u haven’t seen it happen yet
tbh
@@AliensInTheChaquetrixin season 3 the beginning in the movie theater when Mike is asking will if he’s ok, it’s very subtle but he looks at his lips for a sec
Another thing I saw that could be seen as a hint is the shot of Mike in the phone booth as a little “the closet is glass” joke, with Will outside
I wanna talk about this in a queer coding video someday! It’s on the list of things to do ☺️
Imagine us bylers analyzing all this and it wasnt even true 😭😭
50/50 chance 🫣
willl ithey're queer coded so hard i feel like it'll be like what tf for then
@@Lilt348 it could be for will being in love with mike as of now theres only speculation, and some fans still dont take it as mike being gay so
@@justpeachybaby5929 But it'd about mike being weird tho like he's feelings things. It would be like why show that from his pov
@@Lilt348 hmm idk though because he does seem conflicted but I don't think that's due to will, he realised he was a bad friend and he wants to re connect, and every time will pretends he's speaking about els feelings but it's his it is a little awkward it's like mike is confused by him, not to mention its the 80s is sad but its very unlikely they could just be together naturally.
THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT MIKE'S PARALLELS WITH JACK. Those two have a similar storyline and I can see the Duffer Brother's taking inspiration from Dawson's Creek.
And as always, your videos are magnificent.
I'm still watching the show but I'm going to have a deep dive on Dawson's Creek and Stranger Things soon! But I wanted to touch upon a few things cause they're so similar!! Also thank you :)
I do Mikes disgusted face whenever I see boys in my class *lesbian*
Same lol
Same
I love your queer coding videos
They’re my favorite to make we get 10 in 1 for this one haha
Same I love them
@@lesbianmindflayer hi he is really I think he’s going to be a gay boy I thought he liked me 😢
i know what you are, michael wheeler. (and its ok!!)
I genuinely giggled at number 1 BC WHY IS HE JUST STANDING THERE WITH HIS EYES OPEN HE LOOKS SO GOOFY
5:00 I also feel a parallel between karen telling nancy that she can talk to her (about Steve) and karen telling mike that he can talk to her (about will)
5:11 I JUST WANNA POINT OUT THAT THIS GIRL'S HAIR PIN IS LITERALLY RAINBOW AND IT IS POINTING DOWN TOWARDS WILL'S HAND.
Exactly and she meets both will and Mike, then she dances with will
Shes dancing with will, this foreshadowing what will is not mike
@@lapizlazuli3959Shes dancing with will, this foreshadowing what will is not mike
I am absolutely obsessed with your videos-
You talk about so many things that I haven't noticed despite how many times I've rewatched stranger things
"TOP TEN MIKE WHEELER GAY MOMENTS COMPILATION" is real now i can die oeacefully
I love byler content, I've been surviving on it for months.
And I especially love how Mike confessed his love for Will in season 2. Like, that was so gay. I saw it the first time when it first came out and I noticed, but I told myself that they wouldn't do it like that. Now I know they are doing it like that.
WE FR NEED TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT MIKE-DUSTIN PARALLEL AT SNOWBALL!!
That video will happen eventually don’t worry ☺️
GENUINELY SO HAPPY THE EYES OPEN WAS ONE THAT MONENT HAS HAUNTED ME FOR 4 YEARS AND ITS THE MAIN PIECE OF PROOF MY BRAIN ALWAYS GOES BACK TO
I cannot stop watching byler videos. I cannot get enough. Your channel is getting me through this time. Thank you!!!!!!!!!! I love it
Byler will be endgame mark my words
And yes... MIKE IS GAY! 🏳️🌈
We have a lot of evidences that this ship can becomes real (I'm really happy)
Thank you always for being here and giving us content, great video! :D
Thank you for watching it! It helps make the wait until s5 a little more bearable for me haha
I didn't think it was a mystery. I thought it was understood by anyone watching the show that he was a closeted homosexual. The thing is, he only seems to have eyes for just one guy... not really displaying any sort of attraction to any other male or having any interest in anything typically designated as "gay".
Demisexuals exists and can be gay, so interest in one guy is not a dealbreaker. About interests/hobbies, well, there's DnD. It's not stereotypically gay hobby, but it is (and I think was) quite popular among queer people.
If you pay attention to how Mike acts around Eddie, you'll see he kinda likes the male character and is admiring him whereas Dustin looks a bit uncomfortable in the scene where Eddie hugs both of them. Mike on the other hand likes this closeness. Not that he has a crush on Eddie but probably thinks he's attractive.
I looove watching your videos because I find queercoding in media super interesting but i always miss the little stuff when i'm watching shows/movies, your videos are amazing and super entertaining!! ❤️
Me too!! I think it’s so interesting so it’s fun to find in my favorite shows and such. Thanks for watching!
ARGUMENT 3: Do not dilute the scene between Jonathan and Will by suggesting that the scene between Mike and his mom is the same. The reality is that at that point in first season Mike is hiding things from his parents. So he's acting cagey.
Where as Jonathan actually notices Will and realizes that he might be gay. It's a heart-felt moment that gay kids dream about. That scene was for us.
CHAT can we say that when MIKE looks at Will or at Will’s mouth, Mike has his lips parted. What I mean by parted lips is when looking at someone or someone’s mouth shows that they are attracted to them or want to kiss them. Mike also shows other forms of attraction toward Will. Like how Mike licks his lips while or before talking to Will, he locks eyes with Will, HE EVEN TAKES DEEP BREATHS in some moments with Will. The double or even triple takes Mike does toward Will is a sign. Chat signs of interest Mike has for Will is undeniable for sure. 👏🤨
I haven't watched the show past S2 but you've got me convinced on mike being gay 😅
I honestly thought this little dude was gay in season one but after he had a relationship with El I just thought I was projecting
14:45 vickie's boyfriend doesn't like fast times
Vickie’s boyfriend isn’t a main character so I didn’t include him. But he is also 🤨 🏳️🌈 ? In the gauge of fast times lol
maybe that's the real reason he broke up with her...@@lesbianmindflayer
I believe that Mike is gay but holy crap this is some serious corn plating 😭😭
If in season 5 Mike and will don't conffese to eachother thats fine, but were forceing The
Duffer Brothers to make a season 6😊😂❤
I think especially with that monologue he gave El in the last episode and she knew some of what he said wasn't true, I think Mikes secret will be coming out in season 5.
yes, also: I found it interesting that the now famous scene introducing us to the character of Eddie Munson had two songs by The Cramps playing over it, one per speech: I Was A Teenage Werewolf under the "Forced conformity, that's what's killing the kids" speech, and Fever, under the "You two are the future of Hellfire" speech. They have a similar sound, which makes them sound harmonious within the same overall scene, but they have extremely different themes! Whereas the former song echoes what is being discussed by Eddie (i.e. being an outcast), the latter song, a song about lust, has absolutely nothing to do with what anyone is talking about.
However we see the overall cafeteria scene is shot it in predominantly Mike's POV and secondarily in Eddie's POV. So listening to the lyrics of the song with this in mind adds some very interesting subtext to the way Mike perceives Eddie. As we know in the show we've only explicitly gotten Dustin's dynamic with Eddie so far, and for some reason** we don't get much explicitly from Mike's perspective this season. But here, we can start to infer some of his perspective through a music choice like this, combined with him pulling most of the focus out of all the reaction shots. To make it less subtle than it was presented, I've layered the song over how it plays out in the scene and added the lyrics (you'll hear it fade in from its original volume at the beginning). Once you're aware of the song I hope you'll have a new added perspective on the scene!
**It looks like The Duffers intend for Mike's true POV to be a surprise for next season given that he's been all of a sudden conspicuously pulled from driving any of the narrative this season. But screw that, I love knowing what a character is thinking!" - this is taken fromn the dexription of a video labelled mikes pov or something simialr
i am going to (yet again-) send this to my friend and rant to them about the silly homos.
THANKS BROSKI!!! ❤
Omg sameee #bylerforlife
"The most queer-coded character I've ever seen" - Hello, Will is LITERALLY RIGHT THERE!
Will may be established as gay by the actors and writers but he's never came out and said it in the show. which means he's still only "queer coded" and not canonically gay. It's like how JK Rowling said that Dumbledore was gay after harry potter ended and we only get the vaguest of coding in the books. (Rowling is a TERF but the example is relevant).
SOLD honey i bought the whole thing and I've never watched the show 😂❤😅love your hard work ❤
I NEED THEM TO GET MURRAY'D IN THE NEW SEASON
Soooo true😭😭🙏
PLS
YOOO IM EARLY(ISH, I WAS PLAYING MM2 😭) BUT YESS MIKE GAY YES OMG
Edit: I’m finally watching this video 2 weeks later- haha I just clicked the notif and left 💀 (haha terrible)
8:36 NO STOP IT THAT HURTS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
FINALLY I LOVE THESE VIDEOS
I love your videos so much! I literally stop everything when I see you've posted a new video XD
I love your videos, they're so insightful and thought-provoking! I've had so many internal dialogues (hopefully one day external when I can finally rewatch Stranger Things with my sister, lol) about the show and have also made me think more about other media I watch as well! Also, they're also just fun which is great!
I’m so happy to hear that! I feel similarly about Stranger Things the show has really shown me so many films, and shows I would’ve never even considered watching. But since it’s listed in the show I have because I was curious why. It’s so much fun and I hope you can have fun discussions with your sister in the future. I do the same with my brother! Haha
@@lesbianmindflayer I've always loved watching things with my brain turned off and can usually enjoy anything I watch but there's also something so fun about diving deeper into things like symbolism (even when sometimes I go off the rails just for fun by purposefully blowing things way out of proportion, lol). Yeah, me too, we usually have great back and fourths with things like this - like with a show we're currently watching - and we often have similar thoughts and opinions which is cool - so hopefully uni work lets up soon so we can go over Stranger Things again with a more analytical eye cos I was only 13 when it first came out, lol, so definitely wasn't looking at symbolism or deeper meanings, haha. I'm glad you can do that with your brother! It's always fun to have someone you can talk to about this stuff :D
7:32 i need that one way sighn for my closet
5:13 HOLY CRAP I NEVER NOTICED MAX'S FACE SHE'S LIKE "bish what i though will was gay but okay pop off ig???" 😂😂😂
In s1 when Mike and Lucas have their fight, Dustin tries to mend it by reminding Mike that Lucas is his best friend. Mike says that they're all best friends, but Dustin remains that Lucas and Mike are best friends. That always struck me as odd bc the season is all about Mike losing will. But it makes sense if we're accepting that even with the boys it is established that will and Mike's relationship is special and beyond the other friendships
5:12 the triangles in the girl's hair like---- THERES A PINK ONE TOO
12:17 Mike looking for a D&D "Sub" for Will? Are you sure he's not just looking for a new sub since his old one moved to Cali?
That's really interesting especially considering, not just him not wanting to play DND with Will in season 3 but the fact he implied in their rain fight that they're all growing up now so it's time to focus on getting girlfriends and not DND anymore because it's for kids.
Mike is Gay definitely
I hate to be the one to say it. Very nice video i really like the way you made it however a lot of these things could be nothing and this would be far fetched but do what you want do your thing keep it up
I’ve been explaining all of this to my siblings yet SOMEHOW they’re still not convinced- (Great video by the way❤)
I love your videos so much!! They really do provide evidence and i hope that people can also see that mike is queer:) byler endgame
Thank you! I do a lot of research so I’m happy you see it too haha
I seriously love your videos, you put so much research to them and they are just amazing ❤
YESSSS NEW VID LES GOOOOO
Eddie saying "sodomy" and "force conformity" and Will getting hyped lit a light bulb inn my head. Can you do a review on Eddie next?
Mike should be bi because he's dated el,and maybe a crush on will
Also will has been gay since s1 because the bully (I can't remember his name) said "..in fairy land all happy and gay" so yea
me personally i think he is bisexual but everyone has there own opinions! 🩷
Yeah same
Very nice work! Thanks.
Congratulations! Magnificent work!
I love your videos sm
Me: this is never gonna happen
Also me: watches a 18 minute long video of queer coding mike
Me too 😭 I'm so pessimist about them, but I love the shipp
I personally see him as bi since he dated el.
You can think what you like of course but people can still be gay or a lesbian even if they've dated the opposite sex. Most likely to hide their true sexuality and conform to the hetero normative. It's likely Mike was dating El to hide his true feelings and homosexuality. But you can have any opinion you want.
@@mossie7625
I never said people couldn’t be gay or lesbian if they’ve dated the opposite sex, I’m aware, it’s just a headcannon.
Im not sure if you talked after the few seconds of "Time After Time" cut out for copyright purposes or what as there was no audio for a few seconds.
I love the byler ship I hope they end up together In season 5 😢🎉❤
it was actually march 21 in the first ep of s4
Finn should have more LGBT Roles
NUMBER SEVEN IS SO GAY OMG IVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOREVER
15:41 he's in front of a closet
Mike Wheeler i know what you are.
I gotta say I have serious doubts that Mike is gay. Will is 100% gay but I don't think Mike is the same. I feel like they're gonna do this whole thing of will telling Mike he feelings and Mike's gonna be like, "Nah dude" and will's gonna have to cope with that.
btw, in wrestling, boys don't just work out and hang out all day in that one piece - the wear it for practice, sometimes, and for competition - the fact that the ENTIRE gym is full of nothing but them in that outfit is just odd, and well beyond a "oops" by the people who make the show - everything is paid and budgeted for, so it had to be written this way and shot that way on purpose. (and they clearly only used acter who are very obviously above HS age for it too - which lets you get away with more without the audience raising an eyebrow).
Since Mike does not seem to think it's weird or worth his "ew" face he uses plenty of other times, and that the camera starts in on those two young men who are all over each other - it's like, one of the most obvious coding's I have ever seen. Interesting that he talks to the only boy who is beefier compared to everyone else who is thin with some muscle and close to "ripped". It's like, in the ocean of guys he wants, he goes to where he won't be as easily turned out because talking to the other guys would be too distracting.
love your posts 🤩🫶
ARGUMENT 8: Mike and Dustin are looking for people to play D&D with the hellfire club. I literally just watched the scene over again. Mike ends up in the gym because he's desperate to find someone so he tries recruiting anyone... the scene is set up that he's asking the least likely person.. Mike's decided "Hey, if they like fighting... maybe they'll like fighting in Dungeons and Dragons". The scene is so short that it's purely for comedic effect. Just because there is double meaning in some things doesn't mean there is double meaning in everything.
I need the link the the man on the last 60 minute segment.
It’s in the description!
i know im super late- but do you get ur clips from netflix?
7:02 maybe, just maybe…
AHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHH AHHHHHHH AHHHHHHH
These are things hardly anyone will pick up on so why would they just make mike come out in s5? It's too big of a shift. And why drag him and el for 4 seasons if there's nothing there. Now if he was bi and had to choose, I feel duped. An epic love story but not with who think, I'm not digging it.
I get ur point but also think about how el and Mike r barely ever ACTUALLY “together” they kiss once in szn 1, they don’t see i until the last 2 episodes of szn 2, and they only date for a few episodes in szn 3, and then they are long distance and in szn 4, and at the end of szn 4 mike says “she barley even spoke to Me” when will asks how they ade
@@SaturnG_url I agree but for season 2, I really don't count the very end of the 8th episode since it was only like a minute before the end credits when she walks into the Byers house and everybody else is there too. But even in the last episode, they are only briefly reunited until they discuss closing the gate and how to save Will. Then they are separated again for most of that episode when Hopper takes El to the lab, the Byers and Nancy take Will to Hoppers cabin and Mike stays behind with Steve and the other kids. It's practically not until the last couple of minutes before the end credits roll that El walks in the snow ball dance at the school to reunite with Mike again. We then learn that they officially started dating since the snow ball dance when the first episode of season 3 begins. But yeah I agree.
I am pro gay mike and that all but with last point, didnt him and el kissed like all the time in season 3?
I mean he's at least bi cause he kinda had a relationship with eleven
Yeah that’s what I think
13:56 What's the name of this song?
made till 5:30... big NO from me. I'm gay, but this is just one of those things "if you're looking for it, you're gonna find it" 1/10
Bruh I’m not a hater, but I don’t like the idea of Mike being gay I also don’t think Mike is gay in the snowball dance. He pushes to go dance with the girl. Just saying I really don’t think he’s gay don’t take this as harm or anything.😊
He pushes will to go dance with a girl
Did you even watch the video
Did u see his expression?
Guys calm down it’s their opinion….☠️
ARGUMENT 11: Mike's stunned expression when El kisses him. (Last episode of season 3)
You are 100% ignoring the context of the scene. He's obesssing over El. He's all "I'm going to call you so much you'll get annoyed". He's excited to see her at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's all the awkwardness of young love. "I like presents too". They're seperating and El is walking away and both of them are chicken to express how they really feel... until El finally sucks it up.
Mike is bashfully trying to forget the moment where he overshared his feelings and he's trying to deny it and El ends up being the forward one. Mike is just stunned.
Sorry. You're interpretation of that scene is so wrong.
And season 4 proves it. He writes El a lot of letters and basically ignores Will. That's not someone who's into guys.
I got my first girlfriend when I was 16 and I basically ignored her to spend all my time with my best friend because I was in love with him. If I were Mike and just dating El for show, then I would have been writing Will all summer and barely paying attention to El.
Again. You're cherry picking clips of scenes to make your argument and ignoring the context of the scene.
Only 10?
Mike is gay😊
yes he is 🏳️🌈💚⚪💙 (i can't find the white heart)
Okay I understand will is gay that’s clear but I don’t believe Mike is gay
Same I just don’t see it.
In conclusion. while I respect that queer readings can add valuable perspectives to media and help audiences feel seen, I don't think your interpretation of Mike as queer-coded holds up in this case. Queer coding is an important tool for exploring identity and has been used effectively in many narratives. However, what you're presenting here feels more like confirmation bias and apophenia-seeing patterns where there aren’t any.
Take the argument about Mike’s reaction to El in Season 3: the context of the scene shows awkward young love, not hidden queer attraction. His behavior throughout the season focuses on his feelings for El, not Will, and this continues into Season 4, where he writes El letters while barely paying attention to Will.
It’s also worth noting that Will’s storyline is a clear example of queer coding. His unrequited love for Mike fits into a well-established queer narrative that resonates with a lot of people (myself included). I’d argue that the Duffer Brothers have deliberately built that tension around Will’s character rather than Mike’s.
I believe it's important to distinguish between valid queer coding and instances where patterns are imposed on a character without clear textual support. While queer interpretations can be powerful and meaningful, they should be grounded in the actual context of the story rather than cherry-picked details.
If I’m wrong and Season 5 takes Mike’s character in a different direction, I’ll gladly admit it. But based on everything we’ve seen so far, I think your argument is built on a shaky foundation. Let’s see how the story plays out.
Queer coding doesn't mean the character ever comes out - you can queer code two friends in a show and nothing ever happens between them. You can queer code two and only have one be gay (effectively come out to the audience and the other doesn't). Anyway, calling the gym scene with the wrestlers cherry picking it very strange - why does that scene need to exist at all, and why in that way. You DO know that boys on the wrestling team don't just walk around in that one piece for all of practice, right?
Also, its not cherry picking if you can pick it out THIS much. Cherry picking is when an entire narrative says X=B, but you ignore that and all of the stuff that supports it to over focus on only a very small few things that say X=Z. Thats not what is happening here with this channels total view.
Anyway, I dont personally care if his character ends up out and gay and all that, we have Will for that, and the coding of his best friend (which is stronger, IMO) can say much even if he never comes out. A contrast of two characters who are very much two choices and two paths for people a few years older than I was at that time.
@@xBINARYGODx Except that Queer coding emerged as a way for creators, especially in the film and entertainment industry, to include LGBTQ+ representation when overtly queer characters or themes were heavily censored or stigmatized.
There is literally a story of Will coming out as gay in the story. There's no reason to queer code when the story is literally telling a queer story in Will.
It makes no sense.
More over OP is clearly claiming that Mike is gay when he's not.
I personally love byler, but i have to say, some of these are a stretch
4:50 say... something in the closet...
ARGUMENT 9: March 21, 1986 (Show) - Aired episode of 60 minutes March 16th? The Sorry? Was that episode shown in an episode somewhere? Or is it just the alignment of dates? Do they just reference the show by name?
Mike's is a character in a show set in the 80s. The show displays a historically contextualizing scene by showing 60 minutes that happens to be discussing a gay event. Mike must be gay!
It is clear that the Duffer brothers are including queer themes in their story and it's clear that said 60 minute episode highlights one of the darker moments in queer history... But this isn't about Mike. If anything it's about Will and what historical context he's experiencing while dealing with coming out.
This is probably your worst argument yet.
Why can't he be bisexual?
ARGUMENT 6: Mike's disgust face. The chemistry lab scene, they weren't even talking about girls. You're just showing his disgust face. Of course, he was annoyed with Max. She wasn't a part of the group. He's focused on El.
It's all a growing up story. Seriously, grasping at straws.
Argument 8.2: The Editor's room. You're downright dishonest because those scenes are of him looking at strangers when he's interrupted everyone and they're staring at him. he looks at two people who look the most pissed off before seeing his sister. Literally the second group of people equally contains a guy and a girl.
Am I the only one who doesn’t see it at all??
It’s definitely looking way too deep on it lmao.
@@lulu_TheWitchBoyDude the duffer brothers WANT you too look deep, ESPECIALLY in S4
No you’re definitely not the only one. I feel as if they’re taking random clips and just saying that it’s gay. I completely respect it but I don’t see it.
i love gay coded mike but i HATE byler sm
gay
gay homosexual
@@rebellius_9190 gay gay homosexual gay
@@Literally_NoOne gay gay homosexual kinsey 6 gay
@@rebellius_9190 gay gay gay homosexual homo gay boykisser
no shi
so this channel is..... what?
Focus on children's sexuality? That would be a little bit weird.
Seriously though, why would you obsess over a boys sexual preferences. I don't know if he is or not but why are you doing any of this?
Edit* I was going to alter my post and remove the word "obsess" but after reading some of the comments here, I am going to leave it. Some of you are talking 4 years back that you have thought about it.
You need to be on a list.
This is bullshit
YOU JUST CANT ACCEPT IT
YOUR JUST DENYING IT LMAO
Comments like this are so funny because even half of the st cast also ship byler😭 even if they arnt endgame, its not bull to think it might be
@@Alexo-o fr
DENIAL IS A RIVER IN EGYPT
ARGUMENT 1: passing by a blurry reference on a map? That's queer coding? That's your best argument? (Presumably you present your best or second best argument as a hook).
apophenia. noun. ap·o·phe·nia ˌa-pə-ˈfē-nē-ə : the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas)
Agreed. They just want him to be gay. The writers wouldn't have built up Mike & Eleven's relationship just to have him be gay with Will. I'm not even sure that Will is in love with Mike. I just think he's having a hard time being honest with his best friend about his sexual orientation.