Due To A Few Demands Of Seeing Em Together 💘 @drangues

i could NOT stop thinking about this post from @elmaxed so i needed to draw something based on it

[+ still version under the cut]

Shared Looks

mike suspected he was breaking both his and will's hearts in the monologue

I'm spinning the idea that mike both understood will's meaning in the van, and that he also knew that will was breaking his own heart by pushing mike back towards el at surfer boy pizza.

If this theory is true, it would add so much more meaning to all of mike and will's shared looks post the mindfight in vol. 2 - especially all the moments when mike tries to make contact with will.

let's explore these!

where else to begin than the sheer anguish of this scene? there'll be top-layer meaning to all of these scenes, but byler has always been told mainly through subtext so far, and this continues into vol. 2, giving every scene with mike and will a double (or triple, or quadruple) meaning. if there is only one way (ahem) to describe their relationship in s4, it is that they are hyperaware of each other. yes, love... yes, romance... yes, attraction... but all that is to come in earnest in s5. s4, with its attention and hidden looks, is all about the hyperawareness of the beloved, if not the self.

so what is it that vol. 2 does specifically? what is special about vol. 2 in byler terms? what separates it from vol. 1 thematically? there must be a difference, elsewise there would not be a divide of volumes. for each character arc, vol. 2 brings new changes, just like acts in a play. and vol. 2 for byler begins with the van scene; a scene of that establishes and clarifies. and then its all torn away in the monologue - but just imagine that mike's look to will in sbp is one of surprise and confusion.

why are you saying this? his face appears to scream.

there is understanding beneath the pain. and what if... what if he and will actually WERE on the same page, from the van scene right until the end on the hill? is there anything that supports this idea?

the desperation on both of their faces: panic, a sense of complicity: this is all we can do, there's no other hope.

can you imagine? if mike was simply waiting for a chance to talk to will, to sort everything out with el, but then... there simply is no chance? no moment to talk? everything we see post sbp suggests mike and will are trying to silently communicate without anyone else noticing.

the way we get the cross-shooting camerawork, where focus lands on the furthest person from the camera. the focus starts here on mike and then moves to will, showing how both of their reactions are of equal importance. it's subtle, but it's there, and they use this technique a fair bit with mike and will.

then they both look to el, and there's the sense that they are both thinking the same thing, looking with new eyes at what el has done. what she can do. her power. more than ever, she is inspiring wonder and awe; this plot point is not necessarily humanising her in mike's eyes, and as a conclusion to their shared 'you're my superhero' arc, it's only serving to make her even more awe-inspiring and mysterious.

of course, will's wistfulness is tinged with longing for mike, and despair, while mike's is tinged with knowingness and revelation.

el perpetuates (perhaps unknowingly) her own mysteriousness in mike's eyes when she refuses to tell him much about what happened in the desert and interim.

personally I don't believe they stopped at a motel for a couple of reasons, including the urgency with which el said they had to get home or their friends would die, and also because it was only two days on the title card between nevada and indiana. that doesn't seem like enough time for a junky old pizza van with an 80s engine to get across the interstate with a whole overnight rest stop included. we already see jon yawning and rubbing his eyes as he drives in the byler van scene, and we know a very tired argyle has also been driving too - and this was before the stakes had ramped up because they hadn't even heard that hawkins was in danger as well as el yet. plus will hasn't changed clothes despite bringing a packed rucksack - surely he would have at least washed and changed if they stopped at a motel, even if he couldn't sleep?

i love the romance of motelgate, but it just doesn't seem likely for a show known to have characters that ignore their own personal needs when extreme danger threatens their friends. the storytelling is suggesting that they pushed themselves through the fatigue to get home; jon and argyle taking turns driving, and mike will and el napping in the back if they even could.

we also then see this scene, with everyone looking concerned and very tired, practically speechless at the disquiet in hawkins...

... which is why its a perfect place for this rack focus shot of mike looking at will. will is looking out at the destruction, just like mike had in previous scenes, peering out of the window...

... and while it looks somewhat like mike is doing the same, notice the little raising of eyebrows, the look of gentle and timid confusion, and the way that from his seat the view through the front windscreen would make leaning forward/peering the natural response. instead he sits still, with a look of hidden pain on his face. why doesnt he look out of side window instead, like in previous shots? and if thats not enough, the rack focus alone, from will on to mike, suggests that this is very much a moment about the two, about the emotional connection between them - and the way it awkwardly makes sure to crop el from the frame results in a shot that feels uncomfortable and unfinished - which is exactly how mike feels right now. this shot is showing us mike is bursting with so many things he wants and needs to say to will, but he just can't get him alone.

not only does this track with the motelgate isnt real idea - they surely would have had a moment while el slept or showered? - but we see in their next scenes that mike is still looking to get a moment alone to talk to will properly.

in the hospital, max and lucas are the main narrative focus. but underneath, there are always subtleties and details, like will gently caressing mike's back when they hug. mike's not resisting will anymore. he's letting himself be touched, be held. almost as if there is an understanding between the two of them, finally. finally. if only they could get a moment alone amongst the chaos.

in the cabin, it happens. mike so readily opens up to will even when el is around, choosing to confide in will instead of going after his girlfriend. it's healthy because he's reading the room and giving her the space she definitely wants - its a direct contrast to him going to her room in lenora. but it's also a growth of a different kind, where he follows his instincts and finally allows himself to talk to will instead, allows himself to want will by his side instead.

their physicality is very close; not as close as they were by the freezer at surfer boy pizza, but then again there is no direct danger right now (or so they think).

even so, mike can barely look will in the eye for more than half a second.

he's in distress about el - she and will are at the forefront of his mind. we don't see mike talking about the destruction of hawkins and his family - that will come, but to tie up his s4 arc, they're choosing to remain in the romantic conflict realm for mike. the story is told both through dialogue (re: el) and through physicality (re: will), which we see when mike steps closer to will before moving to the sofa. do we think he did this subconsciously or consciously?

and will leans in too, because it's the most natural thing for them both.

i find this shot so interesting. it's a long take two-shot which began with a left-right pan but then features a backtracking right-left pan, which is beautiful because the cinematographic language is so LOUD.

right -> left implies going backwards, characters retracing steps or backtracking, deliberately or not. el is moving left to right when she walks past mike and will: she is moving forward, moving on from them both in this situation. this is not to say she won't reunite with either of them in a new way in s5, but for now, she has deduced something about the both of them, and herself, and is choosing to move onwards. the camera then moves backwards, right to left, finding will and mike where el left them: standing together.

they make eye contact, speak intimately and complicitly (both in vocal tone and in content), and move off together in the frame, again from right to left. they're going back: back to basics, back to their friendship, back to a start where it was the two of them together and they could figure stuff out. i really do think s5 is going to take us back in time, although i'm not sure if that means physically or just emotionally yet.

and then mike moves into a sunbeam.

it's a high beam; it comes from above.

which means that it misses them when they both sit down, leaving only will in the light. but mike touched it. the light touched mike, momentarily. then he slid back into the dark.

and will plops down on the upside down sofa (having followed mike there... oh, visual storytelling foreshadowing), completely bathed in beautiful sunlight from mike's pov.

and yeah, when we see another intimate two-shot, mike is still mainly in the dark and will in the light...

...but when it was will's pov, will following mike to the sofa, he saw a beam of angelic light grace mike's shoulder.

lets now take a moment to appreciate the sheer intimacy and closeness this entire scene portrays. sat together calmly on a sofa, discussing the end of the world. and then mike makes another promise to will, that they'll finish it together.

i don't know about you, but i wouldn't want to cross THIS michael.

the cinematography is so pure and warm - but isn' it the end of the world? where's the horror? it comes in the stinging music when will talks, but the atmosphere and lighting is telling us that love and safety exists underneath everything, and hope. mike's grip on will's shoulder: the extra meaning of the fact he's even allowing himself to be touched by will at all, let alone choosing to touch will deliberately, to reach out to him finally, isn't lost on will. the way the light hits will's irises so crisply and perfectly, asking us to search his eyes for meaning. this is arguably the first scene of s4 that tells us will is going to be making a return as a main character for s5.

and mike only reluctantly lets go, because he wanted to talk to will. there is still so much he needs to say. that hand reaching out was only the start. he's reaching into the light.

look how upset he is when they are interrupted AGAIN. and that light? does it want to be any more painterly? it's practically a vermeer. it's sheer romance, even when it's not (yet).

and even as they move off, mike is momentarily included.

and when we see will peeking out of the cabin, it throws us right back to his s1 arc.

and of course we follow this with the family reunion and the hillside scene.

if ur mike isnt a masc gay goofy goober i do not want him. if u dont acknowledge wills gendernonconformity then i hate u. if u dont get that byler is purposely contrasting n it shouldnt be mixed n mashed/swapped for the sake of cheaply avoiding "stereotypes" u better fuck off now lmao

Noah schnapp is such a pretty cryer no wonder they made will so traumatized

miwi where they're playing together but will's a sleepy boy so he yawns and gets drowsy and mike encourages him to nap with his head on his lap and will's like. okay. he settles himself properly with mike's lap on his pillow and he sleeps. it's a good sleep. being around mike always guarantees good dreams.

when he wakes up he slowly blinks his eyes open and sees that mike is staring down at him, playing with his hair. his fingers are so gentle, and will falls a little more in love.

Mike absolutely uses his height to intimidate his love interests

Someone please help me find that one image of Mike and Will at surfer boy pizza in volume two where it looks like Will is resting his head on Mike’s shoulder. I need it for a dumb post.

This is no new news but Byler brought me to my knees sobbing today. I will watch the sun set tonight and I’ll think about byler. I’ll watch the sunset tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day after that. How many sunsets until Mike and Will finally have their happy ending ?

do u ever think about how naturally these two were able to reconnect and how damn easy it was for them to fall back into their usual, reassuring, effortless friendship?? like. as a reminder, this was the first time they'd actually spoken to one other after rink-o-mania, and yet they were still able to make each other smile and laugh and blush like their fight and their whole year of distance and miscommunication had never even happened 🥺😭🥹

I mean, it's… it’s like, why him?

STRANGER THINGS LUCAS SINCLAIR & PATRICK MCKINNEY