Back in the 80s, society established that romantic relationships should only be between a man and a woman, so since this El is the first woman in his life who he is not grossed out by, Mike feels he has to pursue something. However, I strongly believe that Mike is dealing with internalized homophobia, and we see that mentally taking a toll on him and his relationship with Will. I have been a Mike Wheeler defender since day one, and I will continue to stand by him, so I’m really hoping Netflix doesn’t make me look stupid. It’s either that he’s been struggling to identify that he is actually queer and accept that he has feelings for Will, or he has been written to be a terrible person since season three, which is horrible writing. You don’t hire Finn Wolfhard as a character to make him play an awful character. He is too talented for that. Also, all unrequited crushes on this show have been resolved within the season they are introduced in, such as Dustin and Max in season two or Steve and Robin in season three. You wouldn’t drag out miscommunication, have obvious signs that feelings are requited, or set up for a grand reveal in the final season, only to give up on it. The painting is significant because it is the first time Will has lied to Mike, and if they wanted to say Mike is straight and not interested in Will, they would have resolved it in season four by Will pouring out his feelings. Then season five could have explored Will moving on, but that is not what they chose to do. Also, it would not be good writing to have a slow-burning relationship that has been built up for the whole show, for it to end in rejection. Especially with the amount of trauma Will has been through, it would just reaffirm his idea that he is unlovable. When in reality Will has voiced that Mike makes him not feel like a mistake, and it is clear in the van scene that Mike feels that Will sees him for who he truly is. Meanwhile, El is attached to Mike because of her trauma, which does not equate with her loving him for who he truly is. Rather than being insecure like he is in his relationship with El, he feels completely comfortable being himself with Will because he reaffirms that his “weird” qualities are admirable. In addition, the show has previously exemplified times where seemingly straight characters are not (ex., Robin after being built up to be someone Steve is interested in and Vickie being seemingly straight).Â
Mike having internalized homophobia and struggling to accept that would explain why he seemed to be ghosting Will in season four. Since we know in the past they’ve been best friends, and whenever he hurts Will, like in the rain fight in season three, he immediately goes to apologize. Unlike when El dumped him in season three and he did not go after her to apologize. I could break down more specific moments that highlight how Byler is being hinted at, but this article is acting as a more comprehensive overview ahead of season five. As well as to refute the claim that Bylers are delusional because if I can pull enough evidence to write two articles about it, it is evident that there is plenty of evidence to highlight the possibility of them getting together. Anybody who is familiar with queer couples in the media knows how rare it is for a couple to actually be canon, but Byler has not been written like these stories, and they have the advantage of classic romance tropes on their side. The reason Byler supporters are so passionate is because it would be monumental for such a mainstream show to highlight how queer love is just as beautiful and should be accepted as heterosexual love. The fact that this is a long debate on whether these two male characters can even end up together highlights the problem surrounding attitudes towards queer characters, and hopefully Stranger Things will go in the right direction and work on changing that attitude.Â
If you watch interviews of the Duffers, you would know that everything they choose to add to the show is intentional because they want it to come back and have meaning in the end. It is beyond question that they have set up Byler to be a possibility from the very beginning, but since it is a Netflix show, the real question is whether Netflix would allow the ship to happen or not. Netflix kind of acts like the general audience of Stranger Things, who are dead set against Byler and fail to realize that the show is not for them, but the purpose is to give representation to the outcasts in the ’80s. I have hope for Netflix that they will learn from their past mistakes and give the fandom what they want. Anybody who is a fan of Finn Wolfhard is familiar with the “Finn Wolfhard curse,” which is essentially that he is playing a queer character in the 80s in love with his best friend, and this trend is seen in the It movies, The Goldfinch, and Stranger Things. However, none of those relationships have ever been an endgame. The reason I bring this up is because there is so much overlap with the It and Stranger Things fandoms, and those who passionately shipped Reddie are the same people who want Byler to happen. We don’t want a repeat of what happened to Richie and Eddie, so we’re begging Netflix to pull through. Especially because Netflix has been marketing the love triangle between Mike, Will, and Eleven for this season, and if they don’t go through with it, this show will likely go down as the biggest case of queerbaiting this century. Other Byler shippers who have done a deeper analysis of the show have pointed out that the creators would have put an end to fan speculation about the romantic possibility between Mike and Will if it were not possible to avoid pain on the LGBTQ+ side. The lawyer that has released two almost three-hour videos analyzing this relationship is an out gay man, and he has pointed out how Noah Schnapp has publicly shipped Byler, and since the actor is also an openly gay man, allowing him to promote the ship and make others be mindful of it just for them to not be endgame would be more hurtful to the LGBTQ+ community.Â
The LGBTQ community has been teased with the idea of a same-sex couple numerous times on screen, just to have it not pull through in the end. However, considering that Mike and El’s relationship has been in decline the last two seasons and there is an unresolved conflict between Mike and Will, the fifth season is setting up that there is some exploring to do in their friendship. We know these best friends are working as a team together this season, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see if their love is what will save Hawkins from Vecna.Â