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#but in the byler scenes as we know mike wears blue will wears yellow
ronancebyler · 9 months
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me? im just thinking about how in the m*leven season 4 fight scene el is wearing blue (mike's color) and red (her color) while mike is wearing blue and yellow (will's color).
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Byler has some of the most obvious colour coding ive seen, like ever in teenage-adult media.
and one of the scenes that feels like they are dangling them right infront of them
okay so, mike = blue and will = yellow, we all know this. and the two times they were wearing eachothers colours simultaneously, they fought.
rain scene:
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and the other time being what im talking about rn, is the rinko mania fight.
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as the fight begins, we can see the obvious blue and yellow lights in the background, which are also accompied by pink/purple colours (els typical colour that she is coded with)
i think this scene was a bit of mixed perspective of both will and mike, so im going to talk about it like its from both their povs
It feels like the yellow and blue lights are further down on the wall, almost like they are making their way up into both of their thoughts. But they are still worried about eleven, so her thoughts stay above
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and here, we see all three colours in wills frame. like hes still worried about his sister, but also the flaming hot garbage can of a friendship both he and mike have
also to mention- contrast - as the scene progressed the blue and yellow stop fading together on their faces, they start to contrast, symbolising the clash of characters
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and then we switch to mike, who is quite literally ALLL blue and yellow. after will brought up their relationship, its all hes thinking about. all hes concerned about. and he clearly doesnt like the thoughts hes having because he become quick to be defensive, “WE’RE FRIENDS…. we’re friends.”
and when will follows up with “well we used to be BEST friends,” mike suddenly retracts, realising hes overthinking it, and will is being purely platonic. realising that he had those thoughts that will was talking about a friendship. and that he shouldnt have thought like that. WHICH TO IMMDEIATLY FOLLOW THAT FUCKINNNNG CONVERSATION
AS SOON AS HE STARTS TALKING AGAIN:
A STRANGER THINGS CUSTOM SONG CALLED “IN THE CLOSET” starts playing. (a double meaning song cus el is literally in the closet as they’re arguing.)
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and then mike gets defensive, taking the blame of these queer thoughts off himself.
then after his defensive outburst, he feels guilty. And his mind goes immediately back to el. “lets just find el”
and then theres this frame that i dont even have to fucking say anything cus wtf
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thestrangestthing89 · 4 months
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Catching up on some of the behind the scenes stuff. My take on what we have seen so far...
Mike having a similar look to season 1 is so good for him. I think it shows he is more comfortable with himself. He's going back to his roots when he was the character everyone loved. So I think we will get a more authentic Mike and Paladin Mike back right off the bat.
I like the blue polo with the yellow collar. And it looks like his jacket is a little green in the video with him and El (like a sage green/greyish green color). It reminds me a bit of the color block polo he was wearing in S3 which makes me wonder if Will is going to have a matching one this season too.
I say this as someone who realized byler was happening in S4 and started shipping it because it was the logical conclusion to draw. I tend to interpret things in a logical way. Byler wasn't something I wanted to happen and forced onto the narrative. I saw it happening and realized it was a good story and there was evidence backing it up. So when I say that Mike and El broke up in S4 it's not because I want it to be true (I honestly do not give a fuck about their relationship and gave it very little thought prior to coming on here). It's because it's the most logical thing to happen based on the story that we saw.
That being said, Mike and El's relationship closely resembles Nancy and Steve's. El broke up with him with the From El letter and he knows this. I've written about this a lot so I'm not going to get into it here, but the fact that at the end of S4 shows a 2 day time jump and after this point Mike and El aren't even talking and they are rolling their eyes at each other is meant to indicate that something happened with them during that time jump that wasn't good.
The fact that S5 seems to pick up a couple years later (judging by El's hair) I think is further proof that they already filmed part of S5 back when they were doing S4. The part that picks up right where S4 ended I think was already done. So I think this is where we will get to see a clarification of what exactly happened during that 2 day jump and get confirmation that Mike and El broke up already.
Their relationship was defined as being immature and made both of them feel badly about themselves. They were already at a point where they wanted it over so there is no reason narratively why that needs to drag out over 2 years when neither of them is happy.
Especially considering Mike's new look where he is dressing more like himself. They have established for 2 seasons that Mike isn't himself when he is with El. So him acting more comfortable and looking more like himself all points to him and El having broken up a while ago. He had time to figure out what was authentic for him already over a time jump.
I think Mike and El's conversation has more to do with reestablishing a friendship. They didn't communicate well when they were in a relationship and El dismissed Mike's feelings a lot (the conversation about bullying being one of those times), so I think it's possible they drifted apart during the couple year jump because I think it's hard for Mike to trust her. I saw people comparing it to the train track conversation back in S1 and I think that's accurate. That conversation was meant to indicate the first time Mike started seeing her as a friend (even though they really didn't reach an understanding here the way he thought). But I think this time it actually will establish a real friendship in a way that was different than before.
I do think think it's likely Mike and Will are together at this point in the beginning of S5. But either way I think a lot of this conversation with El has to do with Mike telling her how he feels about Will and them being honest with each other for the first time.
Mike and El have very few one on one scenes together. I think I can count on one hand the amount of conversations they have had where it was just the two of them and a group wasn't around them. To me, this indicates that this conversation is actually important. Unlike a lot of their other conversations where they weren't communicating well or they weren't acting like themselves. But I think in keeping with the pattern the show has always had, this is likely the last one on one scene with them until the end of the season. They tend to not interact much in the middle of every season so I would be surprised if there was much more content with just the two of them.
This scene is very platonic just based on their body language. They aren't close or acting in any romantic way. And again, the fact that they seem comfortable indicates that they have had time to reflect on their relationship and heal from it. Mike is never comfortable around El in S3 or S4. He is never comfortable with her touching him or being close with her. So the fact that he is here, is further proof to me that it's already over. He isn't pretending anymore (I think he was done with this by the end of S4).
Another thing that makes me think they haven't spent much time together over a jump of a few years is Mike directly telling Will in S4 that he wished he spent less time with El and more with him. He already made the mistake of not spending time with Will and regretted it. He isn't going to do that again. So I think it's possible that he has been spending more time with Will to make up for it and ended up pulling away from El. And this conversation in S5 is meant to be an acknowledgement of that and the fact that he can have a romantic relationship with Will and a platonic one with El at the same time. Two people he has been struggling to have a relationship at the same time with since pretty much the beginning of the series.
Very curious to see what Will's look is because I don't think it's a bowl cut. I always thought that hairstyle was meant to indicate him holding on to his childhood and all of his trauma. If he has a new look I think it's a good hint that not only is he more comfortable with himself but that him and Mike are already together at the beginning of S5. The show has already established that the two of them are only comfortable with themselves when they are together. Mike being true to himself is a good thing. It shows he learned and grew from his immature behavior in the past few seasons. I would be surprised if Will's look doesn't indicate the same based on where his character arc left off at the end of S4.
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bylerismyeverything · 7 months
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This is gonna be complicated but I need you to stay with me
Ok so I’m pretty sure we all know about the byler color theory. But I want to add something to it, while we know that Mike and Will have the colors blue and yellow assigned to them I think it expends beyond just them. I think they’re not the only ones wearing certain colors as easter eggs. While I’m sure a lot of you saw "ketchup and mustard" I would still like to remind you.
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In this picture we clearly saw El as red and Max is also yellow, same as Will.
While the fact that Max and Will have the same color might be another easter egg it’s irrelevant to the theory I wanna talk about rn.
I know many people will be like "they just wore it in one scene that doesn’t mean anything" but the thing is, they didn’t.
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I know this seems like a stretch but in these pictures they were bonding and becoming really close which would explain the swapped colors or the combination of both colors.
Now to my theory: I think everyone color of clothing in this show always represent something and here are examples.
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Here you can see Mike and Will each wearing their own color. Although Will’s shirt has some blue in it to represent his feeling for Mike.
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Here is a slightly more complicated one. Mike is wearing a purple shirt that shirt represents him and eleven, because blue and red make purple. Mike is reuniting with his girlfriend after a while of not seeing her and he’s looking forward to spend quality time with her. Now here’s where it gets tricky Mike is wearing a yellow shirt too that yellow shirt represents Will and their connection. Mike missed Will and while he himself wouldn’t admit it, just like he barely talked to Will while being away, his subconscious speaks for him like when he got mad at Will for the way he acted, and Will didn’t see it as anything weird he just continued to argue, but Mike was paying attention to Will that entire day. "You were rolling your eyes, you were moping, you were barely talking. You basically sabotaged the whole day." This shows just how Mike was caring and noticing Will even if it wasn’t his first priority to make sure Will was ok he still cared a lot. And Mike’s clothes in this scene weren’t the only ones speaking volumes. Will’s clothes for example are blue, Mike’s color which represents his feelings for him, and how much he wanted to spend the day with him since he had just arrived. El’s dress has blue, red and purple stripes. For her and Mike.
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In this photo both Mike and Eleven are wearing blue shirts. This is Mike’s color which means Mike was acting like his usual self. He was just being Mike. While El wanted to spend all her time with him.
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And this is why I made this post. Mike’s shirt is obviously mostly blue with yellow stripes in it and red stripes that are almost unnoticeable. This is also why I filmed my laptop because the red stripes weren’t showing in any picture I found of mike with this shirt. This shirt represents Mike, as blue with the shirt being mostly his color. And there are red stripes in there that are barely showing which I think represent and his faded and almost nonexistent feeling for El. And the bright yellow stripes say that while his feeling for El are almost not there his feeling for Will are growing and are stronger than ever. This is the scene where Mike is unable to tell El the words "I love you" and the reason is he doesn’t. Because this was the 3rd and last time Mike ever wore red. The other two times were also combined with both yellow and blue.
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I hope you understood at least some of what I’m trying to say, thanks😘
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jazz-penguin · 2 years
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OK so at first we saw that video with Finn reacting at melvin ("you wish🙄" and "genius line😏" omg!!!), then we got the bloopers with Finn yawning while filming the melvin scene, then we got him saying "when blue meets yellow in the west" when he didn't even need to know that part... And do you remember him wearing these colors at the FanExpo? We thought that was a coincidence. Oh boy, this guy must have been shipping Byler for years already!
Jokes aside, Finn must be fond of us, really. Melvins see Mike as a prize and don't really care about him as a character (they don't care about El either, they just want them to be together no matter what), GA thinks he's annoying and hate him for being a bad friend and boyfriend, while we understand ☝🏻 how complicated Mike is and what a great job Finn has done to portray him! 👏🏻
Seriously, we all praised Noah for what he's done to us during the van scene, but look at this! Finn didn't have any problems with such an emotional scene even though we know they were laughing their asses off in between the takes! And they only needed two takes to film it! The Duffers praised him so much for his work at S4 and looks like only bylers understand why.
We are his friends and he knows it 😏
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aemiron-main · 2 years
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stumbling into the room breathless YOU GUYS YOU GUYS
BYLER HOMECOMING DANCE IN S5 EXCEPT MIKE IS A BAD DANCER AND DOESNT REALLY KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY DANCE BECAUSE HE SORT OF JUST AWKWARDLY SHUFFLED WITH EL, RIGHT?? and so, mike, who is like, all limbs and awkward, trying to dance with will and take initiative because he feels like he needs to (and also bc he DOES want to) but it’s awkward and he’s nervously laughing while he steps on Will’s foot and he’s starting to panic but then Will gives Mike the gentlest, most reassuring look and smile, not at all upset about mike’s attempts at dancing, but then sweeps Mike off his feet because Will learned how to properly dance from Joyce. Especially since Will was awkward dancing with that girl in s2 and Mike was awkward dancing with El but now that they’re dancing with eachother, it all seems to fall into place. Mike, realizing that he doesn’t have to be the one to lead, to always take initiative, to always look after other people, and instead, can let himself be looked after, let himself follow Will’s lead.  Mike, blushing and laughing nervously because Will is actually a fantastic dancer and oh my god mike is SO in love and Will’s holding him and Mike feels like he’s going to die from happiness and he can’t stop smiling and him and Will are just absolutely grinning at eachother and then Will looks really sly all of a sudden, and before Mike can process what’s happening, Will is dipping Mike down and Mike is surprised but he goes along with it instinctively because he just naturally trusts Will.  Will, who dips Mike down gently, and pulls him back up gently and Mike’s nervously laughing at giving will That Specific Smile TM (the one from the s1 dnd game and from the s3 ‘not possible’ scene) Will just pulls mike back in closer and we get a cute forehead touch and then Mike puts his arms around will’s shoulders and he looks super nervous for a second and will panics for a second, wondering what’s wrong, then he kisses Will (not their first kiss though) and Will’s the one caught off-guard now but he’s okay with that, and then they dance slowly for awhile after that but then they sort of get back into Will’s original dance moves once the songs speed up a bit again and they’re just having fun and being dorks.  and as we zoom out from them, we can hear them giggling with eachother and bantering while Will spins mike around and mike totally loses his balance but that’s okay because Will is there to catch him Each of them wearing cute little outfits like formal dress shirts with vests and ties and they have blue and yellow ties respectively with little green accents. 
(and also later the party notices will’s moves tm and pushes the two of them to the middle of the dance floor to show off will’s dance moves and mike is so nervous but he just focuses on Will and Will pulls off some fantastic moves and mike is just SO in love)
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xxselenite · 10 months
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A short outfit analysis of the rain fight
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Okay, we know this scene, we both love it and hate it, it's angsty and fundamental in Byler. And the first time I've seen it, there was one thing that immediately caught my eye: the guys' shirts, or rather their colours.
We know that Mike's colour is blue and Will's colour is yellow, yet during this scene, they are wearing each other's colours.
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(a close-up so it's more visible)
So, what does it mean? I have two interpretations, which can go hand-in-hand.
When Mike says "it's not my fault you don't like girls" to Will, he is projecting, hence why Will is wearing his colour. This sentence is addressed to his friend, but to himself as well, intentionally or not.
On the other hand, Will is facing himself when he hears this sentence, and I think it can reflect internalised homophobia. The yellow forces him to face this issue = himself (though he is clearly not the issue).
I'm not exactly sure what to do with the fact that both their shirts have stripes, apart from the fact that stripes are supposed to be straight, but when you wear them, they inevitably crease and are not straight anymore.
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youjibyers · 2 years
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I know we’ve talked about the color-coding, but I still wanted to separately get some thoughts out about it because I’m insane. Will wears plaid (I know there are probably more specific pattern names for some of these, like checkered, but using “plaid” to refer to the criss-crossing patterns is just simpler) during a lot of season 4, and one of his plaid shirts (long-sleeved and buttoned, with pockets on the front) has primarily yellow/lighter coloring with blue detailing. Mike is Will’s person, his one, after all.
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We happen to see Mike wearing a plaid shirt as well in season 4. His shirt is also long-sleeved, buttoned, and has a front pocket (on the same side that we later see his arrow-pointing-to-will on the heart of his jacket). The main difference is that Mike’s plaid shirt has primarily blue/darker coloring with yellow detailing. Conveniently, this is the shirt he wears when he has a fight with his girlfriend about whether or not he really loves her.
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Of course, El also is seen wearing plaid, and it’s interestingly been implied that some of her clothing might be borrowed/hand-me-downs from Will.
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So El’s probable hand-me-down from Will in the airport scene also has blue on it, which on the surface might be, in this context, interpreted as representing how El loves Mike (because she’s wearing his colors). Then you think about it for another second, and it’s like, but the shirt was really Will’s, so doesn’t it ultimately just reflect that Will loves Mike again even though El is being used to convey that? Kind of like how El was used to convey that Will loves Mike in the van indirect confession scene?
And then, to really drive the point home, we can compare Will and El’s airport outfits.
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Even considering that El has the plaid shirt with some blue on it and that her dress has some blue on it, I’d still say that Will wins in terms of how boldly/completely blue his outfit is.
Feels like everyone’s talked about how Mike’s airport outfit: 1. Has byler colors, and 2. Is inauthentic, implying he’s putting up a (hetero) front, but there’s also the hat situation.
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Not only is he wearing sunglasses (hiding his eyes/symbolically being deceptive) to meet El and Will, but he also wears this visor that similarly helps hide his eyes (more deception symbolism?) and block out the light. It’s also got a turquoise/teal coloring on it that kind of reminds me (definitely a stretch lol) of the coloring we see on that one shirt worn by Ted Wheeler (who Mike has been shown to mimic in both behavior and clothing). Adding on to this, we see Mike trying on the hand-made sunglasses at Surfer Boy Pizza…more blocking out the light imagery being used for Mike. So basically this is like build up to the idea that it’s important we see Mike reach out a bit into the light (which Will is continually framed in) from the darkness that he’s been continually framed in. And I think there’s been an attempt to connect the outfit choices to the dark/light (lie/truth) symbolism.
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Going back to El and the early fight scene with Mike again, we see her upset in this plaid piece (long-sleeved but no pockets on the front and unbuttoned, unlike byler's plaid) with a lot of blue, and it’s helping to cover up the more floral (the more her?) shirt underneath.
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During their time at Surfer Boy Pizza, we see that she:
Enters Surfer Boy Pizza in her complete layered outfit with the plaid piece on top:
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Has an interrupted conversation with Mike, now having shed the plaid layer to reveal just the striped (less connected/less intersecting?) piece covering the floral:
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And enters the salt bath to save Max, having shed both blue layers in favor of wearing her floral shirt alone.
At the end of the season, we see she’s chosen to stay in the same floral shirt, but this time it’s free of any other competing colors or clothing items. Almost like she’s prioritized this piece of hers now.
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Almost like her dependency on Mike/Mike’s romantic validation was restricting her and her more authentic sense of identity, and now she is free of it. Thus, she is free of his color…or something. Or I’m delusional…
Anyway, I just think it’s neat how there’s a bit of a plaid connection with byler + El. Plaid as a pattern seems to call to mind ideas like being interwoven or different colors intersecting or even different colors meeting…like how blue meets yellow in the west.
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shippingfangirl013 · 1 year
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I know we’ve analyzed this scene over and over again, and someone else has probably pointed this out, but I thought this was interesting.
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Will has blue behind him.
Mike has blue and yellow (and green) behind him. And yellow in front of him.
I know we’ve figured out the blue & yellow = Mike & Will and Byler = green.
(I’m also looking right at Mike’s “I asked for vomit green and I got vomit green.” And green = blue + yellow together [byler])
But, I thought it was interesting that the blue light is next to Will, because the boy he loves is right in front of him. Will is wearing blue. He’s talking to Mike, and the blue is there because he’s thinking of Mike and he’s upset over being a third wheel. (Who wouldn’t be?)
Then, we have Mike.
He’s wearing a bluish purple shirt and yellow over it. Just like the flowers, yellow is overwhelming the purple… I wonder why?
The lights behind Mike’s head and in front of his head kind of clue us in on what the characters are thinking about. Mike is thinking about Will as indicated by the single yellow light between them, (because that’s the thing… somehow, Will has always been between Mike and his failing normal relationship with El), and Mike is also thinking about his relationship with Will differently. The lighting is telling us directly what Mike is thinking of… and that’s why he’s so thrown by the “And us?”. Because Will just wants to know where he stands, he thinks that he can live with it if he just rips the bandaid off and moves on from Mike. But Mike took the “And us?” As something more, as if he’s thought of his friendship with Will as something more…
And I think it’s funny & interesting that after this fight, Mike’s wardrobe shifts. And Will’s does too.
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This is the aftermath of the roller rink incident. The colors are definitely muted here, they were loud at the roller rink, but here? The colors aren’t as full force, there’s some yellow in Mike’s flannel and there’s some blue and green on Will’s polo. I think the colors are muted here because of the fight, but it’s still showing that they’re thinking of that fight through the clothing itself.
But once Mike and Will have that heart to heart… the loud colors are back again. The clothing isn’t muted anymore, and these are the outfits that they wear for the rest of the season.
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I know that the teal shirt was custom made and designed to look different in certain lighting, but what I started thinking about, was the blend of colors and lighting from before.
Blue and green make dark teal, but yellow lightens it up… meaning that Mike is thinking of being with Will in a relationship (blue and green make dark teal) but you need equal parts of blue and green, and equal parts of yellow and green, to make the teal on Mike’s shirt. (Meaning that I think Mike has come to terms with his love for Will and his feelings shifting from friendship to something more by the end of S4. They still have a lot to talk about and discuss… but there’s also a span of 2 days that we didn’t get to see as an audience.)
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But Will hasn’t let himself think of being with Mike as an honest option, after the painting. He ripped off the bandaid, he’s trying to allow himself to move on and give up hope that Mike will ever love him in the same way. . . Which is why I think, his shirt is mostly yellow with blue patterned in lightly. And maybe, if they plan to continue with the color theory, we’ll see some changes again in season 5.
But… I keep thinking that Mike’s monologue was a veiled response to Will’s veiled confession in the van… and it would make sense, because they’ve been using El as a cover for every argument (and almost every conversation) in S4. Mike even uses his fight with El to talk to Will about their fight from S3.
I’m just saying, I think early S5 established or almost established Byler is something we could be looking at.
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deathon1leg · 2 years
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we all know by now that blue represents mike and yellow represents will but... i’m also a FIRM believer that red represents el. (and this is a good thing for byler!)
here’s why.
⚠️spoilers ahead for all of st but mostly s4⚠️
this is gonna be a long one, so, strap in. i promise i’ll make it worth your time!!
also, i’m sure someone’s talked about this at least a little already so i’m sorry if i end up reiterating someone else’s point!
i’m gonna be focusing mainly on season 4, but i wanna start by saying stranger things has always heavily utilized primary colors, aka blue, red, and yellow, for characters’ clothing, set design, lighting, and promotion. now, this doesn’t necessarily have to mean anything but things add up when we get further into it.
here are just a few examples:
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in the poster, clothing, and even the background lights in the s3 mall pic, primary colors are the main ones used.
so... what’s with the colors?
if you’re here you probably know fellow delusional bylers have made wonderful analysis posts about the strategic use of yellow and blue to represent will and mike, and i’ll add some links if i can find them, but to summarize: will is most seen wearing yellow, mike is most seen wearing blue, and they often wear each other’s colors in elements of their outfits. here’s a couple examples from season 4:
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anyway, these are obviously two out of three of the primary colors that stranger things loves to use so much, and mike and will could be considered two out of three of the main characters.
the third primary color is red.
the third main character is el.
i know this sounds like a reach, but hear me out, okay?
eleven is often seen wearing red. it’s hard to say if it’s to the extent that mike and will wear their own colors because of all the time she’s spent in her hospital gown or the sensory deprivation suit, but it’s definitely prominent. mike and will’s outfits also often have red in them, just as el’s outfits often have blue and yellow.
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she usually doesn’t wear a LOT of red, it’s almost always an accenting color to the rest of the outfit. i’ll explain what i think the reason for this is later, and more on why i think it’s her color. this is just me establishing this notion so we can get into it.
what does the use of each color in their outfits mean?
mike, will, and el’s clothes often include each other’s colors, be it a whole shirt or a few stripes, as you can see in some of the pictures above.
from what i’ve gathered the use of each color indicates how much the wearer is thinking about the character it represents, or how important the character currently is to the wearer. this includes when they’re wearing their own color.
i think el beginning to wear more red than she used to signifies her becoming more of her own person, which could also be why she still doesn’t wear that much of it—her life since escaping the lab has been all about saving the world and obsessing over her boyfriend, she hasn’t had time to fully realize who she is as a person.
that, and the idea that the the colors they’re wearing correlate to who they’re thinking about/who’s important to them helps put the s4 ending scene in better context.
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i believe (at least in this scene) that white symbolizes neutrality, as in either no specific person at all or maybe every person as a whole. i included her white sensory deprivation tank outfit because i think it encapsulates neutrality, because being in one of those makes it feel like you’re sort of floating in nothingness.
her outfit in the last scene of s4 is almost completely white with a little bit of pink on the bottom of her sleeves and the flowers in her shirt, and an even smaller amount of yellow and green as a part of the flowers. mike’s confession and max’s near-death might’ve caused her numbness and/or confusion, explaining the neutrality. pink is just a lighter version of red (or red + white) showing that her sense of self is still there, but dimming. then there’s yellow for will, and green for will + mike. there’s no blue at all—she’s probably just done with mike’s shit.
even though i’m focusing on clothes i should point out that all around her in the field are yellow, red, and blue flowers. from some camera angles yellow flowers are the majority which could be hinting at will becoming the main character again in s5. all of the flowers are dying as the upside down takes over their world, and the sky flashes with red lightning. el picks up a dead flower and you can’t tell at that point what color it was, but it might’ve been yellow based on the others in the bunch, which... i’m not actually sure what that means.
the dying flowers look a whole lot like the ones mike brought her in the airport and they’re even the same colors, suggesting a m*leven breakup.
the previous “person they’re thinking about” theory also goes for set design and lighting, but in terms of clothes, here are some of what are imo the most concrete examples of this in s4
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in the top left, will’s waiting for mike to arrive at the airport and he’s SO excited to see him and give him his painting. his shirt is all blue, because his head is completely full of mike.
in the top middle, mike is having a serious argument with el but he doesn’t really care about it. he’s mostly thinking about himself hence the blue shirt, and thinking a little bit about will, hence the thin yellow stripes.
in the top right, el’s shirt is blue and the flannel over it has blue and red stripes, but the base of the flannel... is green. green = blue + yellow. to be fair, the brightness on that picture is significantly turned up and in the original it mostly looks blue, but there is undeniably green in there, especially in other pics. she wore this during her and mike’s fight and while being arrested when mike was telling her that he would fix everything. i don’t think she believed him. i think the green is her beginning to get suspicious.
in the middle, will is emotionally supporting el during her presentation and comforting her when she gets bullied, so his shirt is mostly red stripes. it’s very hard to see here but there are super thin lines of blue, yellow, and green between the red ones.
in the bottom left, el’s dress has big blue, red, purple, and green stripes with scribbles of yellow on most of them. once again green = blue + yellow, but the ones on her dress are leaning more toward blue. then of course, purple = blue + red, mike and el. the stripes on her flannel are blue with yellow on the edges. she’s excited to see her boyfriend for the first time in a while, and will’s tagging along, so she’s thinking about all of them, including herself, and her and mike as a couple.
in the bottom middle, mike’s hat is mostly blue and orange. orange = red + yellow, so he’s thinking about el and will at the same time, and blue means he’s thinking about himself. there’s also some blue-ish green and a few small red circles for el. he wears this when he first arrives in cali, showing that his mind is pretty much split on will and el even though he gives el all his attention.
lastly, in the bottom right is another shot of mike’s cali outfit with his t-shirt being blue and his over-shirt being yellow. this illustrates even further that he’s thinking a lot about will even when seeing his gf for the first time in ages and focusing on her! even his glasses chain is yellow! mike wheeler i know what you are.
so. that was long. but we’re not done yet.
does each character’s color have a deeper meaning?
honestly, yes, i think so.
i’m not some color theory (or film theory) expert and even the small bits i’ve gathered could be wrong, but here’s what i think:
will’s yellow represents the sun
mike’s blue represents the sky
el’s red represents the upside down
let me elaborate.
i’m mostly gonna go in depth for my thoughts on el to support my “red” theory, but i’ll start with will and mike.
the sun and the sky go hand-in-hand, you can’t have one without the other... kinda like two boys we know. they’re also (at least to me) the most obvious blue and yellow “duo”s i can think of, and there’s lots of symbolism of them that fits mike and will as a duo.
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i can’t think of a lot of examples for this off the top of my head, but notice the pictures of will being hit with direct sunlight while mike’s in the shadows beside him. also a picture of el during her fight with mike in nearly the same spot as the pic of will next to it, but no sunshine is on her. this could be meant to show us how mike views will vs how he views her.
mike is the vast, never-ending sky and will is the giant, warming star that lights him up.
okay, now for el. this one’s important.
el opened the first ever gate to the upside down—this is one of the most crucial plot points in the entire show, let alone for just her character. el sent 001 to the upside down and he created his own area of it to keep his victims in. el bleeds out of her nose when she uses her powers, and out of her eyes and ears if she overworks herself.
in general, she has a connection to the upside down and vecna different from any other person in the show.
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all of these things are red.
are you convinced yet?
what do their colors mean in relation to each other?
as i just mentioned, will and mike represent the sun and the sky, some of the most basic symbols for the universe and the earth out there. the sun and the sky are worldly, natural, supposed to be there.
here’s where things look up for byler.
i wanna preface this by saying i absolutely LOVE eleven. she’s always been one of my favorite characters, and i’ve been watching since the beginning. i’m not trying to say she’s unnatural or not meant to be with the rest of the group, hell no. this is just my interpretation of what the show has given us and what it could be for the future of mike, will, and el.
el’s red represents the upside down, which is quite literally the opposite of worldly, a dreadful mirror of the natural universe. this isn’t to say el’s from the upside down because she’s not, she just happens to be connected to it not of her own volition, and opened a portal to it without knowing what she was doing.
this blatantly separates her from will and mike. their motifs are embodiments of the universe and go together effortlessly, while el’s motif is, well, basically the anti-universe. sorry el. love u.
but, is there any other significance behind the use of primary colors besides them being the “main” colors and these three being the main characters?
well...
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i don’t know about you but this looks awfully like a triangle to me.
it’s love triangle symbolism, everyone. pack your things, we’re going home.
besides the obvious that there’s nothing going on between el and will because they’re siblings... there’s a clear love triangle between the three of them regarding el dating mike while will has a crush on him, and the fact that mike will inevitably have to choose who he wants to be with if they continue the storyline they’re on.
they’ve given us some pretty blatant imagery of this in s4. will is in the middle or on the sidelines of basically every m*leven scene this season (and they want us to root for him!)
additional primary color imagery
there’s a few more things i want to point out.
had anyone else noticed they’ve shown us three different versions of the upside down with three different colors?
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i’m gonna be real and say i have no idea what this could mean. i’ll leave that up to you. what i do know is that the top one, the yellow upside down, is the untouched version of it before vecna altered it. the middle blue one is the current version of the upside down, BUT it does have lots of flashes of red lightning. the bottom red one is... honestly i don’t even know, but vecna takes his victims there.
one more thing i noticed before i go:
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this season 4 poster that uses the three primary colors and... green.
we all remember that green = blue + yellow, so.
this could very well just be a graphic design choice, because green is usually what’s added to the other three if another color is needed, but... who knows.
in conclusion, we already knew that mike and will are blue and yellow, but i’m also positive that el is red.
byler endgame is in our sights!!!
if you read this entire thing, first of all, wow. second, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! i hope you found this interesting :)
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shutuperce · 2 years
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something something mike wearing will’s colours during these moments and what it all means 
1. there’s a lot to unpack here but THIS ENTIRE montage. first of all, el dumps him when he’s wearing will’s colours and not his own. this is the only occurrence of him wearing just yellow as opposed to yellow and blue. 
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he’s wearing it for all of the romantic-coded material girl montage of el and max, including this iconic gay panic where we see fear in his eyes at the sight of women’s lingerie.
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and this ridiculously romance-coded shot of him kneeling next to a jewellery case with will in the frame. there’s a post out there somewhere explaining this better but why would will be in the shot? lucas isn’t, despite the fact that he’s also standing right there. and mike didn’t really have to kneel down, my bad posture king could have just hunched over the case for the same, will-less shot. and yet here we are. idk man sort of proposal-coded
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honorable mention: el is momentarily wearing blue and yellow in this scene. she’s putting aside mike for the moment and exploring both herself and a new friendship. she’s realised she doesn’t need him to function and be happy, and it feels like she’s also giving him permission to start exploring other relationships, hence the yellow for will. this is good, this is healthy. 
also, every single garment to the left of max is green or yellow hm
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2. same outfit as the first point, but the byler rain scene. first of all, look at my guy. mike “heart eyes” wheeler indeed.
he knows he’s crossed a line with his “not my fault you don’t like girls” line. he was there for all of will’s bullying, all of lonnie’s taunts. mike knows how much that hurt will. below is his face just before will leaves. he knows what he’s done.
but, hang on a second. will just suggested it was dumb that mike is throwing everything away for his girlfriend, which makes a lot of sense. it’s unhealthy to do so, as is highlighted multiple times in this season. we all know it’s important to have relationships outside of romantic ones - those of family, friends, mentors, et cetera. will wasn’t suggesting he also didn’t want a girlfriend, or mike was wrong for wanting one, just that mike needs to stop throwing everything else in his life away. he’s trying to cling to childhood as well. but mike’s response is to lash out with the line - why? is he projecting? is he making a desperate attempt to clear the air about his own heterosexuality (or lack thereof)? i believe he is. he wouldn’t intentionally use that insult - an insult that has been crushing will his entire life - against him unless there was some kind of internal struggle surrounding his feelings for will as opposed to el.
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and here. aha. michael wheeler. little man. your girlfriend just broke up with you, but what’s on your mind? upsetting will.
mike knows he crossed a line, and he’s back to apologise, donning a green raincoat over his yellow shirt. this is where the importance of it being ONLY yellow and not blue in this outfit comes in. he’s focusing on will. he may not have been during the rest of the day, but here, with the will-and-mike colour over the will colour, he’s not thinking about himself anymore. he’s put all of his confusion and pain aside to focus on making it up to will, biking to his house and knowing exactly where to find him when he isn’t home. season 1/2 mike is back for a moment and in-tune with will. there’s also the green, to emphasise how he’s trying to prop up their relationship once more. it’s the first green he’s worn all season, because it’s the first time he’s really focusing on healing his friendship with will. that is the only thing on his mind at this point, not any of his own concerns or needs.
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3. the grocery aisle scene with el. this scene honestly felt so platonic to me, despite mike’s halfhearted attempt at telling el he loves her. plus the wording of “blank makes you crazy.” crazy. crazy together, you mean? 
in this scene the yellow is more subtle, because it’s more about mike being unsure of himself and his emotions than directly referencing byler. but he can’t say it. he can’t say i love you. maybe there’s something - or someone - who’s making him hold back. this might be a bit of a stretch, but the yellow around his neck on his collar could be something about his feelings for will holding him back from telling el he loves her. even though will isn’t directly trying to keep them apart, there’s something constricting mike in this scene, like a collar. that being said, the button is undone, suggesting mike is trying to put his confusion aside and be dedicated to el. 
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4. double date time, baby. mike’s got a lot of yellow on for the iconic hand-holding and lip-glancing movie theatre scene. but his gay ass little jean vest in blue is over his yellow t-shirt, possibly depicting mike covering his emotions surrounding will. 
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it’s also the ensemble he’s got on when we clearly see the state of el and mike’s romantic relationship in the scene before. el isn’t interested in his goofy singing, clearly saying she “doesn’t like it”. this continues a common thread of them not having much in common. it’s established that they spend all of their time making out and this is scene as ‘unhealthy’ by hopper. 
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5. the shed scene. need i say more. the yellow is subtler than some of the season 3 moments, but this scene is an important reminder that at their core, regardless of any romantic implications, will and mike are best friends. that’s something el and mike never got a chance to be, and i hope season 5 will explore platonic elmike because i really do think they are good friends. 
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but back to this scene in season 2. we see mike at his best: loyal, kind, soft with will, concerned for his best friend. unlike with his protective moments with el (when she’s getting arrested in season 4, when he tells her she doesn’t have to use her powers to find billy in season 3, etc), there’s no hint of a saviour complex. he reassures will, but he isn’t saying, it’s okay, i’ll make it all okay like he does with el. he just opens up, unafraid to express his feelings and cry in front of will. that’s another thing he’s never been good at with el: opening up. as mentioned before, will and mike are best friends, and this scene as well as the rest of the byler scenes throughout season 2 shows us the level of both devotion and honesty they have with each other.
he’s got the same subtle yellow stripe below, where he shows up at the byers’ and knows something is wrong with will. again, it’s established how well he can read his friend and how much he loves him. he’s always been very in-tune with will’s emotions, although this is clouded with confusion about his own in later seasons.
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6. mike what are you wearing scene, aka In The Closet At The Rink-O-Mania. well. he’s wearing yellow, for sure. and there’s already a lot of good content out there surrounding his sunglasses and el, so i’m just gonna go ahead and focus on his (eye-scorching) yellow ensemble (maybe it’s a metaphor for how obvious his love for will is). warning: very unserious analysis below because it’s been said so many times and is also painfully obvious, just like mike wheeler in a crowd. 
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mike wheeler is back at it again, stunning in blue and yellow to burn the eyeballs of innocent californians. and he’s seeing will and el again!! and he’s awkwardly half-hugging will for no reason!! which, as many have already said, makes no sense from a platonic pov. why can’t you hug your friend? you’ve done it many times before. y’all are KNOWN for having no personal space around each other. and if mike doesn’t know about will’s feelings, this awkwardness is because of his own feelings for will. 
then there’s the whole “you’ve been moping, your bad mood is making me in a bad mood cus i love you and i can’t see you unhappy, will baby please talk to me 🥺🥺” shit that goes down while his GIRLFRIEND has just been publicly humiliated and bullied and is crying in a closet. so um. mike. anyways. 
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7. honorable mention to his warm sort of yellowy shirt with blue during the whole byers leaving scene where el kisses him and he doesn’t kiss her back, where he makes heart eyes at will, et cetera. i’ve run out of analysis juice and y’all know what i mean anyways. 
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8. finally, just going to go ahead and point out that mike is wearing all green when he’s leafing through will’s art. so yeah, byler endgame. thanks for reading <3
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love from, the homophobic dog
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thevoiidspeakz · 2 years
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Ok listen, I'm 100% sure this has been done before but I just wanna throw some of my thoughts down here because I can't stop thinking about it.
When Mike wears yellow, it means he's hiding something/repressing himself.
Mike's main color is blue. He may have some yellow accents here and there, but mainly blue.
Now, some scenes where he changes into yellow are the Military make out scene at the start of season 3, the byler rain fight, the airport + rink-o-mania scene.
The Melbourne make out scene at the start of season 3:
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In this scene, he's wearing a yellow shirt with a blue jean vest on top. The main color being yellow represents Mike repressing himself, and forcing himself to be in that situation.
(may I add: the yellow curtains in between them, in the green room.)
Here, they're mainly making out, El tries to put her hands on Mike's face but (and I can't stress this enough) he pulls them away.
The blue vest on top could mean a couple things, though it might be a stretch;
First, Mike does try to show a bit of his true self in this scene. After pulling El's hands away, he starts singing the song on the radio, and just being the silly and expressive Mike we know, but El doesn't like that, so he goes back to repressing.
Secondly, this outfit continues on to the movies. We know he can keep his actual personality around his friends because he's known them forever, but the yellow is still there. Because it always is, even if it's not showing.
The rain fight:
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Oh yeah, this one's good. Mike's shirt here is fully yellow, he's going full repression here.
We all know about the damn rain fight scene.
Mike knows people think D&D is childish and stupid, and he thinks he can't like "childish things" anymore and he feels the pressure to grow up, to do "normal" things. He also directly relates liking girls to growing up, and also thinks that not liking girls makes him childish, and definitely not normal. He ends up projecting all of this onto Will.
Mike wants to keep playing D&D and Nintendo, and he doesn't want a girlfriend, but he feels like those are obligatory parts of growing up. In season 2, we see him being forced to throw away toys that hold a lot of memories and emotion. He was forced to grow up very early.
"It's not my fault you don't like girls!" and "We're not kids anymore. I mean, what did you think, really? That we were never gonna get girlfriends? That we were just gonna sit in my basement and play games for the rest of our lives?" make all of this very clear.
Also, when he bikes to Will's house to apologise, his raincoat is green, covering up the yellow. Green being the mix of yellow and blue, his and Will's colors.
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Even with all of the layers of hiding and repression, to Mike, Will is way more important. Mike's scared, confused and conflicted, but he loves Will, no matter what the nature of that love is.
The airport + rink-o-mania scene:
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And this is where Mike once again goes full repression mode. All of those doubts from S3 and probably more piled back up, which is symbolized by the yellow shirt over the very blueish purple.
He's trying to focus all of his attention onto El, and he's overperforming as a good boyfriend, and yet, he was still paying attention to Will in the end.
At the airport, there was that half assed "hug" for whatever reason (there's a bunch to choose from, pick your favorite), and he was definitely jealous of whatever girl Will had supposedly painted something for. That "Oh. What's that?" and "Cool." were not subtle, Michael.
At rink-o-mania, he noticed Will "moping" and rolling his eyes, and he tried making the joke about the "vomit green" socks to cheer him up, and it was Will being annoyed that ruined his whole day, and not his girlfriend being publicly humiliated??? Ok. Go off king.
Now, here are some other scenes I felt were important to bring up;
(Note that we don't see Mike in a mainly yellow outfit anytime in seasons 1 or 2.)
When the Byers move out:
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God. Fuck. He's wearing a beige shirt with touches of light blue here.
The beige, being very close to yellow, is there because his issues and doubts aren't gone yet.
"I'm sorry, that made me sound like a 7 year old." He's still scared of seeming childish to others. There's also the heavily uncomfortable kiss scene in this outfit, where his eyes are fully opened and he stands there doing nothing in front of an open closet. El forgave him, she said she loved him back, and yet he didn't look happy about that for even a second. He just looked confused. He probably realized how wrong it felt in that moment.
Now let's go over some facts: He looks back at the Byers house after they leave, and the scene where he hugs his mom directly parallels when he thought Will was dead.
Yeah. They wanted us to see how upset he was about losing Will again.
He spent the whole summer pushing him away because of how afraid he was of his own feelings, and he focused so much on that the he didn't stop to think about how much it would hurt to lose him again, and that's exactly what they show us here, and that's what the blue is there to represent.
The season 3 "I love her" outburst:
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Okay so this one fucks me up.
He's wearing all three colors here; green, blue and yellow. Now I'd appreciate a little help because I have no idea why that's the case.
He wears this in the "I love her" outburst scene and when he's trying to talk to her at the grocery store.
The yellow has significantly subsided. The main colors here are blue and green. Now, I fully believe that his "I love her" here was meant to be fully platonic, so that would mean he wasn't hiding his true feelings, they were just misunderstood.
The green I really can't say, though he also wore green during their first kiss back in s1, it was just a lot less, and there were also touches of brown/orange;
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The "I love you" monologue (🙄):
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He's wearing that same blue shirt he's been wearing the whole time, with Will in frame and the pocket over his heart pointing directly to Will.
He's wearing blue here because his monologue was directly based on what Will told him in the van. He thought El was the one who felt that for him, and he needed to hear that, and if she really loved him that way then maybe he could deal. Mike feels like he needs to be needed to be important, and he was convinced that El needed him.
-
Just wanted to throw my two scents into this whole analysis thing, you don't need to believe any of this!
If you have anything to add, feel free to! This is my first analysis and I have the memory of a two year old, so I probably missed some stuff.
@xhavibee sorry for the wait, it's out tho!
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Ok I’m finished being sad and am back with the delusion byler s5 proof
Long post warning also spoiler warning
OK LETS MAKE A LIST
1. First of all the most obvious one. They’ve been building up this whole relationship since season 1. It would be really weird for them to just suddenly abandon it.
2. Related point, but Mike’s character. You’re telling me he suddenly went from loving Will with his whole heart and making everything about Will to just suddenly ignoring him? The only explanation is internalised homophobia (you make me feel things I believe are wrong so I’m just gonna seperate myself from you so I don’t feel that) nothing else makes sense.
3. It’s pretty much confirmed that Will likes Mike with that painting scene so 50% of the way there!
4. The painting scene itself. Surely at some point Mike will talk to El about it and it will be revealed that everything Will said was just coming from him and not El. Then Mike will hopefully go and kiss him. Please.
5. Once again the painting scene, but Mike’s reaction this time. When Will was talking about it, Mike had the biggest most lovesick expression on his face ever. And then when Will said El “commissioned it” (I was crying so hard like he put so much effort in and he just sacrificed it to push El and Mike closer even though it was killing him) Mike’s face just dropped instantly. It was incredibly obvious he wanted Will to say he made it.
6. The season 3 ending. Bruh when El said I love you and kissed Mike, he did not look happy. He didn’t look angry or anything, he looked CONFUSED. as in, why am I not happy??? confused. I’ll tell you why you dumb oblivious fuck it’s bc you’re not in love with her you’re in love with Will.
7. Mike’s speech was basically all lies (I’m gonna make a seperate post about it bc it would take too long) AND he had to be pushed into saying it. So. Many. Times. Will had to talk him into it even when El was literally DYING. He has failed to say I Love You to El every single time he’s actually looking her in the eyes (even when she’s literally explicitly asking him to say it). Why? BC HES LYING!!!
8. That last shot of s4 with El standing in front of three couples. Jopper, jancy (idk about these guys), and BYLER. they’re always paired together in everything and what would be the point of not to make them a couple? They don’t do this with any one else who wasn’t dating or had previously dated, like Lucas and Dustin, so they’re not just “best friends”.
9. All the tension. Lip staring, lovesick smiles, longing glances, really just them checking each other out all the time. Either Finn and Noah have something to share with the class or they’re being told to act like that.
10. Once again, we know the ships have been planned since s1. El was literally supposed to die at the end of that season. M*leven being endgame doesn’t make sense. Plus most of their kisses before s3, Millie had to talk them into.
11. (Lol) The costume design. Are you telling me it’s a coincidence they literally wear nothing but blue and yellow for the entirety of s4? Blue and yellow meet in the west???
12. That part with the “he’ll come crawling back to you” with El about Mike. And did he? No! It took him so long to apologise. HOWEVER. Literally the next episode he literally does that with Will after their fight. BIT FRUITY OF YOU MIKE!!!
13. Once again, the I love you fight. Mike is was SO OBVIOUS what she wanted you to say. He “didn’t want to say it bc he were scared it would make losing El more painful”? He was going to lose her BECAUSE he didn’t say I Love You. So why exactly can you not say it???
Byler will be canon. Do not lose hope guys.
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thecelestialsyzygy · 1 year
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Byler outfits I want for S5
I imagine the upper part of S5 Mikes outfit to look similar to this picture of Finns from his photoshoot with GQ
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However, I imagine the leather jacket being black because the one we saw Mike with in the bts photo was black. I would keep the unzipped green hooded jacket (cuz duh blue + yellow = green) under it and put a blue and yellow striped t-shirt he probably pulled from the back of his closet under that (I'm wanting LAYERS ok). Throw him in some black jeans and add his iconic bedazzled belt from the desert scene
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and of course combat boots. And by popular demand... GIVE MIKE LONG CURLY HAIR. Thank you stylists.
Now for S5 Will I imagine him to keep his grey undershirt from this outfit
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Most of his belongings are in Lenora, so I imagine he will borrow one of Mikes striped button up shirts to throw on top of that. As for a jacket, he will either wear a letterman jacket like here (let’s say he borrowed it from Lucas)
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or a shepherd denim jacket similar to Jonathan's from S2. I'm hoping for either cuffed khakis or light washed jeans with a matching belt (because Will loves to do that). When it comes to shoes and hair, I see Will in some white sneakers or converse. And by popular demand... GIVE WILL A LONGER/MESSIER BOWLCUT. Thank you stylists.
I think it would be cool to see articles of clothing that look similar to ones from the beginning seasons. Especially since they're going to try to capture that feeling again. It would also be cool for them to look like they borrowed clothes from each other (especially Will because his belongings are in Lenora) or took what they could find because as we know, it is an apocalypse and Hawkins is falling. Re-using pieces wardrobe is also a great way to add realism (despite this being a show about fighting monsters in the 80s). I would still like for the outfits to capture their own individual senses of style though. 
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sterlingarcher23 · 10 months
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What do you think the most compelling piece of evidence is for elmax endgame?
There's actually a bunch of individual evidence pieces.
Blue hair tie and yellow watch - Blue and Yellow is used to signal love, mostly romantic or strong platonic love, it's not a color combination solely reserved for Byler.
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It also connects Max through El with Hopper - that's the platonic element since I believe Hopper might actually be Max's biological father - and through Hopper we have the "Lovergirl" clue, song that "plays in his head" after he finds the girls in El's room.
The Coke bottle: "Until you find something that feels like you". - El finds the Coke bottle under her bed then thinking about Max. In Max's mind it's the Coke bottle pointing to El, pushing away the memory of Lucas (his place isn't the mind but reality). This dialog in the shopping scene also has several meanings that scream ElMax in every way too.
Same with Max able to free herself and attack V: it's the memory of El, the High-fiving that echoes even outside of her memories. This has a parallel with Byler in S2 in which Mike touching Will's hand enables Will to overcome the possession partially use his hand to signal a message.
Then they decided to use a blood stain on El's shirt in a heart shape on the right side of her chest in Vol2, mirroring both Max's heart and both their couple accessories which are a very stable wardrobe choice.
Them wearing Yellow & Red / Mustard and Ketchup which is code for dating someone secretly.
I could point out that Robin's coming out was essentially a proxy monologue describing El's actual, although subconscious feelings the first time she saw Max.
Then the time jump sequence from Back to the Future been used/reproduced in the shopping scene, showing them after the time jump that will happen in S5.
The writers pointing out Korrasami and how the show copies moments of that show.
And of course:
The whole Neverending Story song which is essentially describing certain plot elements of their story. "And there upon a rainbow is the answer to a Neverending Story" - the brilliant kaleidoscope of colors that reappears, is drawn by El repeatedly and is as a light flare on Max's face.
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There are other elements like their reunion, the window drawing, El not afraid of the cracking of thunder when she's with Max in opposition to her reaction in S1 without anyone at her side, the "Princess Diana/Wonder Woman comic read" etc etc. all of that are pieces of one big puzzle.
That pretty much sums it up. There's just not THE evidence. There's a lot. But then there's my own intuition: I figured out how they solve the problem they created and after that I understood why and it made me cry....then I knew it's the right thing.
It is as David Harbor said bc he knows what's basically going to happen because he knows Hopper's arc "Quite moving and beautiful"
Everyone understands this just as Byler-proof but completely overlooks that Hopper's story is closely tied to El. (BTW ignoring El in this regard and therefore Max, although there's real evidence in the show that connects them with Hopper is in my opinion pure ignorance.)
But you made me think that I could try to make a complete post about these elements. Although this is kinda of a post itself, I think I better make a separate one.
I just recently found something amazing through the 3 Musketeer's chocolate bar.
So: stay tuned everyone.
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ohfallingdisco · 1 year
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Maybe seeing too much in this color symbolism right now, but we all know by now the Duffers let no frame go pointless, so.
Look at them:
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Remember how this was a promo image released? This is at the school assembly in E1, before the basketball game none of these three went to, the trip to Cali, and descent into Vecna madness. The colors are stark—it looks like Dustin’s pretty much gaping in shock at Mike (not Max, whom he spends most of the season with), in a Hellfire shirt covered up by a red, yellow, green, and grey collared shirt. Yellow represents Will, Lucas is red, and Dustin is green, but Mike’s blue to round out the original Party is missing. Yeah, it’s on the ‘Thinking Cap’ hat. Max’s color is orange, and El’s is pink, so it makes sense that Max is up there (knowing what we know) and El’s with her (and an interesting blue gradient staining her name with orange lightning bolts pointing to it, but anyway).
Why Mike? He wasn’t affected by Vecna at all, as far as we can tell, and was hardly even in Hawkins. Now…if you want to point out Mike’s (Montague) Monologue again…you could argue that it’s just symbolizing Max’s love being what rescues El eventually instead of Mike’s, whose speech was prompted by Will and pretty much just a rehash of the Van Scene but ‘from, Mike’ to El. And you would even be right, but…that’s a lot of blue for it to only imply that one scene they told Finn to improv on.
Max looks apathetic, which fits, and isn’t looking at either of them, but Mike is looking in the same direction with mouth open and something like distress. He’s also the only one of the three to just have a shirt on with no layering—yet Mike’s constantly wearing layers with the Cali Crew, except for the burial/Byler “how you really feel” scene. There’s also headphones around Max’s neck, and a guitar in Mike’s room, making them the only two characters (besides the Byers boys, who’ve always had it) to have music symbolism from the start in their personal spaces.
Michael Wheeler, I think you know what you are. The question for me is, do you know that Vecna knows?
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