I just find it interesting that in this scene where Mike and Will are talking, there's a song playing in the background, which is known for being about one gay man telling another gay man to embrace the gay lifestyle 😭
i was rewatching s1 and i think i found something?? i might just be reading into it tho
in this scene jonathan is talking to hopper about him going to lonnies bc if hopper goes then will would get scared and hide
“hes good at hiding you know?”
“well cops are good at finding, okay?”
wills good at hiding his feelings away from everyone, we see that all throughout s2 with his episodes, the mindflayer and his drawings, in s3 hiding the fact hes mad about them not playing with him anymore (until he tells mike), and all throughout s4 about his feelings for mike.
in s2 hopper is the one who gets him to talk about the drawing he made and what it was about so what if hopper is the one who helps him open up and helps him realize its okay to be feeling the way he is? yk like having a little heart to heart, it would build up their bondd
People saying “I hope that if Will and Mike won’t end up together, Will still gets a love interest.” Is crazy because I don’t think Will “but you make (me) feel like (I’m) not a mistake at all” Byers is physically capable of looking at another human being.
can we talk about the fact that will being in love with mike literally wasn't necessary. in s1 they're best friends and yeah will is hinted at being queer but nothing about him liking mike. in s2 we see they have a close bond but still no hard evidence. then s3 hits us with the truck that is jealous will byers, but even then it's technically not explicitly confirmed. but they still do in S4. like, they didn't NEED to have will like mike. but they did anyway. like, there's a reason they're doing this. there's no point in will loving mike if it isn't important.
Both of these scenes are so similar and the captions both say … after the just! I can’t help but think they planned on byler endgame/ Mike being gay since s1.
Bro I just remembered last year when my friend and I were deep in the byler era and we passed little papers saying "byler endgame" or "emagdne relyb" to the people sitting behind us in class 😭
So we've seen Mike wearing Will's shoes in s5 for whatever reason.... but could it be symbolism?
in simple words, literally AND figuratively Mike is putting himself in Will's shoes. figuratively, because s5 Mike is going to experience what s4 Will went through. Their roles are going to be reversed.
the phrase "to put yourself in someone else's shoes" is to experience (or at least imagine) what they went/are going through.
firstly, s4 was strictly filmed from Will's pov, showing almost nothing from Mike's. this does make it feel as if mikes character arc has been left on a cliff hanger since the ending of s3, where we did get to see more into Mike's mind, and that spoke a lot to us.
so far, what we can confirm is that Will Byers is in love with Mike Wheeler, mostly from his pov being the main focus of the love triangle in s4. they made it clear for us. yet, Mike's perspective is still blurry.
thats the main reason why i think it would only make sense for s5 to show Mike's pov a LOT, and reveal some things that weren't necessarily obvious in s4 (for one, Mike's feelings for Will).
knowing we're finally going to be seeing Mike's pov, we'll see him pining over Will, just like Will did s4. they are going to switch their roles on screen, we'll see Mike, now that he doesn't have to deal with his relationship issues with El and his (not necessarily) new issue of how he doesn't think Will could ever love him back. and Will, is going to be trying to resolve issues with his connections to vecna.
my main point is, the writers are going to figuratively put Mike in wills shoes. Mike is going to be pining over Will this season, and it will be explicitly shown this time.
not done!!!
these are Mike and Will's shoes in s2. keep note of the designs and colors.
these are Mike's shoes in s5. coincidentally (not), they have the same design as his shoes in s2. but the colors seem to be the opposite?
now these are Will's shoes in s5. they too keep the same design as his own shoes in s2, and the colors are opposite, just like Mike's shoes.
or... the colors are reversed.
Mike and Will's shoes kept the same designs from s2, but the colors are reversed, just like their roles will be in s5.