And the heart is right between these two ❤️‍🔥

i colored it in

hehe

Mike is absolutely the heart of the party. They go out of their way to show his emotional connection to literally every party member.

and all at once, you are the one i have been waiting for, king of my heart

Istg season four byler was just Mike and Will awkwardly flirting and fighting for all of their time together.

I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING CRAZY

Mike is the party’s leader and Dungeon Master when they play D&D in S1. He’s also the default POV we gravitate towards out of the party, and serves as the viewer’s eyes in the show.

BUT THEN—

In S2, but especially looking at S3/S4, Mike’s D&D role completely changes. He’s no longer the DM in every campaign, but he also plays a Paladin. Still a leader role, but not the overall leader of the party (party leadership seems balanced in S2 as everyone is mostly united, but in S3 and S4 it’s completely thrown through a loop).

Ironically, S3 is the season where we lose Mike’s POV as a character because we aren’t supposed to see his thoughts at this point. This is reflected in his lack of desire to play D&D with Will — showing that he is so consumed with his “superhero girlfriend” that he has lost sight of what really matters... leading his party and his friends.

In S4 his role is still limited in D&D as Eddie takes over as DM. Also Will is away and the party is fractured until the end of S4 (when we regain Mike’s POV). Mike very much sees El as the hero, and not himself. But as we see in Will’s painting, Mike’s acceptance of his role as the heart and life force who keeps the party going is crucial to their success against Vecna and the Mind Flayer.

That means: Mike’s D&D role reflects the role he plays both within the party and as a POV character.

Will we see Dungeon Master Mike again in S5?

Mike is the heart

the reason Mike's "love confession" didn't save the world isn't because he is not the heart as Will said. Mike is the heart of the group, which is why Vecna waited until he left to start killing people. The problem is that his heart isn't pointing at the person it wants (Will) because Mike's arc isn't done yet and until Mike figures out his own heart, he can't completely fulfill his task as the Party's heart.

quick, someone who knows more than i do about human anatomy and all the fun ways body parts can be used as metaphors: figure out what body part will is

i'm making a slideshow about how mike wheeler likes boys and i already love it (i'm 3 slides in)

The heart

I've seen all these polls on "who's the heart of the party" where everyone seems be voting for El. But El isn't the heart. It's Mike.

When Mike was their leader in S1, they succeeded. They saved El from Brenner & Co. and Will was brought home, as was their plan. (El was in the Upside Down, but she escaped and was found and adopted by Hopper then).

When Mike was their leader in S2 they succeeded again. He was there for Will, he helped figure stuff out about the Mind Flayer, he got Will to talk, it was his idea to put Will to sleep because he knew the Mind Flayer would spy on them. It was his speech that made Will tell them how to stop the Mind Flayer with Morse code and it was his idea to burn the hub, to hurt the Mind Flayer and draw the Demodogs' attention away from El and the lab. El managed to close the gate and everything ended well (well, apart from Bob).

In season 3, as soon as Mike focused solely on El and wasn't acting himself anymore, the party sort of fell apart. They all ditched Dustin on his first day back, which upset him and made him distance himself, El and Max dumped them and Mike and Will had a huge fight. When Mike realized his mistake, they all came back together again to find the Mind Flayer's new host (except for Dustin, who was stuck in the Russian elevator). In the last episode though, they told each other how they'd missed each other and realized they were better together than apart. They saved El and killed the Spider Monster (although Billy died, Hopper was captured and the Byers moved away).

In season 4, everything worked out for the Cali gang. They survived the shooting, he found out about the pen and the number, he thought of going to Suzie's for help, he saw El on the ground.

In Hawkins however, they all failed. They wanted to save Max, clear Eddie's name and kill Vecna before he could connect those four gates. Well, Max ended up brain-dead, Eddie was killed and still guilty to the cops and the rest of Hawkins and Vecna was hurt, but survived and basically ripped Hawkins apart. Everything went to shit because Mike wasn't there.

So in order to kill Vecna and survive, they need Mike. Hawkins needs Mike. Because Mike is the heart.

"mike isn't the heart, will is!"

listen im not a violent person but i can be if provoked

mikes character was solid during s1 and s2, but during s3 and beginning of s4, his relationship w will faded away when he started spending all his time with/ thinking about el. we all say that he’s a dick and a bad character after season two, but that is only bc he lost will. towards the end of s4, mike grew as a character when he and will were brought back together. i’m gonna say it here. mike NEEDS will. will makes mike a good person.

I'm about to be sick... I just accidentally deleted my post talking about why I think Mike is the heart of the party... excuse me while I go cry and throw up.

Matthew Lillard as Steve Raglan / William Afton in FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S (2023)

can’t believe that the FNAF movie single-handedly multiplied and reawakened the thirst and everyone’s crushes on josh hutcherson. bro played the part of a traumatized pathetic man so good that now we all collectively want him.

You came into this world together, and you go out of it together.

Bruce Greenwood as Roderick Usher and Mary McDonnell as Madeline Usher in THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (2023)