SHUT UP LOOK

Music Parallel: ‘Destroying the Castle’ x ‘In the Closet (at Rink O Mania)’

We know that the s3e3 rain fight and s4e2 rink fight parallel each other, and it turns out that the music does too! 

This is a mashup of the two songs found primarily in these scenes (overlaid audios).

Since these songs are both in 4/4, their rhythms match up perfectly once tempo-adjusted. Coincidently, so do their harmonies (take a listen, it’s pretty cool)

I first noticed this because ‘Destroying the Castle’ is in G minor, while ‘In the closet (at Rink O Mania)’ is in Bb major, which are relative keys and ideal for mashups.

Coincidence? Maybe...?

The original pieces: Destroying the Castle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZfA1agB8I  In the closet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C3ouXEP1bI 

Music theory speculation under the cut:

Destroying the Castle is set firmly in the key of G minor, with its main motif being the notes Bb-A-G, which are characteristic of the g minor scale. That’s what creates sad and depressing mood. The corresponding chords are G minor, F major, Eb major (yes, Eb major. it surprised me when i found out).

In the Closet seems to be in Bb major? Not entirely sure. The main motifs are Bb-D-C-A and Bb-A-C (depending on which section of the song you’re listening to). Both are pretty similar. Corresponding chords are G minor, Bb major, F major, Eb major in some order. 

There are a lot of the same notes and chords in both pieces, which isn’t obvious when listened to separately. It could be a coincidence, since many songs on the Stranger Things soundtrack are in keys with flats (around the F major - Bb major - Eb major area).

The structure of both songs is similar as well. Both start with a quiet ambient section of chords, and transition to a louder second half. I only used the second half of both songs. Luckily for the mashup, both ‘second halves’ are around the same length.

I’m not very well-versed in music theory or film analysis, so feel free to add your thoughts about this!

mike’s day being ruined by will moping, rolling his eyes, and barely talking is canon and they make sure you know it’s canon

mike tells will, like i just said, that him rolling his eyes, moping, and barely talking sabotaged the entire day 

the very next scene after this is el crying alone in the employee’s room. then she confronts angela and says “you ruined my day!” 

in two back to back scenes with two confrontations, we got two reasons as to why the day was ruined. 

keep in mind, el and mike are boyfriend and girlfriend. they are supposedly in love. the day in question is their first day together in SIX MONTHS. they are spending the day together and basically going on a date at the roller rink (sorry will). while leaving the aiport, el says she wants the day to be about her and mike, and mike kisses her head seemingly in agreement. this day is supposed to be about THEM. they’re in love, they are meant to be each other’s number one priority today. 

anyways

reason #1 (given to us by el): the day was ruined by angela, el’s bully and tormentor of six months, who insulted el’s dead father to her face, publicly humiliated el in front of probably over a hundred people and FILMED IT

reason #2 (given to us by mike): the day was ruined by will (who has felt ignored and brushed off by mike the entire day), because will was moping, rolling his eyes, and barely talking. 

REALLY MIKE? REALLY? YOU JUST WATCHED YOUR GIRLFRIEND GET PUBLICLY HUMILIATED AND ASSAULTED AND WILL IS THE REASON THE DAY WAS RUINED? BECAUSE HE WASN’T TALKING TO YOU? WILL NOT TALKING TO YOU IS WORSE THAN EL BEING BULLIED? 

el was right. the day was ruined. NOT BY WILL. ANGELA ruined the day after publicly humiliating el and assaulting her. she wasn’t bothered by will’s behavior because she wasn’t paying attention to will---mike was. however, i still don’t think mike was her priority that day. i think el was more focused on being a cool girl and convincing mike of all the things she’d said in her letters. obviously angela humiliating her ruined the day, but narratively speaking, angela is what ruined the day because she is what exposed el’s lie. the turning point in el’s story is angela showing up and revealing the truth after all the months of lying, and the lies el had told all day. lets apply the same thing to will and mike since we’ve already gotten a parallel of both of them naming reasons why the day was ruined. narratively, mike’s day was ruined because WILL EXPOSED HIS LIE. mike’s lie is pretending that he doesn’t care about will, both over the months apart and all day. mike barely reached out, and he’d been brushing will off all day. but then will was moping and barely talking, and that got under mike’s skin in a way he couldn’t ignore. he couldn’t keep up the lie anymore and the lie fell apart, just like el’s did. that’s why one of these confrontations )where we get reasons as to why the day was ruined) is between el and angela, and the other is between mike and will. angela ruined the day because she made it so el couldn’t keep up her lie. will ruined the day because he made it so mike couldn’t keep up his lie. 

i’ve posted before about how el and mike were both putting up fronts that day and this confirms it even more

so ready for season 5 to be like weirdmageddon from gravity falls

also

Will and Radagast.

I had this random theory about Will and rabbits, but then I finally watched the Hobbit movies and met Radagast and oh boy was I excited to see that Radagast provided evidence for my theory haha.

I've had this idea for a few months, but I only now have the motivation to write this on my phone at midnight before I go to bed. I'll revisit later and add screenshots. I'm always worried my ideas have already been said but hey ho let's go.

Now, most, if not all, people are aware of the theory that Will, being a cleric, has IRL healing powers. We also know that Will knows how to use a gun. Something Lonnie will have taught him since he is the one who taught Jonathan.

My original idea:

When Lonnie taught Jonathan how to use a gun, he took Jonathan hunting. Lonnie then made him kill a rabbit. Something we can logically assume he tried to make Will do, too.

I say "tried" because there is just no way Will would have killed that rabbit. No matter how much Lonnie screamed and pressured him to do it. I truly believe that Lonnie got so frustrated with Will, who I imagine would have been crying his eyes out, that Lonnie just killed the rabbit himself right in front of Will (or severely injured it to the point where it was not dead, but dying).

This obviously traumatized Will a lot and caused him so much grief in that moment, and that poor little kid, unknowingly healed/brought that rabbit back to life. Lonnie saw that little bunny run away - the bunny he just killed and oh boy is he confused. This could be the beginning of Lonnie's suspicions of Will or even the catalyst of Lonnie contacting the lab and the lab keeping tabs on Will.

The parallel to Radagast:

Then I watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Radagast is a wizard. And "Radagast" is the password to Castle Byers.

There is the obvious parallel between Will and Radagast where Will has his little wooden Castle Byers secluded in the woods, and Radagast has his wooden house secluded in the forest.

When we first meet Radagast, he is in the forest, panicking. There is dark magic infiltrating the forest and the creatures in it are dying. Radagast sees Sebastian, a hedgehog, dying from spider poison that has been infected with dark magic. Radagast takes the hedgehog into his house and tries to heal him. At the same time, giant spiders (hi henry) surround the house and try to get in. The hedgehog dies* on the table. But Radagast uses magic and heals him back to life. And the spiders leave.

(*before writing this post I did some research and it seems like there is uncertainty as to whether or not Sebastian actually died at this moment, or almost died. I read the scene as he died here because that's how it looks like to me. But at the very least, he was definitely dying and it's possible that Will's rabbit was just injured. So the paralell still stands).

Both Radagast and Will use their powers to bring an innocent woodland creature back to life that was murdered by a dark/evil being.

Described by Gandalf, Radgast is a "gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the east. And a good thing, too. For always evil will look to find a foothold in this world."

Both Will and Radagast are gentle/sensitive people. They are both very compassionate.

Because of Will's connection to the Upside Down (and the possibility/theories that the Upside is his mind or he creates it), Will is honestly the best person to keep an eye on what is going on there. He still has a link to the hivemind, to Henry, and the shadow monster. He knows it the best. Keeping an eye on things can also link to Will's truesight and his postion as a spy.

And like Gandalf says, evil is always looking to secure itself in the world. Exactly like how we ended season 4 - the evil infiltrating and gaining position into the world.

What I love about this is the double parallel here. Because not only would this be a parallel between Will and Radagast, but it would also be another parallel between Will and Henry. Them using their powers on a rabbit, but the motivations/outcomes being completely different.

"Put your lips close to mine, as long as they don't touch. Out of focus, eye to eye, 'till gravity's too much."

🦋

Thank you all once again for trusting the process with me.

I am in love with this piece. A Red concept brought to life.

They feel, they know. Yet confessing makes it real. Something to act upon. But as long as they are silent they get to stretch the unspoken truth between them. Both an abyss and a bridge to cross through. A bright light they both choose not to look at, and neither the perfectly shaped shadow of their bodies standing so close they look like one. Light butterfly touches that need no justification. Sharing warmth, and gazes, secretive smiles under the wing of the autumn, where the decay and decadence of perishable life feels a lot too much like a foreshadowing of their untold story.

But they feel.

And they know.

The jackets, HELLO????? I already can smell the parallel

@greenfiend already wrote a while ago how that scene from s1 may foreshadow Mike coming out to El and I think that’s maybe it! Or they’re having a heart-to-heart after just to clear things up/open up about Will

I mean, look at him!!! It’s the same Mike who feels understood and accepted for who he is

Something about Steve and Max looking at boys through binoculars is so special to me

Mike not noticing vs Mike noticing

Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson 2.06 | The Spy and 4.06 | The Dive

Jonathan and Argyle in the front seat: Sleep deprived, stoned, have been driving for hours looking for El

Mike and Will in the back seat: 500k words, childhood friends to lovers, slowburn, minor angst, hurt/comfort.

Just leaving this here <3333

remember when nancy couldn't say "i love you" to steve so she sat on the car with jonathan to have a heart-to-heart conversation.

and remember when mike couldn't say "i love you" to el so he sat on the car with will to have a heart-to-heart conversation.

and the fact that wheelers are on the left and byers on the right and there are soda cans in both scenes. wheelers are opening up about their feeling while byers are hearing and comforting them... come on! that has to mean something!

2x04 | 2x06

This will happen in season 5 i'm the tree😋