it's not fun getting queerbaited.
Well, various creators have already pointed out in great details on why the ending of stranger things was abysmal in hindsight so i won't delve deeper into that. I just wanted to vent out my frustration and my personal experience.
So I've been following Stranger Things for 5 years now. I had watched the first 3 seasons in 2020 during the global lockdown. It was fun with all the monsters and super powers but I remember not being very intrigued by the romantic aspect of it all. One of my favourite characters from s1 and 2 was Mike. I watched s3 and was honestly aghast by his drastic personality shift in s3 but I was forgiving because he still was the same character I fell in love with and in s3 itself, he redeemed himself. Then s4 came out, I was really excited and don't get me wrong, it's probably one of the best seasons of ST but I was hugely let down by Michael's character. Firstly, he didn't feel like the same Mike who would've gone to hell and back for his best friend nor did he feel like a remotely bearable boyfriend. Secondly, I felt like his character was immensely sidelined and neglected.
Another thing about me is I was blind, totally oblivious to Will's character in terms of his struggle with sexuality. I was so blind that I only realized that he is gay when he started crying in the van scene. Yeah I was lowkey dumb but cut some slack for a 17 y/o who grew up in a homophobic environment and heteronormitivity is set in stone.
So when s5 v1 came out, I watched it with these lens on: Will is gay and has a crush on Mike, Mike is enamored by El and Will's crush is unrequited.
After v1, I went on youtube and looked up edits and stuffs and this is when I came across Byler and I was like 'damn??? People actually ship this?'. I would like to say that I was skeptical but even that term means you have some faith in the thing but I was on the opposite spectrum. I was like it's very clear that Mike doesn't like Will back, like he literally confessed his love to El in s4. But then I watched some analysis videos comparing byler and mileven, the parallels to other canon ships and queer shows, the lighting, the mood, the dialogues, the looks and suddenly it all clicked, it all actually made sense. I watched and watched and watched such analysis videos and it felt like an empty plot has been filled, the characters actually felt realistic and for the first time, I had hope.
Another detour from the actual narrative, I was struggling with my sexual identity for a long time and in the confinements of my bedroom one fine day of 2020, I realized that I was infact queer. 6 years later, I've accepted that part of me, hell I've even dated people from the same gender and I've overcome the shame that came with realising that maybe I am different.
Okay back to the topic in hand, after watching countless byler evidence videos I was dead sure that it was happening. I was so excited for Christmas and we don't even celebrate it. I was just waiting, watching edits and more videos and praying that may volume 2 give us a canon queer ship in a show where romance is a subplot, not the point of the story. A show which is watched by millions all world, not some niche cult classic, not a show targeted towards the queer demographic but a mainstream show kinda like shonen anime.
Volume 2 dropped, so did my expectations. I had byler doubts but the cutgate and other analysis gave me some kind of solace. And suddenly, all my byler doubts were cured, I was so sure it was happening, like it had to happen otherwise the 3 whole character arcs that too main characters wouldn't even make sense. Like they still had the painting to address, something that they brought up time and time again.
Volume 3 was... well. Let's start with the fact that from the beginning the interaction between El and Mike felt different in this volume than the last 2. I was sure before v3 that they had broken up but entering v3, it felt more geared towards romantic? I thought that maybe it's because they'll show the break up or something, I was deluding myself, I say in hindsight. Then the tower conversation happened, I was floored and not in a good way but I still had hope. They were supposed to have a 40 min epilogue apparently. And, finally the nail on the coffin, after the joke of a final battle, El pulls Mike into her mindscape (I forgot what it's called lmao) and El says that Mike was the only person who understood her, not Max, not Hopper, hell even Will would've been a better choice. Michael fucking Wheeler who was directly paralleled to Dr. Brenner, El's abuser? I don't think that in any way, shape or form that is a mark of a remotely healthy relationship. AND THEN THEY FUCKING KISS AFTER 2 SEASONS OF NO CHEMISTRY??? There was no conflict resolution, hell we didn't even understand if they were together in the first place and suddenly through some mystical anomaly everything is rainbows and sunshine and Mileven is apparently still a ship? And fuck everything, the mindscape thing was apparently Mike's imagination according to the Duffers so this mean bro couldn't say i love you to his girlfriend who is about to sacrifice himself even in his imagination? What kind of writing is this? I am genuinely appalled.
Then we have a 40 min epilogue where Robin and Vickie, the only canonical queer couple seem to have broken up, Will, who was built up as an introverted, sensitive and romantic character with a sassy and straightforward personality, is reduced to nothing but his sexuality? We see Will meeting a potential partner in a fucking gay bar? Will of all people? What about his love for painting, his other interests and hobbies? Why is Will's character dominated by the fact that he is gay? Not to mention the fact that we never even address the fucking painting, the painting which was used to fix a toxic straight relationship, using Will's love for Mike to strengthen an already crumbling relationship. El, my sweet child, Jane, the only message that I could get from her end was that to end the cycle of abuse, you either have to end yourself or leave everyone you love behind or some bs.
Now, let's talk about my favourite ruined character, Michael. Quite some time has passed after the finale has aired. I remember being pissed, so very angry, and so distraught that I cried so much (and I don't cry easily) that it concerned me because I don't think I've ever reacted this strongly to some fictional characters not getting together so I had to sit down and think, actually think that why did this affect me to this extent? Well, turns out Michael Wheeler isn't the only repressed homosexual. Suddenly, I was reminded of a 13 - 14 y/o version of me taking my anger out on my friend because some people were making jokes that the said friend had a crush on me. I was back to the moment when I used to cry if someone hinted at the fact that I might be interested in someone of the same gender. Subconsciously, I didn't see Mike Wheeler as just a character but Mike was me before she figured her shit out. It was very personal and that it why it felt like a slap to the face when they show Mike ending up all alone, depressed, leading a life full of regrets and loss. I know this is not how I'll end up in life but still, a character in whom I saw myself, a younger, more vulnerable, more scared version of myself having such a terrible fate made me sick to my stomach.
And to think that the Duffers pride themselves over "good queer representation" when the queers feel this way, the queers who feel betrayed, played with and stupid. Stupid to think that we'll ever get a happy ending, stupid to trust to middle aged white straight men to write our stories, stupid to even wish that people like us and their stories are worth being told without shame to the millions watching. Instead the wave of homophobia has crossed levels calling byler fans delusional and idiots because we had the audacity to demand decent portrayal of our people. And this show was supposed to be for the outcasts and freaks and nerds.
But Byler was and is real, no one can say otherwise. We were not reading too much into things or analysing unnecessary subtexts. It was handed to us in silver platters and we just voiced the obvious. We're not in the wrong for hoping that Byler would be canon, it was fed to us for a decade now, not only through the show but through interviews, merch, memes posted by official channels. We were queerbaited. But Byler lives on through us, through our stories, our experiences and we'll create things which the Duffers cannot come up with even if they used all their braincells collectively. I know for sure that there are people in this community who'll have the courage to do what these duffers couldn't carry out. 💙💛
