Welcome Me In

It’s frustrating to see people/the writers/etc. act like the disappointment with Byler is a shipping thing. This isn’t about just wanting two boys to kiss. This is about Mike Wheeler, who has been sidelined all of season 5, lacking a real arc and meaningful personal journey. This is about his poor treatment of his friends in seasons 3 and 4 never being adequately explained or resolved. This is about his personal struggles remaining ambiguous and denying him the opportunity to process his feelings in the story in a meaningful way. This is about Will Byers, a character who never thought he would fall in love, learning that if he does, he’ll get over it. This is about a character who has spent the whole show having what he wants taken from him, willingly giving up the thing he wants most. This is about a character who was shown to fall in love slowly over the course of 4 years with his best friend, the person he is closest to and most similar to, only to decide it was just a crush.