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So, I'm going back through the seasons and scrubbing scenes for potential clues, when I come back around to the Rink-O-Mania scenes in Season 4 Episode 2. It goes without saying for those who have been paying attention, but that chapter in the story is heaving queer-coded for several reasons (i.e. Mike ignoring Jane but paying close attention to Will, the HSM2 fight, "We're friends, WE'RE friends!" etc...). But I want to talk about Angela's friend Jake, because I don't think we bring him up enough as evidence for Mike's queer coding.

Now before we dive in, I just want to bring up this wide shot:

Tell me this isn't just the Snowball of '84 if you just swap out the skating rink for the Middle School gym.

Honestly, I encourage you to go back and watch this scene in general. Pay attention to who you see in the crowd and who you don't. It's a lot creepier with everything that has happened.

Ok now back to Rink - O - Mania with Mike, Jane, Will, and the Bullies

When Angela approaches Jane with her friends in tow, I found it impossible to ignore home boy in the orange on her right. This is apparently Angela's boyfriend, according to the fan wiki, although I'm not sure it's ever explicitly said/implied in the show. But I mean come on. He's not really screaming typical "80's boyfriend of the popular girl" aesthetically, which would be relatively insignificant if he didn't immediately start making these eyes at Mike.

Sir, you are not subtle, but I fear neither is Mike

Notice on the right, he's looking at Angela. Then he glances at Jake, and his eyebrows do that thing where they levitate behind his bangs before he glances back at Angela.

Then we get the following exchange with Angela greeting Mike sardonically, Jake noticeably still checking him out in the background.

Now, it's bad enough that Mike is somehow still oblivious to the hostile vibes radiating off of this group, but he also seems to nervously trip over his words as he glances between Jake and Angela again. His voice is also noticeably softened here... which could mean nothing.

Sure, you could argue maybe he's flustered because he finds Angela attractive. But let's look at these next frames, after Angela laughs at the idea of Jane and them being "friends".

On the surface, it would seem like this might be the moment Mike is starting to catch onto the vibes between Angela and Jane being off. And yet... it's not. We KNOW it's not because about 30sec later we see him act completely bewildered when Will reveals the truth about Jane's relationship to them.

So, what's the look of concern at Jane for then?

Again, it comes after Angela laughs saying "Friends? Yeah, super cool."

where do we hear something textually similar but with a different kind of tension????

Mike: I think maybe we should be a team. Friends. Best Friends

Will: Cool :)

Mike: Cool :)

Now, I have seen speculation that Mike may have been worried about Will being "friends" with Angela here, as we know he's been paying specific attention to him this entire day. I think that's plausible, considering we have context from Jane's letter from Ep1 that Mike could think Will likes someone, enough to maybe even make a painting for them.

But let's look at where his eyes go next, specifically after we get a shot of Will looking at Jake.

Crazy, they appear to back on Jake as well. Let's see where they go as they take Jane away to the rink.

Oh. Still on Jake... right, right.

It's even more obvious with Will in this shot, clearly looking concerned at Jane

And finally, what does Mike do as Will stands, seemingly like he might go follow the group?

He glances away and drinks his milkshake, not once looking back up to check on either of them until Will finally says, "Oh no".

I brought up the comparison to the Snowball at the beginning of this post to bring up this shot here:

We know who Mike is looking forlorn over in this shot. It's an interesting shot to compare to the ones above, as we don't see him worried about Jane leaving him behind at the rink (despite his insistence later that all his weird behavior in Lenora could be explained by him being afraid she'll do exactly that). Instead, he's avoidant and looks away. Until he's made to face the situation by Will, the person he's actually been paying close attention to all day.

So, what do I think the deal with Jake is?

Well, the overt context of this chapter as it relates to Will is to show us just how left behind, forgotten, and rejected he feels at this stage, especially by Mike. Same with Jane, in the aftermath of the bullying incident, we see she's mostly hurt by Mike emotionally rejecting her in a moment she needed compassion and love.

In my opinion, the subtext also supports that Mike is feeling all of these emotions as well, only towards Will. Jake just happens to be a narrative manifestation of that.

Let's think about it: Mike comes to Lenora under the impression that Jane is doing great, and Will likes someone else. He acts incredibly weird in the airport by not hugging Will and immediately asking about the painting that's for his supposed crush but doesn't push further when Will deflects. He hears Jane mention Angela is one of her friends, and Will repeat her name anxiously. He continues to put on the performance of attentive, loving boyfriend for Jane, all while silently paying close attention to every move Will makes that day.

And then at the rink, he sees Jake with Angela. Jake, who is clearly making flirty eye contact with him. Who is objectively cute in a very similar way that one might find Will cute. He hears Angela laugh sarcastically about her and Jane being "friends" and then sees Will look concernedly at Jake and appear as though he might follow them to skate.

And then the truth is revealed, and he realizes that Angela, Jake, and the rest of their crew were not who he thought they were. Angela was never friends with Jane, and Will was never interested in any of them. Everything he thought was true was a lie. And who is he upset with over this? Will. Because it's always been Will's communication and honesty that he's cared about. He was never worried about Jane leaving him behind for her new friends. He was worried about being left behind by Will, just like he was at the Snowball. And in the end, Will does emotionally leave him behind when he lies about his feelings belonging to Jane when he gives Mike the painting.

Part One: The Missing Puzzle Piece

*#ConformityGate Compliant*

**Heads up that if you notice changes, it's because I'm updating/polishing things as they come to me!**

PART TWO HERE | PART THREE HERE | PART FOUR HERE | PART FIVE HERE | PART SIX HERE | PART SEVEN HERE | PART EIGHT HERE | PART NINE HERE PART TEN HERE | PART ELEVEN HERE | PART TWELVE HERE | PART THIRTEEN HERE PART FOURTEEN HERE | PART FIFTEEN HERE PART SIXTEEN HERE | PART SEVENTEEN HERE PART EIGHTEEN HERE | PART NINETEEN HERE PART TWENTY HERE **NETFLIX PUZZLED TRENDS/THEORIES HERE**

This is a BIG "hear me out" theory (then again, so was #conformitygate, and here we all are), but this is something so crazy it woke me up at the crack ass of dawn back on December 3rd.

Except as time has gone on, the evidence has been piling up in subtle ways I just need to get off my chest because I don't think these are just coincidences anymore.

People have grown to know and love Patty Newby in The First Shadow*, just as Henry Creel did. We've also seen undeniable Creelby/Byler parallels (check @miwiheroes' awesome analysis here).

*The prequel play was written by ST writer and Co-EP Kate Tefry; story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne, and Tefry.

While I largely agree, what if like so many fakeouts/distorted details we've been noticing this season, "Patty" was created as one more *red* herring to protect an even bigger twist that's been foreshadowed since Season Two, and has slowly been creeping its way back into the story in S5?

What if the truth is that Henry's true love is someone who would not only genuinely surprise the audience, but whose reveal would completely change the way we view the show?

This season there's been a huge focus on puzzles, both within the show and in Netflix's promotion of ST5.

We've been asked by the story (and the show's creators) to look for the missing piece.

While I definitely believe Byler, Mike's unacknowledged queerness, and #birthdaygate are part of the puzzle (more on that later), there is a piece that's been there the whole time that we've been missing.

And that puzzle piece is the show's established master of puzzles...

...Bob "The Brain" Newby.

Before S5 dropped, the Duffer Brothers recommended we rewatch episodes from S2 and S4. Season 2 specifically because, per Matt Duffer:

Who was introduced in S2? Bob.

Now, I loved Bob as a character, but his introduction as Joyce's BF always seemed... kind of off to me? He was sweet, smart, but... normal. Unassuming. Not to mention Joyce never really seemed all that into their relationship.

Later, he'd try to help Will rid himself of his demons (to disastrous results), would crack the mystery of the tunnels, support Joyce through Will's possession by the MF, and finally, nobly sacrifice himself for Joyce and the others.

Immortalized as Bob Newby: Superhero.

And it seemed like that was that for Bob.

Except now, in S5, there've been details creeping into the season that have made me fondly think of him...

In Vol. 1/"Sorcerer", we see Mike trying to guide the kids to safety by getting to Radio Shack... which is where Bob used to work.

In Vol. 2, Dustin and Steve searched for "treasure" in the "dungeons" of Hawkins Lab....

Only to end up in the Rainbow Room, where Dustin and Steve find not treasure, but toys...

Including a Rubik's Cube that quickly gets dismissed as a --

But if it's such a piece of shit, why is there this lingering shot on the Rubik's Cube? Why did the Duffers post Dustin's Rubik’s Cube line on Day 1 of filming S5?

Well -- who do we recall being particularly skilled at brain teasers like Rubik's cubes?

Who else in the fandom is fondly remembered, but easily dismissed?

And then there was this last Easter egg, in what I'm calling the #fakeepilogue, that left me shook:

What's that about coincidences, Lucas?

How about one more?

Sleeping with BOB???

And another one --

When did we hear something similar???

Bob Newby, once again at the scene of the crime...

And I think it's safe to say that not only have we found the X, but Bob is the X. The key to unlocking this whole thing.

Given Patty's name is on the poster for Joyce’s play in "Sorcerer", she's definitely part of the show's canon.

But is Patty actually who we think she is? Or is she, in the way Vecna's changed details in Holly's (and likely Mike's) memories, just another distortion within Vecna's own memories? What if the person Henry fell for (and lost) in The First Shadow wasn't actually Patty at all?

What if Henry's great love was... Bob Newby?

And if so, what does their possibly failed love say about the outcome for Mike and Will?

"I would do anything for you"

The audience is about to get hit with the gravity of Mike's love for Will in an insane way .

It is Mike's reason for being the twist antagonist.

+ how we defeat Mike!

I will give you a synopsis first because this is the most evidence-heavy, dense post I've ever done.

Mike taking everyone and feeding them to the MF because it’s worth it to him

Ted and Karen watch Dustin feed

Don’t forget “You see what happens, Micheal?”

noah explains that the duffers never sat him down to explain that will was gay which makes it seem like they never put that much thought about developing that aspect of his character. later on, it looks like they all had this silent agreement and understanding since noah noticed like all of us that will was meant to be gay. so here we can see how the duffers just threw him to the wolves because they either wanted to have will’s sexuality as a plot twist which is a very insensitive thing to do or that they were cowards that didn’t want to admit until the last minute that they had a queer main character on such mainstream show so they let a child deal with explaining it. it would’ve been so easy to sit with him and guide him how to answer or even make some sort of statement saying “yes will is written to be gay but he’s still growing up, keep watching to see how his story develops” which wouldn’t expose anything plot wise but would protect their young child actor from invasive questions. now that it’s out in the open, they elevate themselves as proud allies that wanted to make it right for will and noah. now they are finally saying that will was always meant to be gay and it was written in the show’s bible.

i think it was super insensitive to deal this way with will’s sexuality while working with a child actor. at the end of the day, noah being gay just like will is a coincidence. throwing some random child actor to deal with all this shows lack of care and understanding of queer storylines.

now years later, noah came out and had more definitive thoughts about will’s queer arc based on his own experiences being a young gay man. they had him waiting and waiting for it, and when asked if he had any input, he said he didn’t want to overstep which speaks for itself. he also was the one who suggested a scene between will and mike getting some closure because the duffers didn’t think about that at all. noah is the only one who thought that fans who invested their time and energy into that relationship deserved closure as well which also tells me what the duffers think about their fans.

i can’t help but think what would’ve been of will if noah wasn’t gay considering how misguided the duffers seem to be while dealing with queer storylines which shows us again the importance of queer representation in tv productions specially in the writers room because at the end of the day, this weight shouldn’t fall on the actor’s shoulders because they don’t write the show and their real life sexuality shouldn’t matter in the writing if we have writers that are truly committed to the characters.

My bad faith reading can say that the Duffers may have done a powers reveal but not in the centering way they did for s5 ep 1-4. Because they so easily sidelined him from that point on, despite there being Henry connections and GODDAMN POWERS. And it also makes me wonder if they had to be /reminded/ by Noah of the acting versatility he could show. And he and Charlie also had to have them include the Jonathan and Will "I'll always be there for you" scene in s4 so fuck those two's arcs that season, too, ig.

SO EXCITED and SCARED