The Byler Storyline is Not Finished yet | "The Mind of Mike Wheeler" Part 5
Finally weâve reached the last part, wohoo! It wonât be as intense as the snowball in the previous one (I probably wonât top that in forever), but there are still two scenes left that are worth discussing!
Going right in, we start with the video and youâll find my detailed analysis below. Related Posts: 5/5 Sync, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
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âļ Finally Telling His Mom
In the first timeline we see Mike sitting on the bench after he ran away, in the second timeline Kali's telling El what happened to her in the Upside Down Lab. Another round of Kali as Mike the Brave.
While Mike's just sitting there, lost in thought, Kali tells that she was getting drugged, knowing she needed to get out. And the only way out was death. While she's pretending to die we see what Mike's staring at: the hole in the wall is fixed now.
Kali's talking about the awful sounds of Dr. Kay, just as Mike remembers the last moments of El... and Kay's awful sounds.
Hopper then finds Mike sitting on the bench, showing that the whole memorial place looks like an X. Kali comments this with " not all tricks require powers."
Mike's telling Hopper how he fears that his mom won't understand why he can't walk the stage. Meanwhile Kali says that she never would have left, if she knew what was on the other side of that door. This time it's about Mike running away after actually telling his mom.
The second timeline changes to kids sitting on the swings in Camazotz. But Mike goes on: "It'd be like a lie. Like I'm okay with moving on. And I'm not." He's not okay with moving on from the swings, his first memory of Will.
Derek walks on screen, about to go into the woods. The other kids try to stop him, reminding him it's against the rules. He walks away anyway, just as Mike starts telling about his plan to go someplace far away with El, where no one would find them. But the kids immediately start running towards Mr Whatsit to tell him about Derek going into the woods. He will be found. Mike's plan wouldn't work. And please mind the very present 'snowball' (lamp) behind Hop and him.
Mike calls it a childish fantasy plan and that he should have had a real one. In the second timeline we switch to Max and Holly in the woods, trying to escape Camazotz. They say Derek's safe as long as he makes it to the cave. He's the bait for Henry. Okay, so Mike's fantasy plan was bait too? Wait, does this make Derek queer bait? â_â
Max says that she's been moving through this maze for two years now, while we get a close-up of Mike. She's all the guide that we need. Keep in mind, she was the one giving the instructions to create this whole Season 5/5 time loop at all.
She says "Once we find his first memory of you, we follow the memory trail to the night he captured you. And if I'm right, the exit to the real world will be there. [...] Then we escape Camazotz." So we need to find Vecna's first memory of Mike to find the exit to the real world, so he can escape. And I have a feeling that the hospital scene with all the exit signs (Part 3 'The Fight Inside Mike's Heart') will be important, connected to this. I Just can't prove it yet.
Skipping ahead, the second timeline changes for the last time, this time showing Will and Robin talking on the roof under the WSQK tower.
Will's asking Robin about Tammy and the tape epiphany, just as Hopper says "I've been down that first road before. And I don't recommend it." At some point during "Sorcerer" Robin was comparing her future with Tammy to a fantasy life. And didn't Mike just described his future with El as a fantasy plan? So road one is a fantasy life/plan aka Tammy/El.
Hopper thinks Mike knows what El wanted for him and Robin explains that she was finally cool with herself, but sharing that part with someone else was a whole other thing. Road two is about accepting yourself and what El wanted for Mike.
But eventually Robin told someone. And before she can go on the first timeline changes to the graduation ceremony. When she says she told Steve, we actually see her talking to Steve. I think it's quite interesting we see the principle starting his speech at the podium, just the moment Will's standing on the roof, looking down at Robin who's standing on the floor now. It looks like he's standing on a stage, moments after Mike said to Hopper that he can't walk the stage.
While Holly and Karen spot Mike arriving at the ceremony, Robin tells she only got out to Steve after being injected with a truth serum. So she got drugged and 'needed to get out,' just like Kali.
Robin goes on, saying how special it was to her to say it to someone out loud and hearing them to be cool with it. At the same time Karen's running towards Mike and is hugging him really tight. This time Mike actually told his mom, despite being scared and feels better now.
Karen tells Mike how proud she is of him, hugging him again and Will asks Robin if she has any of the truth serum left.
âļ Will's Leaving The Basement
In the upper timeline the group's sitting in the basement for the last time and in the lower one Will's hijacking the dead Demo. While Mike's saying, that Will the Wise travels to Vallaki, Will's actually traveling through the hive mind.
Mike's describing it as overwhelming and different to the village where he spent his youth, just when Will sees the children in the Abyss. The next thing Mike says is, that Will finds happiness and acceptance. Meanwhile Will finds Camazotz and the person he's looking for. He's Derek. Oh, and the epilogue boyfriend gets called 'Dipshit,' I like that.
Skipping ahead, we see Will leaving the basement, the same moment the particles leave the dead Demo. Mike's looking at Will's DND folder with a sad face, while the other Mike's calling him to come back. Basically what all of us were hoping for.
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And after that... Nothing. Nothing?!? All of this and we just stop in the middle of nowhere, still not knowing what will happen next? That's such bullshit!
Yeah, to be honest, we might not end on the best terms here, but thinking about it again, isn't that the whole point?
It. Does. Not. End.
We can't analyze the ending of a show, if it doesn't exist yet, right?
And even though I'm done with this series now, there's still so much I want to share with you. Alone the Season 5/5 Sync contains so many more interesting details, like lettergate or "Ripping off the Band-Aid."
Wait, why didn't I include this? Because it's not about Byler! The Duffers are meanies, but on a level that affords knowing their fans very, very well.
There's so much amazing stuff, but it will cost me some time to show you everything that I want to. You are absolutely welcome to take a look yourself, to analyze and to post about it. The link's in the original Season 5/5 post.
There were many Byler scenes I didn't understand, maybe you do?
Even after this, there's more to come. I already mentioned that Season 5 parallels to Season 4 in many ways, to this point I still got no clue where this whole loop will end. But one step at a time.
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One last thing I want to share, personal this time. You might've realized I went absent again, but this time because I wasn't feeling well mentally. I needed to take a break, like immediately.
Analyzing Mike's mind was probably the loneliest thing I ever experienced in this whole fandom, and to this point I'm still pretty much alone with the stuff I'm doing. I need to take better care for my mental health from now on, so please understand that I'll take slower and tinier steps for the time coming.
I thank you for all your support and nice comments, I was so afraid no one would understand the stuff I was writing about at all, honestly. Like, almost everything I was talking about happened off-screen, haha. If it weren't for you, it probably would have taken me way more time to write that last part. It really means so much to me, so thank you again and again. <3













