So (because I cannot go three seconds without noticing new little things that tell the wider story in this show):
Letâs talk about how the music that plays during the S3 Byler fight is the exact same music that plays during the S4 conversation Mike & Dustin have with Lucas as they walk to class after the pep rallyâ
âand how that parallel gives us insight not only into how Mike (and his devotion to Will) has evolved between seasons 3 and 4âŚ.but also how The Duffers are evolving Mike as a character in the wake of the "conflict" of forced conformity they introduced in S3.
To start: here are snippets of both scenes where âNot Kids Anymoreâ plays, both in Season 3 and Season 4.
Now, even though Mike is present in both scenes, itâs not entirely obvious why these things would be parallels, given the radical difference in tone. That said: when we look at these scenes in their wider contexts, we see that they are both exploring the exact same issue, only with Mike on opposite sides of the convo each timeâ
ânamely, whether or not its worth it for Mike to embrace conformity, given that there are behaviors/roles he is meant to fill when trying to keep up with being normal/growing up...and "society" says that DnD / nerdiness (and a refusal / lack of desire to participate in performative relationships) stands entirely apart from that.
Let me see if I can explain.
First: these things are parallels because they are asking us to compare the Mikes in each situationâto notice how he took Willâs words to heart, and decided on some level that Will was right, not him. How do we know? Because in the time between these two convos (aka the rain fight and then the first few episodes of S4), we learn that Mike has made a point to address and rectify all criticisms Will had of him & his behavior during the rain fight.
As of the very first episode of S4, we are shown that Mike is 1) paying attention to both the party/DnD the way Will criticized him for not doing (to the point of calling out Lucas for not prioritizing it the way he now wants to)â
â2) he is focusing on keeping closeness with Dustin (even to the point of judging Lucas for not doing the same), because Will accused him of ignoring Dustin as readily as he ignored himâ
âand 3) he has entirely stopped "swapping spit" with El (to the point of removing her from a hug at the airport, kissing her on the forehead...and then never kissing her again lmao) while letting his relationship fall apart without much of a fightâŚright before apologizing to Will for letting El get in the way of their time spent together in the first place.
Basically: even though he is still struggling in many ways to defend himself from being bullied/being an outcast by hiding behind his relationship with El (the same way Lucas is with âbeing popularâ and basketball), we can see that Mike has made clear strides towards embracing the sides of him that arenât conformist, which is reflected in all of his decision-making in Will's absence.
Though Mike is getting older and the party âarenât kids anymore,â them paralleling these scenes is showing us that Mike, at least on some level, has realized that growing up is not at odds with embracing the things he enjoys & his various identities, whether that be through playing DnDâ
âwearing clothes he chose on his ownâ
âor willingly choosing closeness with Will over the performance of relationships with girls (the same way Will already had in Season 3, and Dustin reflected as well).
Now...this isn't to say that he's entirely succeeded at the task, given how many times we see him fumble through actually implementing these changes/revelations in himself, whether with clothes (hello 'shitty knockoff'), embracing his actual interests, or even letting himself want to admit he wants to be with/around Will and not Elâ
âon top of the fact that I've already talked (many, many times) about how the journey of "feeling like you lost" the Duffers took us on had Mike ending up in a position where "conformity" temporarily wins, how that plays into his relationship with El versus Will, and why it matters for his character even outside of his queerness.
Still: I think this parallel in particular is important to understanding his character because it rules out any idea that Mike is somehow oblivious rather than intentionally working through to the changes happening in himself, whether they be in regards to him re-choosing DnD, making decisions about his clothing for himself...or wanting to be closer to Will / not participate in "liking girls," which is what he gets projection-mad at Will about during the rain fight.
tl;dr: Mike has realized on some level that he wants to be more like / closer to Will than his S3 "conformity" selfâand the war we see on his face throughout the season in conversations with Will has a lot to do with that, among other things.
This musical parallel in particular draws attention to the fact that there have been changes happening within Mike that he sees and recognizesâhe just "lost" like every other character this season, aka failed at walking into a more secure sense of self / out of his "conformist" relationship in its entirety...which we'll resolve in S5. :)
