So damn wild that the final song of the Snowball (and S2) was "Every Breath You Take."
It's such a sad and bitter song!!!!
Yet many listeners often miss the point and play it at their weddings and stuff, which the artist even said was the incorrect way to read that song.
Likewise, the Duffers knew that the GA would similarly misinterpret the end scene to be sweet and romantic for Milkvan.
But Byler are actually both crushed and yearning!!!
It's not a happy and sweet moment for Mike.and Will like it is for Lumax or even the way it's supposed to be for Milkvan.
Even without knowing the Vecna context of stalking/watching the party the song is NOT uplifting and sweet, like you would imagine a song would be for a new relationship.
Mike and Will were both faking happiness as they danced with girls, painfully aware of the hopeless nature of their crushes, yet feeling jealous and upset all the same.
Clever of them to blur Mike's face when he's paralleled to Dustin's pain:
That's why Mike's face during his dance with El is mostly in shadow and he looks so serious. If he was just feeling really happy, his face would've been fully lit and smiling, like Lumax both were. Instead, it's mostly just El whose face is lit up and smiling. They hide Mike's face from us.
Lighting enhanced to show his expression:
Even when he kisses El, he doesn't look happy afterwards and only smiles when she boops his forehead:
Lighting enhanced to show his expression:
And the lyrics. Ohhhhh, the lyrics.
We've talked about "every smile you fake" playing when Will is doing literally just that, but also the whole song opens "every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you" with the context of Mike openly staring at Will dancing with the girl with a mixture of seething jealousy and crushed heartbreak:
^this gif doesn't give the full impact of just how long Mike was staring at Will, but you can watch the clip here:
In closing, I think my very favorite use of the song is "every vow you break" - perhaps the vow to go crazy together?
romaincrisis
areudirty
prguitarman
kianamaiart
izzy806
germansingergirl
theartofmadeline
