mike wheelher

So I'd like to talk about the fact that Mike def isn't clueless but some of you are giving him a bit too much credit bc he also def doesn't have anything about his situation under control.

In s1 & 2 everything was mostly subconscious, being gay was wrong but it wasn't something he knew about himself. Mike just cared about his best friend a lot and none of what he felt was of questionable nature to him. And besides, he had El, she was a pretty girl and really nice to him, he cared about her a lot too.

And it wasn't until s3, when puberty came around, that Mike had to push down some confusing thoughts and feelings that we can see him projecting on Will during their fight. At the end of said season, he does come to a very very scary conclusion that he's now actively hiding in s4.

“We're friends. We're FRIENDS!” , Mike repeats ; as if Will needed the reminder more than he did, it isn't right to think about these kinds of things anyway. Atp he's fully admitted to himself that he's gay but isn't happy about it at all. Therefore, even if Will's feelings for him were presented to him on a silver platter, – which they were – he will still choose to ignore and deny them because 1. his tainted mind is obviously misreading the situation and 2. he can't do anything about it, because being gay is still not okay. Two wrongs don't make a right. And he knows what they do to people like him, especially in Hawkins. He can't afford to take that risk, he's already lost Will too many times to fuck everything up just bc he wanted to satisfy a stupid whim.

I've always seen people calling Karen Wheeler a bad mother, especially in terms of Ted and her's emotional neglect of her kids. But see, I don't agree at all. While she might not seem as present as other parents in the show, we see her countless times making it clear that she's there for her children. And when Ted proves to be well,, himself, Karen doesn't try to conceal her disapproval of his behavior. So it's not like she acts like him for people to treat her like they do Ted. Granted, she's in a loveless marriage, which can't be healthy for her kids – as we've been able to see throughout the entire show – and definitely not for her either, but I do believe she's trying hard, if not her best, and people are basing their entire perception of her on a few s3 scenes in which she decided she wanted to do something for herself instead of wallowing in self-pity. And mind you, she didn't even go through with it bc she realized her family came first. She loves her children and doesn't refrain from showing it. You can't continue to blame her for her husband's actions.

Like you're basically telling me that in the end, bro can run but he can't hide and love (the homosexual kind) will win bc it'll catch up to Mike and beat the shit out of his denial until he kisses Will on the mouth bc “The First I Love You" (with a capital L) has been sitting in one of the Duffers' drawers gathering dust since 2015 and the world needs to hear it!!