such a shame our friendship had to end

Like am I really supposed to believe that just because he went to graduation and played dnd with his friends that that means he’s moving on from El? Am I supposed to believe that, after grieving her for a year and a half, that one conversation with Hopper was all it took for Mike to be fine to start moving on? I could see him going to graduation more for everyone else’s sake, especially when Hopper told him his mom was worried about him and gave him a whole speech to try to help him. And maybe Hopper’s speech was enough encouragement for Mike to at least push himself to go to graduation, but I just don’t see how that would’ve totally changed his mindset so suddenly to the point he was ready to accept things and carry on. And it sure doesn’t seem like he was ready to start moving on when he immediately thought of El when he heard the speakers and came up with a whole theory about how she could still be alive.

And it’s even more ridiculous to think that once he does believe that El is alive that he would just do nothing about it and accept that he could never be with her again. I have my own theory about Mike and the dnd game which makes far more sense to me, and it’s that he meant for the dnd game to be a possible goodbye to the party. Because to me, it makes total sense that, upon realizing that El could still be out there somewhere, Mike wouldn’t waste any time before trying to contact her, trying to find her, doing whatever he could to make a future with her possible. I think once he came up with his theory, he saw a path and a journey for himself to find El that he planned to go on but knew the party couldn’t know or be involved in it. Because if he told the party what he was planning to do, I think it’s likely some, if not all, of them would want to join or help him in some way. And he doesn’t know if there could be any danger, he doesn’t know how long it could take, doesn’t even know if he’ll succeed. Not to mention it could be more conspicuous and risky for all of them to be involved. I think for their safety, he would know finding El is something he’d have to do without them. So he gets them all together for the dnd game. He explains to them what he believes happened to El (which is what El asked him to do too, she told him he’d understand one day and for him to help the others understand. And that’s exactly what Mike does once he has his theory) but he doesn’t tell them anything else. He gives them an idea of what he might do in the future (probably the best case scenario of a future he’d been able to imagine for himself without El) but doesn’t include anything about him and El being together again (even though we know that would surely be his greatest hope) because the party would realize his plan to look for her. So I think his plan is something he would keep to himself until he knew it was safe for them to know. And if he planned on starting to try to contact/find El as soon as possible, of course he would want to tell the party his theory immediately and have a last dnd game with them so he could spend that time with them before starting his journey to reunite with El.

And all of this could even fit with how emotional he is after the game, putting away his binder, and leaving the basement. What if part of that was because he doesn’t know when he’ll be with the party again? Because he doesn’t know where his search for El will lead him and doesn’t know when he’ll be with all of his friends again? And it’s more of a goodbye for him than anyone realizes? I mean, from what I remember, he’s even more emotional when leaving the game and the basement behind than he is when talking about El and his theory, which would make sense if he’s feeling more emotional over leaving his friends behind for a time but hopeful when it comes to El.