willās character is equally as nerfed as mikes.
tbh i hate to say it but itās equally as valid to say that willās character arc is equally as nerfed as mikeās IF byler isnāt endgame. will has been nothing but the stereotype of tragic gay kid. heās experienced nothing but misery from the second he was introduced.
abusive, sexist, homophobic, AND absent father (who may have SAād him, if you subscribe to that belief).
bros also literally canonically poor asf like brotherā¦ get your bag up fr.
LITERALLY GOES MISSING for a week and has his death FAKED by the government.
willās trauma isnāt actually unpacked on screen, weāre left to wonder what happened to him and how he was able to survive in the upside down for that week when bigger and tougher people have died.
been possessed by the mindflayer for all of S2, brother cannot catch a break
forced to have a connection with the UD, vecna, and all that even after his trauma from literally being stuck there for a week
love joyce but her overbearing nature in the seasons isnāt that great for him either because as will said āeveryone treats him like heās differentā (except someone hmm i wonder why)
set up to be this sad bullied kid, described as āall aloneā by mike FROM THE BEGINNING. bullied by troy in life and even after his ādeathā. isnāt even accepted when he does come back to school in s2
is low-key replaced by eleven by the group while heās gone. (i love willel donāt start)
mike replaces him for el, lucas and max arenāt as close with him in season 3, dustin has suzie and the russians plot line
wants to play DND all summer and is ignored just to have his best friends leave and join a new party like not even a little bit later bro.. the SECOND they joined hs šš
has basically been sidelined for 2 full seasons as the guy who gets a tingly neck feeling every 3 weeks. heās not even considered smart or brave anymore, js the guy with the little itty bitty twitches on his neck and loves to touch it
is STILL not well liked by his peers in california plot line because of his sister
lowk is forced to become siblings with the girl that his first love is dating (again love willel stop)
tragically plays match maker for the doomed couple (literally the ONLY person who cares about their relationship)
is written to be a sad gay boy in love with his childhood best friend since idk SEASON 1. donāt get me started in why this is actually js torturous to have done if it will end with m*leven endgame.
hes basically a prop for this ship that is TECHNICALLY STILL canonically true but leaves will with all his trauma and gay pining to currently be put at risk of being sidelined forever for the development of m*leven (painting lie)
wasted how much time on that masterpiece of a painting to then sit in a HOT ASS VAN and pour his entire soul into mike just to try and salvage a dead relationship
forced him to lie to his BEST friend, who, even if they byler not endgame is the most important person in willās life next to his mother.
forced to LITERALLY COMFORT THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE as heās still being a gay mess and struggling to say that he loves his own fake girlfriend
sat through mikeās piece of shit monologue and heard him tell his gf that he loved her like 10 times
not only was the monologue garbage but it probably felt genuine to will whoās been on the receiving end of mikeās motivational talks. although he shouldāve clocked it as in-genuine, he probably feels like he doesnāt remember mike anymore bc they havenāt talked in months in this essay i will-
basically if byler isnāt canon, will is set up to be amongst the worst characters in the show. maybe his connection to the UD is deep as hell but even if they explain willās secret powers or connection to the upside down, his personal development outside of the supernatural is absolutely DOG SHIT. he could be more powerful than el in the telepathy world and it would still feel like emotionally heās been nothing but a sad doormat for the writers that only gets remembered every time thereās a small disturbance in the UD. like no development except pure torture and sidelining him for two whole seasons to be nothing more than sad gay boy that the entire GA hates bc it threatens m*leven endgame.
