Brooke

That being said, it is 100% OKAY to be upset. With the show, with Finn, etc. I don’t think it was right they made fun of the coming out scene knowing how tough it was for Noah. I don’t think it was right they made fun of Max in a coma. And I don’t think it’s right Finn read it knowing all of this and was completely okay with it.

BUT.

but.

He didn’t write the script. We can’t blame him 100%. Especially since we don’t know how Noah feels after it. He may have loved it and laughed about it. We will never know until it’s addressed.

So yes, be upset. That’s fine. But don’t cancel Finn YET.

Forgive.

I feel like all it’s going to take for Mike to come to terms with the fact that it was El, but it was ALSO Will is seeing more and more people accept it and seeing it openly and loudly. Think about it, yeah? The 90s was still a rough time to be gay with the AIDS epidemic at an all time high, the DADT policies, and people just overall trying to fight things that were different. But you also had more people talking about it openly. There were more LGBTQ+ clubs and groups on campuses (right around the time he’s going to college), and more marches and protests for rights. Mike is certainly impressionable and seeing these things that are real and okay will make him start to question everything. Just because the show is over doesn’t mean the narrative has to be.

There’s a reason some things weren’t addressed, by the way. The painting? The reason that was never addressed is because there’s literally absolutely zero heterosexual explanation for that. None. Absolutely none. No one can tell me otherwise. You’re telling me that this painting that Will explained his feelings with but “omg lol it wasn’t ME it was EL!” elicited such strong feelings from Mike that he was finally able to tell her he loved her? Also, are we expected to believe that the only reason Will was chosen in the first place was because he was weak? He has proven to be anything but that. So..? Idk. Some of the plots were never resolved. I didn’t hate it, but that’s not what I expected at all. I can’t believe they actually went with the “El sacrifices herself” trope. She finally found friends and family after a life full of trauma and sadness and you’re telling me that’s what she did with it? And they never even brought mama back for closure or anything. What was the point in bringing her back to begin with? They genuinely made El so selfish in the end. It makes no sense. She fought for her friends and family so hard the ENTIRE SERIES. What was the point?

Also, I want to formally apologize to Kali. She wasn’t sus. She just thought she was right. She was all alone and the only person she had was El. She tried to help and they did her dirty. Her death had no meaning after everything and I think that is what makes me so upset.

Also I’ve seen people questioning Nancy’s haircut. I think it’s probably the best decision they made for Nancy. She’s single and finally making her own decisions for HER. Think about it. Nancy has always been “beautiful” and “girly”. I can see her AND her mother mind you walking into a hair salon with their long curls and staring into that mirror and just telling them to chop it off. I’m sure for those women it was so empowering to defy the beauty standards that have been set for them for so long. I am so happy for them for real. I think the way they closed the young adults’ storylines was chef’s kiss. I don’t care what anyone says. But the party? Dustin’s wasn’t bad, but what happened to Suzie? Lumax? I liked it. Byler? Nah. They didn’t address half of the tension or why volume 1 made it seem like they were flirting or anything. And El? If she really didn’t die, I’m glad she can be on her own but I don’t agree with how they ended her story. It was SO out of character.

I just hate that Will was reduced to “gay” and Mike was reduced to “widow”. I’ll never understand.

Let’s talk.

First off, I agree that the writing wasn’t fantastic but what I will say is it wasn’t as terrible as everyone thinks. First, I want to address Dustin and Steve.

Grief manifests in crazy ways and I think they handled Dustin’s perfectly. He was acting out and pushing people away, ESPECIALLY Steve. In Dustin’s mind, it was easier to choose being alone than being forced into it like he was with Eddie. It was easier to make Steve hate him and watch him walk away than watch him die.

As for Steve, he has been in the Upside Down business just as long as everyone else has been. He has had to scratch and fight his way out of the “dumb asshole jock” trope and has had to fight the allegations of being “king Steve” for people to take him even a little bit seriously. When he saw the one person who has always thought he was incredible and smart and just overall the best person he’s ever met move onto someone else, he was getting nervous. And he hated it because he thought Eddie was cool, too. He couldn’t even blame Dustin. He was also lashing out because he was scared, too. We finally had that beautiful scene where they talked and they addressed the situation and they called each other their best friend. It was perfect. It’s what they needed.

To address Jancy, I was a little upset because UGH I love them. But something I think people are missing is the fact that they are choosing to break the cycle that BOTH of their families laid out for them. They aren’t getting married just because it would be the “right thing to do”. They are being honest with one another and talking things through. They aren’t fighting and taking their anger out on each other. People forget they were and still are best friends first. That speaks volumes and I think that’ll come back in the end. Also, I’ve seen people talking about “why did she bring up Steve and his 6 kids??” Y’all saw them laugh about it just like I did. She brought it up because she knew Jonathan would think it was as ridiculous as she does.

Now to bring up Byler and the coming out scene.

Let me say this, okay? Hear me out. 

While I agree that the coming out scene would’ve been more special with less people, Will literally stood there and EXPLAINED he was going to tell everyone because it would keep him safer. He told his mom he thought people needed the truth because Vecna was ALREADY using it against him. His words were beautiful. But the “or me.” was not. That’s just not realistic. The group hug? Sure! Jonathan grabbing his brother and hugging him and his mom telling him she would never leave him? Absolutely. But the rest? No. I didn’t love it. But I didn’t hate it.

As far as the “he was my Tammy”, I think people are thinking this was admitting defeat. I disagree. Will has a habit of telling people what he thinks they need to hear, including himself. He doesn’t actually believe the fact that all of those years of yearning and fighting the darkness and demons was to just call Mike a “crush” and a “Tammy”. Even during the speech, he was quick to say “I know you’re not like me” because Will is doing his best to convince himself as well as everyone else that he isn’t as different as he hopes they think he is now. He names off all these things that they have in common to minimize and downplay the fact that something is different. Also, Mike looked hurt when Will was explaining. The Duffer Brothers said that Mike realized Will was talking about him. Think about what was going through Mike’s head. “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls”? The painting? Castle Byers being destroyed? Completely dismissing him at the airport and forgetting his birthday? The ball is 100% in Mike’s court now and I don’t think they’re going to just leave it at a weak ass group hug. I don’t think we’ve seen the resolution. Right now, we’re at the build up. Now, we have a cat that is 200% out of the bag. Fuck, the end of ep. 4 showed us that Mike isn’t the Tammy. Mike is the motivation. Mike is the love. Mike is the power.

We still have the finale. Let’s see what happens.

Just how fast the night changes or whatever it is One Direction said.

Do you get deja vu?