yearnatron 3000

this is a classic will-they-won’t-they set up. the audience WANTS will to get what he wants because they like him now. volume 1 leaves us with a lot of questions and one of the main ones is how is mike going to react because will’s feelings are brought to such a forefront by ep4. so it really doesn’t matter if audience is divided over if they were actually flirting or if mike was into it or if mike is will’s tammy or if mike’s look at the end was just friendly because their scenes are imbued with such plausible deniability FOR A REASON. that’s a popular tactic when it comes to slow burn romances. everyone and their mother knows that.

i need everyone to zoom out and look at the bigger picture here. from a narrative standpoint, its a very clear use of will-they-won’t-they. a relationship between two characters that has always blurred the lines between just a special friendship or something more, where there’s seasons of unresolved tension due to seemingly unrequited feelings, which often ends up being resolved along major plot threads in the finale. along the way it ends up acquiring a large fanbase or at least sparks a lot of conversation around it until it finally pays off. does that remind you of something??

the duffers love this trope because it’s been there in some way for all canon couples. admittedly, it’s not as drawn out as will and mike’s relationship but it’s always been there in some form. every writer wants the conclusion to feel earned after having taken the audience along this emotional arc with the main character. that’s what they did in volume 1. which was a crazy accomplishment that we’re not giving them much credit for btw because up until 4 days ago most of the GA wanted will to die. now, either consciously or unconsciously, people will be looking to mike to see if he rejects or reciprocates will’s feelings. it’s a chekhov’s gun being shoved right in front of their faces wrapped in reflective tape under neon lights. people could ignore the painting but not when its followed by this. to me, this is exists as the biggest proof because now the natural progression is volume 2 picking up with mike’s pov.

i also see conversations about how they’re going to do it within half a season because we haven’t really gotten a look into mike’s head since s2 and guys!! they’ve spelled it out for us!! there’s so much careful groundwork laid out. the painting was always one. robin’s snowball to avalanche was deliberate foreshadowing. it’s not a throwaway line, it’s not a far-fetched claim we’re making. it’s literally within the context of will asking robin for signs, thereby establishing to the audience what these signs are so that when they ultimately become too obvious, there’s no shield of plausible deniability anymore. that’s not even considering the history of the term shared looks. it’s a known directorial cue for will and mike and you see it constantly in s4 and s5 to a point where it becomes kinda ridiculous. noah talked about one of the duffers having a shared looks tattoo in an interview. the only time this term is mentioned in canon is when will asks about what romantic signs to look for and you’re telling me it’s not going to come back in a big way later?? and will, who happens to be in love with mike, uses dnd terms to encourage him to be his best self that he actually takes to heart because that’s what will sees in him. do you know who else does that exact same thing?? MIKE. considering all that, all they need to do is just recontextualise will and mike’s relationship.

not to mention, they’ve been so vocal about will’s importance and journey this season and the absolute care with which they handled volume 1. and they obviously can’t outright allude to anything because the moment they acknowledge that it is on the table, it spoils the direction where its heading. also you don’t cite stephen king’s IT as inspiration and add the cyrano trope in your own work for it to never pay off??