#bylerproof

-"friends don't lie" "but boyfriends do, a lot." said from max to el.

friends don't lie but mike and will have crucially shared a lie.

mikes lie: "it's not my fault you don't like girls." ofc he doesn't know this is a lie when he says it, but it's not true, and will knows it's a lie.

will's lie: the entire s4 van scene, where he says that el commissioned the painting and passes his feelings off as hers, cuz he thinks that's what mike needs for strength. (it could be debated whether or not mike can tell he's lying about it coming from el. jonathan knows it's a lie though.)

the nature of both of these lies is the same. it's a way for them to hide their true feelings about each other. mikes lie is a defensive projection- will is the reason why HE doesn't like girls, and in s3, he's annoyed about the constant reminders of it, as he tries to be "normal" and "grow up" out of his queerness. the lie him trying to imply that he DEFINITELY DOES like girls, to hide his feelings for will that he thinks are unacceptable. wills lie of course is about trying to hide his feelings too, thinking they are unacceptable and would not be received well by mike and society. notably, he's hiding behind the "girl" that mike also hid behind to hide his queerness.

friends don't lie, but boyfriends do. BOYFRIENDS. DO. 🙂 so they're boyfriend coded literally,, but also best friends. so they're going to find the truth out one way or another.

and this is even more interesting when you consider the original statement was said by max to el, who also said that mike should come crawling back to her after she dumps his ass. which was also proven to be about mike and will instead, because after each of those fights, who did he actually go crawling back to? through the pouring rain and the woods?

Can we talk about how el, will and mike are a classical love triangle?? Its so obvious its emberassing atp. I call it a simple "the vampire diaries" situation, a girl (in st pov mike) is introduced to a new love interest (st pov, eleven) they fall in love and spend time together, however, the love interests brother (st pov will) is the girls, possible new love interest (aka mike) , the girl and her possible new love interest, spend thier time searching for current love interest, however, they slowly fall in love (exactly what s4 of st is). It is THAT simple to paralel byler.

Edit :

If u didnt get the ref, here it is ;

The girl - mike

Love interest el

Possible love interest : will

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Stranger Things Relationships: WIll Byers/Mike Wheeler Characters: Will Byers, Mike Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Nancy Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Steve Harrington Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Angst, Will Byers Needs a Hug, First Kiss

(This analysis is part of a larger theory which you can read here. Skip to the end if you just want to see my prediction about The Return of The Teddy Bear™)

Both Labyrinth and Stranger Things utilize toys to foreshadow characters and monsters the will appear later:

but thats just a surface level observation. Now lets examine the purpose of toys within their respective narratives, because they both fall under a shared theme:

TOY SYMBOLISM

Sarah's journey through The Labyrinth is an allegory for growing up, with a focus on puberty and the discovery of her sexuality:

When her step-mom implies that she should "have dates" by now, it causes her to angrily storm up to her room which is filled with toys.

This shows how in the beginning, Sarah doesn't want to become an adult by letting go of her childhood. This changes by the end of the movie, as represented by her departure from toys and her decision to finally "grow up".

For Mike, toys also represent his evolving outlook as to what it means to "grow up" throughout the seasons.

In season 1: Mike is still a child, meaning that he can enjoy D&D and play with his toys without shame.

In season 2: Mike starts being told that he needs to conform and "grow up" by society. This is illustrated by his attachment to toys, and the conversation surrounding them at dinner.

Mike's parents want him to get rid of his toys, despite Mike still liking them. Only because adults/authority don't recognize their value, is Mike forced to get rid of them.

Sarah on the other hand, refuses to get rid of any toys, which is why her room is still cluttered with them as a teenager. It's implied that this will change after the movie ends, because making her way through The Labyrinth forces her to come to terms with growing up by accepting the harsh realities of life.

Sarah's flaw was that she refused to "grow up", whereas Mike's flaw is that he tries to force himself to:

season 3:

Mike's attempt at "growing up" in s3 by "moving on" from D&D is proven to be inauthentic by his return to D&D in s4:

The fact that Mike was putting up a facade in s3 is further illustrated by his initial excitement over Christmas and the idea of playing with toys. But because Mike is with El, he immediately feels ashamed by the admission and tries to hide his true feelings.

Only after El tells him that she likes presents too, does he admit to still liking them.

Deep down, Mike still wants to play games like D&D and Nintendo. He wants to sit in his basement and play games with Will for the rest of his life, but he doesn't think that it's realistic. To him, growing up also means growing out of those feelings because the alternative is not socially acceptable. He HAS to have a girlfriend, and he HAS tell her he loves her, because it's something "OLD PEOPLE" inevitably say and do.

He struggles to say the word "love" to El because its not true. Friends aren't supposed to lie. Trying to "grow up" by conforming is what prevents Mike from becoming his true self, thus completing his character arc. Unlike the movie Labyrinth, Stranger Things is about the power of love and friendship. His character doesn't have to "grow up" and learn that "life isn't fair" like Sarah did. What Mike needs to do is accept every part of himself even if society doesn't. In the end, Mike needs to embrace his "childish" and "nerdy" interests, as well as his sexuality.

Stranger Things 5 will be about Mike's path to acceptance of his sexuality and inner child. In the end, Mike will choose to play D&D and Nintendo together with his childhood bestie forever, despite also "growing up".

Unlike Mike, Sarah's refusal to conform is framed as a flaw because it prevents her from moving on from her mother's death. She can't become her true self until she lets go of her childhood and toys.

This is why the resolution of Sarah's internal conflict, is also the inciting incident of Mike's. In the end, Sarah must get rid of her toys.

When Sarah becomes trapped in her fantasy, she forgets her mission. The Junk Lady tries to take advantage of her memory loss. She tries to distract her by piling toys into her hands:

But in this moment, Sarah actually remembers her purpose. She no longer cares about her toys, and is able to realize that "it's all just junk"

Sarah's journey takes her down a different path but ultimately leads her to the same conclusion. For her, growing up is what leads to accepting herself, thus growing as a person.

Despite "growing up" in the end, the characters from her fantasy still reappear in the last few minutes. This shows us that Sarah can both grow up and be herself at the same time. The two are not mutually exclusive:

The Teddy Bear:

(I think this movie might be why the writers specifically introduced Teddy Bear Symbolism in stranger things. If that makes me delusional, so be it)

Sarah's teddy bear, Lancelot, is what sets the movie's entire conflict into motion.

After realizing that her teddy bear was missing, she finds it in her baby brother Toby's room:

THIS MAKES HER FUCKING LIVID. For some reason she blames the literal BABY and wishes for him to be taken by Goblin's.

and then when he actually is, she has the audacity to be ungrateful!?

You might be wondering why this teddy bear was so important to her. It's because the teddy bear is a symbol of Sarah's childhood, as well as a person (her dead ass mother).

In Stranger Things, a teddy bear is ALSO a symbol of childhood, and a person (Will)

(@beepboop358 300+ Byler Proof Slides)

At the end of season 3, Mike grabs The Teddy Bear(Will) out from INSIDE THE CLOSET and gives it to Eleven.

Then El confesses her love and Mike still can't say it back. When she kisses him, The Teddy Bear(Will) is literally BETWEEN THEM and his eyes stay open the entire time.

As she walks away with a look of excitement, Mike's face is in stark contrast. He's framed directly in front of the open closet as a look of realization crosses his face. This is when Mike realized that he's gay. Eleven then takes the Teddy Bear(Will) away from Mike, and with her to California.

She's also taking away with her A TOY, which is symbol of Mike's childhood innocence/naïvety. Why? because Mike just fully realized his sexuality. (and it’s confirmed that the s3 monster represented puberty)

At the end of the movie, Sarah gives the Teddy Bear to her baby brother Toby. This action also carries a lot of meaning, as it shows that she's moved passed her animosity/jealousy of Toby. It also represents her moving on from childhood. Toby is the physical embodiment of her younger self, and the teddy bear represents the memory of her mother/her childhood innocence. By giving the teddy bear to Toby, she is both letting go of and holding on to her childhood and mother's memory.

hmmm. So what if this scene were to be paralleled somehow in s5? What if the Stranger Things Teddy Bear Symbolism™ makes a return in the final season....maybe something related to time travel, with Sarah being s5 Mike, the Teddy Bear being Will/childhood, and the baby being s1 Mike? But i digress....lets move on to another potential parallel,

Forgotten Teddy Bear Parallel

Right after Sarah escapes from her fantasy of the ball, she falls down a black void.

idk maybe Stranger Things could reference this in season 5? something something about Whiterabbitgate and how the Sarah's fall is a reference to Alice in Wonderland

she lands in a junkyard, but still can't remember anything

I'm guessing that Mike will have his memories stolen/altered at some point because of Birthdaygate.

The ONE THING Sarah can remember is The Teddy Bear

(I'll probably think of more things later)

Waking up to new Stranger Things content is a tumultuous experience- I giggled, I cried, I almost screamed but didn't want to awaken my sister. This morning we were gifted with four new promo images, and most social media platforms have been bombarded with the tag; stranger things season 4.

Despite the wait- it's becoming easier to fathom the idea of 3 years between seasons. With double the episodes, and over a year and a half worth of filming, one can understand the struggle. Especially amidst a global pandemic. But, it's coming. On May 27th, Volume 1. Season 4 of Stranger Things will be bestowed upon the public, and us nerds will finally get the satisfaction we have been waiting for!

I'll start by reviewing the first promo image we received (I believe).

001; Russia. Getting the band back together. Bring a jacket.

From the statement "Getting the band back together", it's obvious that Joyce and Murray are the ones standing beside Hopper. The three are standing in a snowy courtyard, presumably inside a Russian base. There's blood splattered across the ground, and bits of debris as if some sort of explosion happened. As in all the other promo images, a portal to the upside-down looms in the centre frame, with the characters walking towards it.

It seems as if Hopper is either looking at Joyce or looking behind himself, possibly hinting that they're being followed (which would make sense considering they're most definitely not supposed to be here/escaping). Hopper's shadow is covered by the season 4 logo, and Joyce and Murray's are right beside it.

002. The Lab. Every story starts somewhere.

:"Every ending has a beginning."

I think it's finally safe to assume that this season we will be revisiting the earlier moments of Stranger Things. Discovering more about Eleven's past, The Lab, Brenner, etc. This is super exciting, and as I stated in my earlier post I cannot wait to see Eleven uncover the depths of her past.

There are multiple pieces of evidence that point towards the place in the image being Hawkin's Lab. However, she was captured in California (explained in my analysis here), so it doesn't make much sense how she's ended up in Hawkin's Lab (unless she was taken there by her capturers). But if that were the case, I don't understand why they would be working in such poor conditions. Maybe, Eleven is the reason the place looks demolished? (More on that later). Just a theory, but I'm not sure.

We also know that the room at the end of the hallway is the rainbow room; the layout of the hallway is same to that of the trailer, the rainbows either side the screen, etc. If that's the case, then Eleven's room is at the opposite end of the hall, where Eleven is walking from. Meaning she may have just been in her room. :O

Anyways, there's blood everywhere, and pieces of paper and shattered glass litter the floor. In the distance it also looks like there is cardboard or something.

Below I'll outline the few significant things I notice, then discuss them;

-Eleven's reflection in the mirror

-The rainbow room

-The Coca-Cola can

-The broken light switch

-Headset thing

-The door number

I've brightened up the image so that we can actually get a good look at what's going on:

Eleven's reflection in the Mirror

In the mirror, we see Eleven's younger self in the reflection.

It makes sense that this is hinting towards El revisiting her past. And the shattered glass could be a metaphor for her 'broken past', and how she's coming to put the pieces back together to uncover who she truly is.

The Rainbow Room

In the furthest door at the end of the hall there is a rainbow. We know that this is the Rainbow Room from the trailer 'Eleven, are you listening?' The rainbow could also be (and this is just me throwing out ideas) to show that on the other side of the Upside Down sits the answers and clarification Eleven's been searching for. That after all the strife she's endured, she will find some kind of serenity (and even if that not what this means, I hope it still happens).

The Coca-Cola Can

On the bottom left of the image, at the entrance to the first door on the left, is the Coca-Cola Can. For Eleven, this is a symbol of her powers. When she crushes the can with her mind, it is one of the very early times we see her using her powers. It's also one of the items she uses to practise control. At the moment, Eleven has lost control of her powers, and this could be hinting that at Hawkin's Lab she will regain control. This also leads me to theorise that she may be the on who 'demolished' the place.

The Headset Thingy mabob

Eleven's mind control headset is on the bottom right corner of the image, I've developed a theory for this that I will elaborate on later.

The door number

I'm almost certain it says 11

(I've zoomed in and signs (my impeccable vision) point to yes)

(Also in bottom right corner)

My Theory:

From gathering all the things I just mentioned, I have developed a theory. I believe Eleven was in her room, and, overwhelmed by the memories, had her powers come back to her in a strike of emotion where she threw all the objects around her out of her room (explaining the headset, door number, coca-cola can).

The Broken Light

I've established that this poster has many references to season 1, but I've found something that links back to the first five minutes of the series. To when the Demogorgon was the biggest, scariest threat. I know the lights were flickering, rather than completely broken, but I like to think of it as at least something. Probably isn't anything, but it's a little detail I think could be quite cool. Especially if this season is about the past/origins of Stranger Things.

--

This poster had a lot to unpack, and I think the next few have quite a lot too!

003. Creel House. Tick-tock.

Again, this poster is only further confirming that we will be learning more about the history of Hawkins, The Lab, The Upside Down, etc. 'Tick-tock', reinforces that too. I think for this promo it'll be best to sort my observations into qualitative observations and what I infer from that.

Qualitative

Composition of Characters;

The seven characters, arranged in sets of two, three, then two, are standing centre frame. Max and Lucas are closest to us viewers, and Lucas is looking to Max whereas Max is looking back. She is also wearing headphones. In the middle row stand Steve, Dustin, and Erica. Dustin and Erica are looking forwards, and Steve is looking to his right. In the final row, closest to the portal, are Nancy and Robin, heads tilted towards one another.

Inferences

Composition of Characters;

First of all, I've seen many theories that this season Max and Lucas will be breaking up. Eleven and Mike's composition in the s3 poster resemble Lucas and Max's in this one, and in s3 Eleven 'dumped' Mike. I've also seen theories that Max is experiencing depression in this season, and is going through grief/trauma after what happened at Starcourt (understandably). She's been seen wearing darker/flatter coloured clothes, wearing headphones a lot, and the released 'audition' of the Hawkin's School Counsellor 'talking to her' emphasises on this as well.

She's also the only one looking back, and in the 003 teaser trailer, she was standing at the front of the group. In the s3 poster, Eleven was also looking back, and throughout the season Billy kept trying to contact her. Maybe this season Billy is trying to contact Max, and she responds to him in 'Dear Billy'. I've also seen a speculation that the headphones are symbolising her trying to 'block out the voices', i.e., Billy.

In the next row stands Steve, Dustin, and Erica. On this poster, Steve is in a similar position to Will in the s3 poster. He's turned slightly to his right, possibly looking down at Dustin. Honestly, I haven't seen many other connections between Steve and Will so I don't know what this could mean. Maybe he's going to be able to sense the Mind Flayer? I can't really see that happening. Unless it's hinting at Steve going through some of the trauma Will experienced (or something along the lines of that). I know some people have found lots of evidence suggesting that Steve will die this season, so it could relate to that.

Finally, we have Nancy and Robin standing in the final row, closest to the portal. This is interesting, because Nancy seems to be one of the characters that has experienced most of the supernatural monsters first-hand. Whereas Robin experienced the full-extent of the Russian (human) side of things. Nancy 'fell?' into the Upside Down, and was practically chased by the Demogorgon. She was also chased by the Mind Flayer and it's prey. Robin was drugged and beaten by the Russians underneath Starcourt. And aside from Steve, none of the others in 003 have really experienced (what I will call the full-extent) of the supernatural (and natural) world.

The two are looking at one another, which I kind of hope means they develop a friendship this season (however I will also happily accept it if they end up being lesbians in love- now that I've said that I think I should clarify that I do not ship ronance, because I personally do not see much evidence (suffice to say, I haven't searched for any), but I would not mind seeing two attractive ladies in love on this show that I already love- but, enough of that).

Qualitative

Settings/Surroundings;

The seven are standing in an aging room, with a grandfather clock at the end of it. I've brightened up the image so that we can actually get a good look at what's going on.

What I see:

-Cobwebs

-Chair

-Boxes

-Fan

-Chair

-Wheelchair

-Chair

-Weird tall thing next to chair

Inferences

Settings/Surroundings;

We can definitely assume that they're standing in the attic of Creel House. Most of the items we can see are just general attic-items. 'Tick-tock', and the big grandfather clock both point towards the Creel House having to do with the history of Stranger Things (most of the posters are about the history of ST). I saw a post about how on the other side of the room to the wheelchair was a bassinet (this may just be in the trailer, and not the poster), however I cannot see that now. The only thing I'm curious about is the tall item next to the first pole on the left (in between the fan, chair, and pole)

--

004. California. Hold onto your butts, brochachos.

Neither 001 or 004 have any 'references' to time or the past, like 002 and 003 do. Which makes me wonder what their storylines for this season are going to be about. I'm not sure really how to go about analysing this poster, so I guess I'll start by stating what I see.

This promo is a pain in the ass because there aren't many items or such to look into, and obviously I want to build the tension before jumping straight into what I actually want to say!

In saying this, I realised something. This whole town, lighting, and setting reminds me so much of the Goldfinch. Like. Maybe not exactly the 004 teaser trailer, but this poster specifically is giving me the same vibes. (The part I'm talking about specifically is when Theo is in Las Vegas with Boris-who, I should mention, is played by Finn Wolfhard, and is in love with his best friend).

Anyways, it's always possible that was an intentional action of the Duffer Brother's, but probably not.

There are only three possibly significant objects/items I can see in this image.

The Surfer Boys Pizza Truck

The bike

The car

--

Honestly, I don't think this has any deeper meaning, I feel like the truck is probably more there to show that it's going to be an important vehicle in the season (I know that's so lame for someone who's meant to be analysing everything but i dOnT cArE).

THE bike. Now. I've seen a ton of stuff about this. Is it relating to the Smalltown boy theory? Is it the same bike from the s1 poster? We don't really know, but I saw someone get pretty pissed over another person assuming it to be from the Smalltown boy theory- so I won't go too far into that. Pretty much, the post was pondering why Nancy didn't come with Mike to California. And speculating if Mike had went to Cali himself, i.e. the Smalltown boy theory.

Finally, the car in the very distance (parked in the 3d house down on the left). It looks very similar to Lonnie's car from when Jonathan visited him in s1.

I apologise to those reading this, because at this point when I'm writing I start to just feel off. I really want to finish this now, so I'll keep going, but excuse me if the tone of my writing becomes less formal.

I'm pretty sure this is the first Byler poster with only them (out of the party), so that could mean this will be our first season we see something more than friendship with them (there's also double the episodes! so everyone who was worrying there wouldn't be enough time for them to have a good romantic developmenttt wooowee)

Also like- the 004 teaser trailer completely DOOFED us. like mike and el went from literally holding one another's hands in the other poster, to being in cOMpletely different posterss bruv (yes, i get that they have seperate storylines but aahh).

ALSO, in the s3 poster, El and Will were both looking back at us. Mike was looking at El, who was to his left, and the two were holding hands. In this poster, Will has replaced El, and is standing to Mike's right. The two are also both looking at each other. Was the s3 poster hinting that Will would be replacing El? There may have been a double-meaning to it.

ALSO. JUST. aah

they're looking at each other. last season we barely got anything between them, and now they're looking AT EACH OTHER!!!

(sorry i'm going crazy over such a little thing- but i KNOW you all are too).

Last of all, I saw someone else say something about this and I think it's really interesting. Maybe the cracks aren't going towards Will and Mike, but they're coming from them. Or from Will, at least. I like this theory a lot, that somehow Will is connecting to the Upside Down again after all this time (I don't want him to get hurt-but I also love watching my comfort characters go thru shit- i dunno what it is don't judge).

--

Rightio, I have one final point to make about the last poster.

Lots of people noticed that in this poster, Mike and Will have been shifted. At first, many people were stressing that they were further apart, and that something (maybe Jonathan and Argyle) was going to come between them. Most, through, assumed it was just for composition. I've seen another theory, though.

To El's right are Joyce and Hopper. To El's left are Will and Jonathan. The composition has been arranged so that she is surrounded by her family. We may be seeing it as Mike being moved further from Will, but what if we saw it as Mike being moved further from El.

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Okay! I think this is one of the biggest analyses that I've written! This is also the first season 4 promo that I've seen upon release, rather than a couple of months later, which is really exciting!

Since this has gone on a while, I'll make a separate post analysing the social-media aspect of these promos!