Let your moots know how you fell in love with whatever you stan on tumblr (and send this ask to the last 7 people in your notifications. If you want.) No pressure!!!!
Oh my, thanks for asking.(:
I've already told the story of how I fell in love with Stranger Things - so I guess I'll let you know how I fell in love with Byler.
To be honest with you, it took me quite a while.
Until the very end of season three to be exact.
What if viewers - those who really pay attention - still miss the Byler hints?
^ Well, it pretty much isn't possible, is it?
IF you pay attention, you will recognise their special chemistry.
But - that was the whole problem. Well, kind of. Let me try to explain: I really wanted to pay attention to the set up, the structure, the dramaturgy.
But I think a fair amount of people who've seen the show can relate: You'll end up being utterly overwhelmed.
There was just too much going on. The character development, the whole upside down thing, Will's struggles, Eleven's struggles, everyone else's struggles, the music, the scenography, the cinematography...
I keep telling people who say they've seen the show once that this basically means they haven't seen the show at all.
There's way too much happening at once. That's why I love the show and that's why I didn't immediately realise that Byler exists, plays a major role and is probably more than essential for the main plot.
Anyway, first-time-watching-me got slightly upset when I realised that M*leven wouldn't ever get a happy ending. I felt so bad for Eleven. She's been through hell and I wanted her to be happy so badly. (I mean, I obviously still want her to be happy so badly.)
Back then, I was in the state of being confused almost the entire time. I felt misunderstood and eventually decided to isolate myself. The result: I (obviously) got quite lonely and began to tell myself that no one would ever be able to love me. I found myself thinking (romantic) love was the only way to gain happiness. = I would never be happy. = If I can't be happy, let - at least - other people be happy.
I obviously realised that no one in Stranger Things was really "happy" - and every time they were "foolish" enough to be happy,... well, you know.
I obviously realised that Will was far from being happy. I simply failed to have faith in his happy ending. I can relate to him in many ways and expected his life to be an eternal nightmare - or something.
Perhaps I didn't even want him to be happy back then. Not because I hated him and wanted him to suffer, but because I wanted him to always be and stay the one I can relate to. (Does that make sense? Probably not, but like I said, I was in a weird state back then.:D)
The not possible scene, though, was so obvious and I couldn't help thinking: oh well, I guess, he'll be happy. (Like I said, mindset: love=happiness)
Luckily, I managed to eventually grow out of that state. I "accepted" that he (hopefully) may end up being happy. (how generous :D) I also figured that happiness isn't all about love.
I already had my mind set on rewatching the show and would have done this nonetheless, but the discovery of Byler and the urge to find out if there were more Byler hints made it even more pleasant.
...and they lived happily ever after. 😋