#i cannot wait!!!!

No hard feelings, but I am going to correct you.!

Byler not being endgame in s4 had nothing to do with Noah legally being a minor and Finn legally being an adult. Byler has been framed as a slow-burn endgame ship spanning the entire series, not to mention this is also a queer love story, meaning there are some limits to what they can do here. Having them get together or even simply kiss in s4, before the last season, would have made the final season of their surprise endgame anti-climactic. That's it.

It is not illegal or prohibited for an actor who is a minor to have romantic (kiss) scenes with someone who is an adult.

There are plenty of instances in which I disagree with this a lot, because it's just way too standard of a practice in extreme cases for my comfort. Like when actors playing teenagers are actual teenagers, but have a love interest who is played by an actor in their late twenties, who is also playing a teenager. One example of this could be with the show Never Have I Ever, where the lead actress was played by a 17 year old, while the actor playing one of her love interests was like 28...

That happens a lot more than it probably should, but because there are no laws or precautions preventing this from happening, even in the most extreme cases, it all comes down to the integrity of the people working behind the scenes.

If you're casting for a project, you would think you wouldn't want to cast an adult pushing thirty to play the love interest of an actor who is not even 18 yet? Whenever this does happen (and it does... a lot), show-runners will insist that the adult actor was the only one capable out of all those that auditioned to play that role, and so I guess that's that? It is what it is, apparently. I know they're all acting and so honestly as long as it's professional and the minor is being protected, I'm going to do my best to look at things on a case by case basis, as opposed to treating every case as if a crime is happening (still don't like it though).

But by this logic, the claim that it would be wrong/not allowed for Noah and Finn to have a kiss scene because one of them is legally an adult while the other is legally a minor, means that this restriction would also then apply to Millie and Finn as well. Millie was 17 while filming s4, meaning she was also a minor filming a kiss scene with Finn who was 18 (following behind a previous season where they made out multiple times/kissed a couple times in the seasons before that).

This is a topic that obviously deserves nuance, because ideally, yes it should be standard practice for minors to not have to act out romantic scenes with someone who is legally an adult.

But context does matter.

Noah and Finn (AND Millie) have been working together for the past decade almost, alongside each other with a 2 year age difference and while both being minors a majority of their professional relationship.

The moment Finn turns 18 and Noah stays 16, doesn't mean they are now this taboo example of a romantic pairing until Noah turns 18...

What it comes down to is the Duffers' vision (endgame being saved for the end), and even more importantly Noah and Finn's comfort for what they are willing/not willing to do.

When it comes to the revelation of byler on the Duffers' end, it's about hiding the truth in plain sight all along, but saving the official revelation for last. It's about subverting the audiences expectations.

That whole monologue where Mike said I love you 9 times? The Duffers and the cast still even now not willing to acknowledge the fact that byler is a possibility? This is them wanting to save that revelation for last.

Arguably Will and Mike's talk in the cabin and them standing side by side along the other couples at the end was pushing it. And yet at the same time apparently not. Apparently it was just the perfect amount of obvious subtlety because most of the ga is fully convinced Milkvan is endgame.

All of those assumptions are what is going to make s5 that much more surprising, which is what the Duffers are going for.

When it comes to the static kiss in particular and the possibility of Noah and Finn filming a kiss scene during s4 production, again it would all come down to Noah and Finn + the vision of the Duffers.

I have speculated, that because they filmed s4 with all of said season written and s5 outlined, then it is plausible they could have written and filmed one or multiple scenes during s4 production with the intention to release it as the opening of s5. This is because they would have known while filming s4 back in 2020-21 that they wouldn't be returning to film for another 2+ years. There is also a handful of evidence regarding the possibility of unused footage specifically related to Noah and the Rink-O-Mania location, and so the static kiss just adds to speculation that already existed.

But honesty, at the end of the day, what it truly comes down is Noah and Finn.

Something we don't talk about a lot, but what I believe to be very likely the truth, is that byler endgame in general depends on Finn and Noah being in support of it. Because byler happening is subjecting them to a lot of backlash. A LOT! The Duffers would not subject them to that kind of harsh backlash (fucking homophobia), unless they insisted they could do it and wanted to do it.

Like most of the main cast, Finn and Noah play a big part in making those decisions with the director in the moment. And in bylers case, it is essential that they have a say in what their character is doing so that their performance feels authentic and believable for the audience. If the actor doesn't want it to happen, how are they suppose to make us believe the character wants it to happen? All of that is well thought out and intentional. If something doesn't work, they'll change it and make it work to accommodate what feels most natural for the actor.

Which means all the scenes we've got with Will and Mike over the seasons, but especially in s4, had Noah and Finn's input there.

And so the question remains, would they be comfortable with a kiss scene?

We hear all the time from toxic milkvans that Finn and/or Noah would be uncomfortable with a kiss scene, which I wholeheartedly disagree with. They are actors. They are acting.

If the Duffers vision involves them saving byler for the last season, then a kiss wasn't possible to be released in s4, regardless of the context within the show itself or related to the actors ages, bc it would have made the ga realize pretty quickly how much of a possibility endgame byler truly was, ruining the element of surprise still to come.

However, them filming a kiss scene while filming s4 (likely a hallucination), with plans to release it as early as the opening of s5, that's pretty epic.

If this theory is accurate (still 50/50 on it bc I refuse to rule out anything and the evidence is too cool), then it's very likely the Duffers and cast would come out post s5 and admit that the kiss was filmed during s4 production. This would just be one thing to add to the pot of arguments against GA who are predictably going to claim byler came out of nowhere as a result of fan-service post s4.

Yes, everyone! The countdown has officially begun!! ^^

Join me and all the other amazing content creators as we celebrate Levi's birthday together!

I know!! It’s gonna be great!! I know we won’t get scenes from their POV but I want to see if Alec or Magnus can notice a difference between Clary and Simon. Also I’m super excited to seee shadowhunter Simon. He is gonna be an extra badass 😭😭

Also tlbotw is the fucking best because we are gonna see Clary + Simon, Alec + Jace, Magnus + Ragnor.