#levels

Levels of transit and infrastructure beneath Grand Central Station, New York. Popular Mechanics. April 1961.

Double House, Utrecht - MVRDV

Cutthroat Carnival stimboard!

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so, levels are obviously intentional in films and shows, and they communicate a power dynamic, the same way body language does. where are you in relation to another person and what does that tell us?

so my main scenes are from s4 because that's where we see the height of relationship strife in mileven and byler.

let's take a look at the mileven fight when el is upset with mike for not being able to say "i love you" to her and how she worries that he is afraid of her.

we start with both of them being level: mike is sitting on her bed, and el on her chair. here, mike is asking her why she would hide the fact that she was being bullied, and he is still sympathetic, trying to understand her. they are at the same eye level, and see each other's perspectives. but we quickly move into a different pose.

when el is accusing mike of never saying "i love you" to her, she stands up, distressed, going through his letters. they are no longer on the same plane of things. she stands above him, although she is the one who is hurting in this scene and mike is being defensive and closed off. she is accusing him, and he is simply trying to fend it off. it shows how they are no longer on the same level about their relationship, or at least that their dynamic is off. she wants him to stand up and tell her that he does love her, that they are still equal in this, but he remains firmly seated, unable/unwilling to meet her challenge.

now let's look at the byler fight in rink-o-mania. these two are fighting too, but here, they are both standing. they are eye level with one another. both of them are accusing the other of what they are annoyed with. notice how its not a one sided fight either like mileven's where el is accusing and mike is just deflecting. here, both are on equal terms, both in terms of physical body language and verbal exchanges. even though they are fighting and upset with each other, just like mike and el, they can still manage to see each other on the same level/perspective. their relationship is built on equality.

then here, when el is being arrested, mike is attempting to be level with her and tell her he will get her out. she refuses to look at him. eye contact establishes dynamics as well, and we see this refusal of eye contact too in scenes like mike at the dinner table with joyce and murray ("she didn't look fine"). they are mismatched, when one wants to level, the other does not. they are not on the same page anymore.

now let's look at what it looks like when either of these couples attempt a reconciliation:

here we see mike enter will's room and sit down on his bed, just like he did with el. he wants to get down on will's level to talk with him and apologize.

will is propped up on his heels, making him approximately the same height as mike.

you can see it better here zoomed out, that they are very much at equal heights and eye level. for a reconciliation, this is promising, because it maintains that they view their relationship equally and want to face each other as such. they easily could have had will kneeling properly here, or sitting directly on the floor, but they didn't. it looks intentional to position him at this height, because look, that pose can not be comfortable. they are positioned this way for a reason, and its to communicate this dynamic. this is also a thing you learn in like hs drama class btw to play w levels for added intensity to communicate things to the audience.

it is thus established that whether they are fighting or not, mike and will see each other as equals in their partnership. they make an effort to be on the same level, to see each others' perspectives, and to maintain a balance. now this doesn't even touch on the quality of mike's apology to will vs el, because I'm sure you all have read a thousand posts about that. but its interesting to note how even the blocking communicates the differences in these two relationships.

now note the scene when mike hasn't yet fully apologized to el or told her what she wants to hear, but he wants to lighten the mood and be on good terms with her again:

they are on the same level, yes, but just like in the car scene of el being arrested, they are not making eye contact. even when they are together and trying to be cheerful and have a good time, they don't see eye to eye. mike deliberately blocks his gaze. now i think its important to mention that this is not intentional on the characters' behalf, but rather a director's choice. these are not coincidental positionings, they are deliberate and they convey the relationships of these characters. we can see, as viewers, that mileven are not on the same page anymore, not equal, not level with one another.

and then we get the infamous love "profession" scene. (while we're talking about positioning, i can't not bring it up, why is will even in the frame here if its supposed to be an emotionally intimate moment between mike and el?? but i digress)

mike here is leaning above el, while she lies on her back. from our previous observations, we can conclude that this is not the ideal set up if we want to convey a level of equal partnership and same level-ness. one of them again is above the other, showing that they are not seeing eye to eye, further pushed by the fact that el has her eyes closed the whole time! they are absolutely not on par with one another. again, i won't even mention mike's actual words here because everyone already knows how disingenuous they sound.

compare that love "profession" scene to will's confession in the van. these two are once again side by side, eye to eye, on the same level. when they talk to one another, they both exchange vulnerabilities too. mike shares his insecurities with el, while will opens up about his feelings (although disguised as el's). still, we see that they are put on the same plane and there is not a challenge of dynamic between them at all. they are equal. as opposed to mike's profession to el, it is a stark difference.

again, the goal here is not to look at character intention or circumstance ("well el was in the mindscape ofc her eyes were closed!" or "well duh mike and will were in a car mike and el were not! etc") but to look at the directorial choices. the directors chose to come up with these situations and poses, and chose to put these characters into them repeatedly. in fact, there are not even any scenes where I can think of where this matter of heights and levels do not come into play in one way or another between these couples this season. the fact that we see it again and again when comparing these two is no coincidence. they are even present in the same context, i am not just pulling unrelated scenes to compare them for fun.