#ren analysis

we all know the duffers really hinted at season two being crucial to the plot of season five, and the one thing that struck me about season two is how much they establish the relationship between Mike Wheeler and Max Mayfield

The relationships that the writers choose to explore are very intentional. Initially, we know Mike hates Max because he feels as though she's replacing El. But the more that the season goes on, it's clear that this animosity towards Max is something different, and this is revealed in their conversation after the escape from Hawkins lab and Bob's death.

Max starts talking to Mike about how cool El sounded and how she sees why Mike didn’t want her in the party, but despite Max’s efforts, Mike still insists that Max isn't a part of their party. Even after Max says that El sounded really cool, as some last ditch effort to end the conversation in a nice note, Mike turns hostile, saying

"Yeah, she was, until that thing took her, just like it took Bob."

Something I didn't realize until I rewatched is that Mike really internalized Bob's death. He talked about how Bob was the first one to start the Hawkins AV club, that he petitioned the school to start it, to fundraise for equipment, and that he taught Mr. Clark everything he knew. It's then he makes the effort to do something about the Mind Flayer.

And while this scene about not letting Bob die in vain is very heroic on the outside, it's something big for a young kid like that and it takes a toll. Mike has gone through losing Will, losing Eleven, losing Bob, and losing Barb. It all reaches a climax one Mike fights with Hopper, blaming him for everything that has happened.

This scene is much more than Mike losing El. It is a culmination of the trauma that he has endured and the hidden guilt he has surrounding everything

In terms of season four, I never expected that Max would be the main focus of the story. Sure we saw that her brother had died, and there was that split second scene at the end of season three showing her grief, but she seemed fine....right?

And while the depression she experiences seemed like something unexpected to a lot of people, it wasn't out of the blue. It was hinted at, and I believe the deliberate pairing of Mike and Max is meant to show us that they internalize things in similar ways, thus making Mike a large focus of season five.

After the events of season two, Mike SEEMS fine, all happy with a relationship with El, but he's not, and I think it goes a lot deeper than just internalized homophobia. It's the start of his feelings of uselessness, of his inability to stop bad things from happening, and his tendency to hurt this friends. the thing is...Mike is just better at hiding it. this goes on through season four, and while his insecurities are slowly revealed, I believe it's building up to something bigger. This is something that is going to be preyed on and i can't wait to see how the writers will explore his character more

Rewatching season three and I’m really excited to see how they take Karen's character in season five because they've established her as a character that is truly trying to be there for her kids. In this season, it was so refreshing to see that Nancy finally opened up to Karen about her struggles as a woman in a misogynistic workplace and it felt like a new step in their relationship.

Because in season one there was just sooo much prodding from Karen Wheeler to get both Mike and Nancy to open up and they just wouldn’t.

And while Mike doesn't necessarily open up with words, it's clear that he still looks for his mom's support during his darkest times.

and maybe in the upcoming season we will get more than just actions, but actual conversation between these two characters??

From the get-go, Mike and Will have a special relationship where they are only honest with each-other. This can be seen in the "it was a seven" and "crazy together" scenes. They trust certain things with only each-other and they STARTED out with an honest relationship

However, their bond in season four crumbles down because of their dishonesty. Will doesn't tell Mike about El getting bullied, Mike doesn't let will know he had been calling him, both haven't been honest about how much they mean to each-other etc there are many interpretations.

Lucas and Max’s relationship started out with dishonesty. The party weren’t willing to let her in on their secret’s with the upside down in order to protect her.

However, Lucas is the only one who decides to be honest with her, and that is the gateway that leads to their relationship.

This happens again in season four but the other way around. Max isn’t honest about her depression to Lucas, despite his attention and care towards her. It's when she starts opening up to Lucas that their relationship heals.

What this means for season five

Nancy asking what happened to Jonathan after season one (and Jonathan replying that she only waited two months to get back with Steve)

Will asking Mike what happened to them during season four

Here is the tiktok about the theory for context. Highly recommend the watch.

There’s a scene in the last episode of season 4 when Max is talking about how the day Billy died, she just stood there. She talked about how deep down, she wanted him to die because he made her life a living hell, and that the would pray something would happen to him. When the day came that Billy dies, Max believes that’s why she just stood there.

However, what’s odd about that scene is that the camera pans to El. Max is revealing some of her deepest, darkest, memories, but the shot zooms in on El. You could argue that El is just an empathetic character who’s sympathizing with Max, but when one character is talking and the camera zooms in on another person, it’s a pretty clear sign that they feel the same way. And when Max talks about how she now prays that something bad will happen to her, and that she could swap places with Billy, I can't help but think that’s such a clear indicator about Will and El’s journey regarding this theory.

El, who has just escaped the lab, scared and lost, sees a random boy being chased by the Demogorgon that she’s been running from.

El, who’s just a scared girl, opening that door to buy her some time to escape, maybe even thinking the Demogorgon won’t go after Will once it finds out he’s not her.

1. Will’s scenes through the demogorgon parallel Harry’s scene attacking Arthur through Nagini with a POV switch and everything

2. Will creating the tunnels without anyone’s knowledge including his own after being possessed by the mind-flayer parallel Ginny opening in the chamber of secrets after being possessed by Voldemort, all while she thought she was asleep.

Additionally, there are some of the indirect parallels follow the fan theories going on about how Will is related to the bridge between Hawkins and the Abyss.

1. Will is a horocrux. He has to die in order for the upside down to be destroyed.

2. However, he’s not really going to die. He just needed to have that fake-out to destroy the upside down, but he’ll still live, just like Harry did.

3. Love will be the reason Will survives, just like how Harry survived as a baby when Voldemort tried to kill him. I don’t really know how this will work out, but it probably has to do with the upside down being stuck on the same day Will went missing? Just how Harry staying in his mothers house and being protected by his mothers blood allows Harry to be safe from Voldemort, it could be the same with Mike and how his touch prevents Will from being possessed (hence why they don’t touch at ALL in volume 2). I’m not sure how this will be done, but the ending scene I’m sure will have many parallels to Harry Potter as well as She-RA and AOT where love essentially saves the day 😊😊 Great ending for any long franchise tbh.

For reference, here's the Original Comment by @boundlessabysstribute below on this post.

"I kinda think the fact that Max wrote a letter for everyone including him has to pay off, so I was thinking, what could Max have possibly written for him? Could it be for his epilogue self?"

Max's letters opens a whole new can of worms that I never really thought about and love speculating and I love that it got brought up! First of all, I don't necessarily think Max would have written anything that directly indicates Mileven or Byler. Instead she could maybe call-back to her thoughts of him during season two. For example, I can imagine her commentating on his ability to take charge in season two and three and how they might need that version of Mike again "after she's gone" to defeat Vecna.

Back to the post about them internalizing hurt in similar ways, I don't know if they've built Max and Mike's relationship enough to indicate that Max understands what is going on in Mike's head. However, if she really is that perceptive, I would love if the letter contained something along the lines of how he doesn't have to take on everyone's hurt like he does with Bob and Eleven in season two.

Additionally, I think it would be absolutely heartbreaking if Max said something about how she knows that Mike wasn't always insistent on having her in the party and not to blame himself too much "when" she ends up dead aka "do you accept the risk" parallels haunt me forever.