#shoegate

All the different Mike and Will’s being flabbergasted that our Mike and Will aren’t together and form an alliance to get them together.

Into the bylerverse has a nice ring to it

something something about Karen having her clothes changed very fast and for nothing

You wanna tell me she was gonna take a bath and that’s why she had her nightie on? I’d believe it better, be it a robe. Ok, forget this, but heels?

I agree, it is in character for her to dress up like this. But it doesn’t make sense for her to come upstairs barefoot fully dressed with just one last glass of wine (she ended the bottle and left), then change to a nightie and heels just to enter her bathroom and then undress again? Why would she do it? And more importantly when did she do it? Because according to events in Holly’s room and Ted’s game, all of this happens really fast simultaneously, so that Karen doesn’t even finish this glass of hers which she carries from the kitchen. Plot holes or wtf was that?

long live the gates 💔💔

This has probably been done before but gonna point it out anyways!!

Byler shoes in seasons 1 and 2 when they were at their best:

Byler shoes in seasons 3 and 4 when their relationship deteriorated:

(Not to mention those stupid flip flops)

Byler shoes in seasons 5 :) :

It seems like anytime they wear shoes other than their original season 1 ones, they’re fighting and there’s miscommunication. In S5 tho, they’re wearing the same shoes as their season 1-2 ones, just the colours are swapped (maybe to symbolise how this time their roles are swapped, meaning Mike’s gonna be the one pining for Will). We also already know they’re a team for quite a bit of the last season.

So we've seen Mike wearing Will's shoes in s5 for whatever reason.... but could it be symbolism?

in simple words, literally AND figuratively Mike is putting himself in Will's shoes. figuratively, because s5 Mike is going to experience what s4 Will went through. Their roles are going to be reversed.

the phrase "to put yourself in someone else's shoes" is to experience (or at least imagine) what they went/are going through.

firstly, s4 was strictly filmed from Will's pov, showing almost nothing from Mike's. this does make it feel as if mikes character arc has been left on a cliff hanger since the ending of s3, where we did get to see more into Mike's mind, and that spoke a lot to us.

so far, what we can confirm is that Will Byers is in love with Mike Wheeler, mostly from his pov being the main focus of the love triangle in s4. they made it clear for us. yet, Mike's perspective is still blurry.

thats the main reason why i think it would only make sense for s5 to show Mike's pov a LOT, and reveal some things that weren't necessarily obvious in s4 (for one, Mike's feelings for Will).

knowing we're finally going to be seeing Mike's pov, we'll see him pining over Will, just like Will did s4. they are going to switch their roles on screen, we'll see Mike, now that he doesn't have to deal with his relationship issues with El and his (not necessarily) new issue of how he doesn't think Will could ever love him back. and Will, is going to be trying to resolve issues with his connections to vecna.

my main point is, the writers are going to figuratively put Mike in wills shoes. Mike is going to be pining over Will this season, and it will be explicitly shown this time.

not done!!!

these are Mike and Will's shoes in s2. keep note of the designs and colors.

these are Mike's shoes in s5. coincidentally (not), they have the same design as his shoes in s2. but the colors seem to be the opposite?

now these are Will's shoes in s5. they too keep the same design as his own shoes in s2, and the colors are opposite, just like Mike's shoes.

or... the colors are reversed.