as the number 1 mike wheeler apologist, how are you feeling about his character arc in volume 2? because personally, it didnāt really feel like he was present at allā¦
I just donāt understand what the Duffers were trying to do with Mike. Like???
Note: I wrote the first half of this post while crashing out over Volume Two and itās been sitting in my drafts for days
We see Lucas reject conformity in favour of loving his friends and caring for the people around him.
El rejects the notion that she needs a purpose given to her by a man who wants to play boyfriend, papa or father and accepts herself for who she is outside of a superhero.
Nancy learns that she does not have to live the suburban life that her parents do, her value as a woman and that her independence makes her strong.
What the fuck does Mike learn.
We havenāt seen Mike on his own for the past 2 seasons and we still havenāt in Season 5?
In storytelling, but especially film and TV, when a characterās perspective isnāt shown and their individual ideas arenāt communicated to the audience it means they have a secret.
Thereās a really good post by @gayofthefae on this topic here.
Since season 2, we donāt see what Mike thinks or feels outside of his planning for action or when heās complaining about El or Hopper to other characters like Will or Lucas.
The closest we get to seeing what happens inside of that noggin is this scene at the end of Season 3:
Pictured: straight boyās reaction to his girlfriend confessing her love for him (quote from the script: what the hell just happened here)
Unless you count him going to look for people to recruit for hellfire
Pictured: straight boy just being, ignore the queercoding wrestling team in the background
I wrote the above right after Volume Two came out but lowkey.
@evavowie makes a really good point in this post.
My immediate thoughts after Volume Two were just confusion especially to do with the pacing and the fuckass coming out scene and the fact that we still havenāt seen Mikeās POV.
There are a LOT of loose ends. And I doubt that the Duffers will be able to tie them all up successfully in a single episode where they have to address EVERYTHING. I understand that all we need to present Mikeās feelings to the audience is a single scene to recontextualise past scenes and flashbacks etc but there is a LOT of ground to cover.
Iām hoping for the crash out of a lifetime: not just about Will or his queerness but about his parents, not being able to protect Holly or the other kids, how he hurt El, how heās the leader of the party but he canāt protect everyone. Obviously if his suicidal ideation will be addressed as well ill be jumping with joy but do we have time for that?? Also I doubt the painting will be addressed because the coming out scene referenced both the rain fight and van scene so that might be a rushed way to tie up those loose ends </3
Hopefully the record that Mike picks out is either Heroes or something by Bronski Beat (specifically from the Age Of Consent album), I would not be opposed to The Cure either but like. Bowie though.
Also Mike being jealous of Will and Robin was hinted at but there was so much to play around with there and they just didnāt??? Okay i guess.
Volume One was beautiful. Kinda. The blatant dick jokes were such a great way to not only queercode but gently nudge the viewers and communicate āhey- these kids are growing upā. Which sounds so ironic now that Iām putting it into words but you get the idea.
Mike still stood there. And donāt get me wrong, Finn Wolfhard put his heart and soul into wiggling those eyebrows like he is a genius when it comes to micro expressions but could we not get. More? We had his heart to hearts with Holly and Nancy and they were sweet but could we not get scenes of him not slowly crashing out or something?
We had a lot of characters be strangely nonchalant this season. Mike after his parents were attacked, El after Max woke up from an 18-month trance/coma, literally everyone when Will came out. The plot/character focus ratio was way off and the writers tried hurling way too much information at the viewer in Vol 2. At least now we donāt have to worry about logistics or world-building and can focus on characters. Right?
I need Mike to crash the fuck out. So badly.
We get a weird bunch of shots where Mike just. Lingers. Heās not being perceived by Joyce or Will. Heās just there. This is either a really strange way to hint at his overthinking or montage farming.
Heās also literally Vecnaās ideal victim and ts has been hinted at since before Vecna was even introduced.
See: Mike mocking a flayed Billy in Season 3 and the mf not being happy about it.
They could have done so much with him but he was literally just there. Almost as like a cheerleader?? If that makes sense at all. Like he encouraged Karen and El and he stood there very supportively but. Hoe. I swear youāre like the heart or something.
So in regards to his Vol 2 character arc,,, there kind of was no arc?
He was there and he got his hopes crushed by El when she talked about how this isnāt like one of his campaigns and he found out the love of his life loved him at some point. But all we saw was his immediate reaction. Not like. The toll that those conversations took on him.
I know Mike feels useless and this has to be addressed in the finale but could we not have addressed his self-doubt and crippling insecurity directly a little bit earlier? Because it probably isnāt the easiest thing in the world to fit the endgame couple finally getting together, recontextualising the past 5 seasons, concluding every characterās arc, oh and also a war into 2 hours.
Iām just scared that it will be rushed and half-assed. Mike Wheeler they could never make me hate you.
Oh and also if he turns out to be straight because that means heās not the most well-written depiction of internalised homophobia and just a dick but like be so ffr.
I have not proofread this. In conclusion, I LOVE YOU MIKE WHEELER !!!!! (Wlw mlm solidarity)