#st interview

buzzfeed interview with kittens

"what's your favorite mike and el moment?"

and millie said the ""from mike" scene" ARE WE FUCKING FOR REALLLLLLL?????

right after the other canon couples were asked what their favorite scene was with their on screen partner (lumax said the "movie friday?" scene and jancy said the heart to heart in the woods in season one.)

even joe said his best scene with robin was the heart to heart in the bathroom. gaten said his favorite scene with steve was the heart to heart on the tracks.

all very intimate and happy moments.

You can see it here: https://x.com/badpostnatalia/status/2001835451540213838/mediaViewer?currentTweet=2001835451540213838¤tTweetUser=badpostnatalia

Either is about not needing either Jonathan or Steve or that she is lesbian or bi (I believe she is more lesbian than bi).

Elite Daily, if I'm not mistaken, has been framing a lot of it's content on the cast "shutting down" Byler rumors. They seem generally negative about it, which I already don't love from a news source and don't trust the way they manipulate what the cast is actually saying.

And while I think Gaten worded his interview poorly, it's ultimately not the takeaway I got from it, especially because of the line "there's something more powerful there than just 'i wonder if they should kiss'". I think while the wording of the interview does feel a little patronizing, the critique is in needing to see Mike and Will kiss to make Will's story arc meaningful.

At this point in the storyline, we have just gotten the peak of Will's self-acceptance arc with recognizing his queerness as something that makes him himself and that ultimately awakens his powers, and I think the marketing coming off volume 1 wants to play up the power in Will's self-acceptance, that outside of Mike, his storyline still matters, and there is a level of nuance to that. I think the Duffers want to convey that message that you don't have to get the person you want in order for your love to be valuable, but those messages can be true and at the same time, this is not how the story has been narratively set up. The story is set up as a romance with romantic framing, parallels, subtext, and now overt text.

Not to mention there is no viewing two characters as "just good friends" when one is canonically in love with the other. That is an imbalanced dynamic. If one is in love with the other, it automatically changes the relationship out of the territory of "just friendship." They are trying to play this off like the way Byler has been set up is queer bait, but it's not. This isn't destiel where Cas's love for Dean wasn't expressed until the last few episodes of the final season. We know that Will is in love with Mike and have known for quite a while, and they are continuing to build on that love through the narrative beats. There is no speculation about canonizing feelings, because they are already there in the canon. We're already pointed toward paying attention to the dynamic between Will and Mike because Will is in love with Mike. This isn't something we're making up or reading into. These are deliberate clues and gestures toward the relationship.

I don't like the way they're doing it, but I think it's very possible that they have to imbue a level of doubt so that the ending doesn't come together too obviously. I think the GA is supposed to experience this realization with Mike, which will likely happen in Volume 2.

I do think, as others have pointed out, Gaten's response to Byler is similar (if not tonally, but narratively) to Noah's recent interview, and so I do think there is a script they have been given to talk off of when asked about Byler. Interviews will only ever tell the part of the narrative that marketing wants you to believe at this specific point in time. They almost never tell the whole story; only the text of the show can do that.

While I don't love his response and it tonally feels icky I think ultimately the story they are trying to portray publicly pre V2 is hyping up Will's self-acceptance arc and allowing that to stand powerfully on its own and still be able to maintain more of the viewership prior to the finale.

“It’s a really sweet relationship. I feel like I can just go to Nat for advice. Sister stuff. I lived around the corner from where Nat was living, and I would just show up when I was in peril and just talk with Nat.”

Hey hey, I am back on this app after a long time - I allowed myself to fall back into Byler hyperfixation in "preparation" for the final season haha.

Over the weekend I watched tons of old edits, especially of the cast, and it made me realise once again how much I love all the interviews and promo stuff the cast did in the past (especially for S4).

Which brings me to my point... promo for S5.

Despite some of the hilarious interviews for S4, I am still a little mad about them not pairing up Finn and Noah (I think there is one interview with the two of them) and Noah or Millie with the rest of the cast. This was probably due to their schedules, but I still find it weird that the Cali-Crew, in comparison to the characters in Hawkins, didn't even get one interview all together - they spent 80% of the season in that van! Feels suspicious to me...

By the end of S4 Mike and Will are back at being seen as a pair and especially in the light of Will's sexuality "reveal", they are going to be more questions about their dynamic before S5 is going to air. I mean, Finn already had to answer some questions before S4 aired... So do you think that they will pair Finn and Noah up in interviews? Will they do all the "best friends test etc." style interviews because "Will and Mike are besties😃"? Or will they be strictly separated - which would kind of suck, as it's the last season for them to give interviews together... and it would also be somehow suspicious.

Because if they team them up, Finn and Noah honestly need so much self-control (and media training lol)!

I also think/hope that they will be some final interviews with all of the "kids" together, as during S1, S2 and S3 - and I also can't wait for those! What are your thoughts?

oh joseph i’m not sure maybe it’s the

or the

or possibly the