After watching the final trailer for Stranger Things—and after giving it a lot of thought—there’s something that doesn’t sit right with me. And it’s not just that we didn’t get a romantic moment between Mike and Will (because honestly, we all kind of expected that), but the fact that we didn’t get any interaction between them at all. Nothing. Zero. And that feels way more telling than it might seem at first glance.

Let’s put aside the romantic theories for a second. Let’s just say Mike and Will are only friends. Even then… how does their complete lack of interaction make sense in a trailer where Will is clearly being set up as a major character this season? That’s not speculation—it’s been confirmed by the creators, the cast, interviews, everywhere. And canonically, the most emotionally significant relationship for Will in the series has been Mike. So how can it be that in a trailer over two minutes long, one that covers almost the entire season, we get nothing between them?

And yes, I get that trailers aren’t made for hardcore fans. They’re for the general audience, for people who maybe haven’t thought about Stranger Things in three years. But that’s exactly why this stands out. If Mike and Will were just friends, it wouldn’t be risky to show them together. We even get a sweet emotional moment between Dustin and Steve—two characters who aren’t even expected to have major arcs this season. So why not a similar moment for Mike and Will?

Because Dustin and Steve are safe. They’re purely platonic. No one’s going to read into it. But Mike and Will? Even a single shot of them together invites speculation, invites analysis. The creators know that.

With Mike and Will, there is no safe middle. Just being in the same frame carries weight. And that, I think, is the whole point. Silence is a message too. If you’re hiding something from me, it’s probably because if you showed it, I’d start asking questions you’re not ready to answer.

And then there’s the Mike and Eleven scene. Sure, it could be romantic, but it could just as easily be a breakup. It’s ambiguous. The hand on the cheek, the sad eyes—it’s tender but not happy. And that’s exactly why they included it. Because it’s open to interpretation. It gives every type of viewer what they want to see.

But Mike and Will don’t offer that ambiguity. When they’re together, they mean something. They suggest something. Even without words.

And so, this brings me to a conclusion I can’t shake: either they’re saving the best for later, or they’re trying to quietly tell us nothing is going to happen. But honestly, I find the second option harder to believe. Because if that were the case—if they really just wanted to tell us Mike and Will are simply friends—they’d have no reason to hide it.

So yeah, maybe I’m delusional. Maybe I’m seeing signs where there are none. But maybe I’m not. Maybe the strongest clue of all is in what they chose not to show us.