#stcritical

i'm guessing this is in reference to my reblog about how finn and millie were basically never paired up during the promotional run for s5. and yeah i agree that finn and millie don't seem particularly close - i think a lot of the cast probably see each other as colleagues they'll always be connected to because they spent so much time together working on a show that became really formative to them, but not necessarily anything closer than that. millie and noah's bond has always been so sweet, though!

but i don't think the lack of a close friendship between finn and millie would be the reason behind a lack of promotion with those two for s5. like, surely they're contracted to fulfil certain promotional obligations? i just find it odd that almost all of the marketing and promotion before, during and after the season airing has avoided pairing up finn and millie - wouldn't they have wanted to have them waxing poetic about mike and el's relationship to support the duffer's narrative that mileven was always endgame and they're such an epic love story?

this is such a good question! ok, so keeping with the same overall plot:

1. i would bring in a romantic interest for will earlier than the epilogue. i don't think this is something that could be entirely resolved in s5, though - i think the ideal situation would have been will moving on from mike in s4 and introducing a love interest for will in california and having him return with the cali gang to hawkins to be part of the events of s5. will is crushing hard but thinks that this guy is just a friend - all of robin's advice becomes a lot more functional now because it would help will pick up on signals from this love interest and we would see the snowball become an avalanche (i.e., they actually get together on screen rather than the tiny epilogue scene we got).

2. aligning with this, i would have will seeking out advice from robin not to pursue mike, but to pursue his introduced love interest. i would also change his film reel in the sorcerer to have all of the party in it, not just mike, as well as to include his introduced love interest - really emphasise how will is finding strength in knowing his friends and family love him, and in realising that maybe the love he's always yearned for is right there for the taking.

3. i would have his coming out scene be more intimate, with just joyce and jonathan. this would allow so much more meaningful dialogue, particularly allowing will to discuss the impact of lonnie on his struggle with sexuality - this was definitely restricted by having people who didn't know his homelife in the room during his coming out. following on from point 1, i think it would be cute for jonathan to have picked up on will having a crush on the introduced love interest and for him to encourage will to finally take the leap and tell him how he feels!

4. flesh the epilogue scene out so much more. we could see will and his boyfriend dancing at a gay club together with their friend group, sharing drinks and kisses. i'd also add a scene of will's boyfriend visiting him at a gallery where will is displaying his art!

5. i would have loved scenes with robin where will just gets to be a kid and have his queerness be something joyous and fun and lighthearted. in particular, i would have loved will to explicitly say that he's gay, and to also talk to robin about his crush on his friend from cali - think about will getting all giggly because he's never got to speak about this out loud ever!!! also, a scene where robin asks will about his celeb crushes and he hesitates so robin jumps in first with one of her crushes, and then will shyly confesses and it's just lighthearted and sweet - he finally gets to feel normal and experience attraction/love not as something scary/shameful/etc., but simply as something fun and buzzy and pure like any of his straight peers!!!

6. finally, have scenes addressing his CSA. the duffers chose to include the scene in the first five minutes of the season emphasising will's CSA, but they clearly just added it for shock value because the impact of it on will was never actually dealt with.

spending so many years loving this show and pouring my heart and mind into analyses of all the little details only to be dismissed as "noise" rather than as a dedicated part of the fanbase was demoralising. watching the mishandling of queer rep in the wake of vol. 1 was just so painful as a lesbian who was told that the show would shelter us. and then the cast and crew in several interviews have danced around our hurt and frustration over how the queer characters were treated without ever directly addressing the problem.