somehow reluctantly, i still believe that the Duffers do not include stuff just because - everything has a meaning, and if it doesn't make sense now, it will make sense later. which is exactly why upon first viewing season 4, my brain worked overtime on deciphering why on earth they went out of their way to make the point that Eddie is a ... STANCY shipper??? here is my attempt of an answer, and an explanation on how this is could be useful when theorizing about byler, and conformity gate in general
personally, what i got from this part of the dialogue between Steve and Eddie in season four is the following: 1) it is very easy to get a wrong idea into someone's head (Steve waited no time to try and pursue Nancy after that)
2) what seems for Nancy as simply the right thing to do seems like insanity that could only be explained by love to others (it was hinted at season 4, but in season 5 we got a confirmation that Nancy has not loved Steve that way) now - what would happen if i replaced some names? would any familiar scenes come up to mind?
1) it is very easy to get a wrong idea into someone's head (MIKE waited no time to try and pursue EL after that[โ])
2) what seems for MIKE as simply the right thing to do seems like insanity that could only be explained by love to others (it was hinted in season 4 [โ], but in season 5 we got a confirmation that MIKE has not loved EL that way [โ]) what we get is an almost perfect parallel, ruined not by a contradiction, but by an omission of the topic altogether, by avoidance. but first, before i dive into what this could mean for CG and byler, i want to touch upon a question : why Steve? and why Eddie?
as for Steve - GA's golden boy is shown time and time again to be scarily in tune with his and others' emotions: he clocked Nancy not loving him, Vicky being into girls, Dustin's unhealthy coping mechanism and its source, even was aware that he didn't even want Nancy like that after a while. Hell, i would have bet that if not for Dustin getting in his head about how he should date ROBIN he would have clocked her too.
my point is: if an emotionally intelligent adult like Steve can be swayed into a romantic pursuit, what chance did a 12 year old MIKE have? as for Eddie - there is an overall consensus that Eddie is a queer coded character. by sticking to this perspective, the symbolism is clear : even queer characters are not immune to viewing things through heteronormative lenses and can misinterpret situations as romantic when they are not. now, how many times is this is this statement proven in canon? take Robin: she assumes Vickie is straight, then assumes Nancy is still into Steve, and finally concludes that every queer person has to get over their Tammy just to find their Vickie. (and honestly, are we even sure that Tammy was straight?) and who exactly has been learning everything they know about being queer from Robin this season?
sigh. it's bleak guys. in a way, all the queer characters are shown to accidently help conformity. (good thing it's just the actual conformity and not the physical manifestation of it in the show, right? right?????????????) anyway !! back to how it can play out in conformity gate scenario: we have yet to receive a definitive answer on whether MIKE loves EL or not, and itโs the narrative limbo weโve occupied for two seasons now, a limbo that we'll be out of very soon (hopefully). and while i am 100% that it should and will be discussed in the near future, i can't decide on WHO will be having this conversation with mike. I do, however, have two my main candidates: it could be a confession of MIKE to LUCAS, a perfect full-circle moment, nodding back to the original conversation they had in season one. with Caleb and Finn teasing the importance of the Wheelclair dynamic this season, this feels like a good place for mike to finally drop the act. on the other hand, it could also be a much needed dialogue between EL and MIKE! my personal interpretation is that at least from mike's POV, he and el have not broke up officially, hence why the conversation in the void is the way it is. the guilt of being untruthful is killing him inside, and being honest about it could only do him (and her!)good. there is also a wonderful theory (I'm sorry but i sincerely can't remember by whom please lmk in the comments so i can credit) that suggests that EL and MIKE are those who have a heart to heart in the white goo room, and it truly fits like a glove!
thatโs about it, honestly! i just wanted to share my two cents on why this seemingly random plot point was included and how it goes hand in hand with the theme of conformity in the show :
the truth is that sometimes we canโt help but to be conformed and conform others, at least to some extant. it is, however, our duty to fight back against that pressure whenever it is untrue to who we are, or else we and our loved ones will be the ones suffering from the consequences.
