#teleplay

Scripts? ✔️

Call Sheets? ✔️

Shooting Schedules? ✔️

One Line Schedules? ✔️

35mm Scans? ✔️

Four Views of Caesar

by CBS News. Public Affairs Department; Film Associates of California

Martin Gabel, Alan Bedel, Peter Donat, Dennis King; Charles Collingwood, narrator

Originally broadcast on the television program Chronicle

Summary

Shows four playlets, each presenting a profile of Caesar as he was seen by four great men — Caesar himself, Plutarch, Shakespeare and G. B. Shaw.

To read all five completed episodes of the rewrite project on ao3:

Alicent and Helaena discuss — Episode 2x01 of the Rewrite Project

Rhaenys alone — Episode 2x04 of the Rewrite Project

Rhaena in mourning — Episode 2x03 of the Rewrite Project

Nettles in King's Landing — Episode 2x03 of the Rewrite Project

PART 1

(I got the teleplays (official scripts) off 8flix, which I will link here.)

So I spent some time looking through the last moments of the s3.ep8 script, and I think it’s actually more byler-coded than we thought. Obviously, scripts are only meant to suggest the briefest moments, the directors job is to explain the lines, and the message/tone, and the actors job is to portray this.

At first I was disappointed by the Byler scene after reading the script, especially since it felt very bland/lifeless and there was no sense of “suggestiveness” like there was in the final scene (but, as I explained earlier, this is because it’s just a script).

Anyways, here’s the scene:

It’s short, compared to the other goodbye scenes (more on that later*). However, the first line, “Mike is helping pack”, implies that they’ve been in here together for a while, alone. In the final take, though, we see Will walking into the room Mike’s in. It’s still possible they were in here together before, since the script doesn’t say anything about Will entering his room. It’s also possible there’s more to this scene than we were shown (I couldn’t get the video file onto this, so I’ve just linked someone’s video of the scene-credit to Itsstranger on yt).

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fS9f9rmlGQ>

The main thing I’ve realised when watching this scene is the extreme contrast between it and the mileven goodbye. Mike’s facial expressions (which we know are pretty iconic) are completely different. In this scene, we feel that the two characters really understand what the other is saying, even with the deeper subtext that comes with their dialogue.

“Whoa. Dude, that’s the donation box”, Mike says (let’s note that Will ignores him when entering the room, and even begins to leave, but Mike still insists on starting conversation). Mike saying this, and the (concerned?) facial expression that comes with it shows that over the course of the 3 months, he has obviously seen how he was wrong to disapprove of Will still wanting to play D&D, like a “little kid”. 

Will proceeds to say, “I know, I’ll just use yours when I come back”, pausing for a beat, then saying, “I mean, if we still wanna play.” 

Let’s decode this a little more. Will’s first line is pretty blatant, but his second one could have multiple subtexts. “If we still wanna play”, could also mean “If we still wanna hang out together”, or, “If we still wanna be friends”.

To which Mike is quick to answer with, “Yeah, but”, before this next line, he glances to the side, hesitating, “What if you want to join another party?”

Will then looks him up and down, and says, smirking, “Not possible.” The exchange ends here, but their last expressions say much more than the prior dialogue.

This is Mike’s face after Will says they can still be friends:

This is Mike’s face after El says she loves him:

but more on that scene later.

also, may I mention Will’s smug little grin as he struts away

if you make that face with ur friends, I think there’s something you need to tell them.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that this, in my opinion, was a flirty interaction. In fact, I can’t recall one quite like it in any other moments of the series (At least, not between Mike + someone else, or Will + someone else)

Now, there are only two other personal goodbyes shown in these last few scenes. These being between Jancy (Jonathan + Nancy) and Mileven (Mike + Eleven). Both of these exchanges are between ‘couples’ or ‘ex-couples’, depending on where Mike and Eleven stand at the end of the season (we aren’t properly told). So, it makes you wonder why they would include a Byler goodbye as well. To anyone lazily watching, the scene wouldn’t really add much to the conclusion, and it’d just be more of a filler. But, this is the Duffer brothers, nothing is without value, and every little detail makes an impact. 

AND, not forgetting that their interaction. was. flirty.

Anyways, I’m going to discuss the Mileven goodbye, because boi is there a lot to unpack. 

I won’t show the script for this scene because it’s quite long, but I noticed that the settings says it’s El’s room, when it’s actually visibly Will’s room (because of the unique wallpaper, and the teddy bear is also his-more on that later)

Here’s a link to the scene (credit to M Entertainment on yt)

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k13h2Wq_vMs>

I’ll mention here that in this show, bears represent Will, and during this whole scene El is holding the bear (Will) between them. I’ll link the analysis for that here (slides 77-79).

Mike also says “And I was thinking you could come up here for Christmas,” quickly adding, “and Will, too”. Showing that even when thinking about El, he’s subconsciously thinking about Will (sort of).  

He then says, “I was thinking Christmas Day could be super fun, because we’d have cool new presents to play with and, uh...sorry. That made me sound like a seven-year-old.” We all know that Mike has conflicting feelings linking ‘childhood’ and his ‘younger years’ to times when he felt more inclined to Will, and how he now dismisses them as just being that; childish. I’d also like to highlight the use of the number 7 in this show, and how it has many connections to Will and Mike (separately and together).

(Also, Mike seems like waay less of a jack*ass at the end of season 3)

This is how the next few moments were scripted

I feel like with all this reference to ‘presents’, there could be some symbolism behind it. Since he links being childish to liking presents, and he also links being childish to liking Will, I have a little theory that presents = boys/Will. 

Mike also has a very sheepish grin when he says, “I like presents too”, so I dunno.

After this, as El walks away, it keeps cutting to Mike’s face. In the script, it says:

Although it’s possible Mike is angry with himself for acting so ‘childish’, it’s quite plausible that his reaction is him feeling that he needs to end things for real with El. After this, it just keeps getting gayer and gayer.

(El is talking about when he confessed his ‘love’ for her)

is this really something you would deny/pretend to not know about if you didn’t have conflicted feelings about it?

“heat of the moment stuff”, as in he didn’t actually mean it?

let’s take a lil looksies at this kiss...

doesn’t mike look soooo into it?

and his expression as she walks away?

okay, thank you, that concludes my notes on the mileven scene

but WAIT, there’s more

During Hopper’s letter, there are specific instructions in the script to show Will and Mike at specific parts of the voice over. There’s also lots of subtle queercoding throughout the whole letter, but I will talk about the scenes that are obviously referencing Mike and Will. 

As he says this, Mike is at the forefront of both shots

It literally zooms in on Mike in this next bit

Board games also have a huge significance within the group, and it’s a special aspect of their bond. However, it zooms in on Mike right before Hopper says “And I miss playing board games every night”.

In the next part, Hopper reads,

“But I know you’re getting older. Growing. Changing”

(zooms in on Mike AGAIN as Hopper says ‘changing’, whilst everyone else bikes away)

As Mike bikes away, Hopper begins to say “I don’t want things to change”, and it cuts to Will. TO WILL. Jonathan even gives him a little look I-

“So I think that’s maybe why I came in here,” it says, and Mike literally walks into his living room, obviously upset.

“To try to maybe, stop that change” Karen sees him, and he immediately walks in for a hug. 

It continues, but these shots of Mike were not random. And it parallels this scene (in which Mike is crying about Will, not El.)

ANyways, thank u for listening, I am done. if u want me to ‘analyse’ anymore byler/other teleplays/scenes I am happy too.

Link to Part 2 on dropbox

Please let me know if they don’t work for some reason. 💜