#thunderbirdgate

The glaringly obvious connection that all of us have been missing.

And it goes WAY deeper than you thought.

⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️

Ennis del Mar (Heath Ledger) = Mike Wheeler:

-> the love of his life is the man highlighted in yellow below;

-> repressed feelings;

-> refusal to fulfill what he truly wants;

-> refusal to accept & admit who he really is;

-> beard relationship with a woman who knows he’s gay & she’s extremely jealous & resentful of it (this is true for Ennis; and while we don’t yet truly know about Eleven, let’s just say my controversial opinion on s5 is that… things in this department are not going as smoothly as most are assuming right now).

⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️

Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) = Will Byers:

-> more emotional expression;

-> higher emotional & sexual needs that he needs to fulfill;

-> more ease at being & expressing his true self.

-> the love of his life is the man highlighted in blue above;

-> however, because that man won’t properly commit to a gay life, Jack/Will finds himself forced to try to fulfill his emotional & sexual needs somewhere else.

⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️

“Somewhere Else”™️ = Mexico 🇲🇽

That’s right, fellow Bylers…

In the iconic quintessential most universally famous queer movie Brokeback Mountain, there’s a crucial point in the story where Jack (Will) goes to Mexico (near the border) & “cheats” on Ennis (Mike) with Latino male prostitutes & also other affairs (including cowboy!David Harbour himself lmfaoo).

Jack & Ennis’s most famous & iconic scene is literally them arguing over this, and Ennis (Mike) feeling extremely betrayed, hurt & jealous over this entire Mexico thing.

Jack (Will) snaps back basically saying that he did want a life with Ennis (Mike), but Ennis wouldn’t give him the presence, the affection, the frequency that he needed. And so, obviously, Jack looked elsewhere.

That was the last time they saw each other & from then on the story only gets even more tragic.

⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️

Chance & Will have so far been associated to Mexico & Latin America in at least seven different ways:

1 — 🇲🇽 Sombrero hat:

The Mexican sombrero hat on the Tiger 🐅 plushie in Will’s s4 bedroom— right when Mike & Will have their heart-to-heart where they pledge to be best friends again (duffers you’re diabolical).

PLUS the video the Duffers had s3 Noah take while wearing the very same sombrero. It’s Will jumping on a bed seductively while cheering “¡Hola!” in a cheeky smile 😭 (duffers you’re diabolical).

I included & go over both of these in the following posts:

2 — 🎃 “Día de los Muertos”:

Halloween, pumpkins & “Día de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead): originally a Mexican tradition.

Also Mike’s “best night of the year” (duffers you’re diabolical).

Additionally, the entire “diseased pumpkins” plotline in s2 is a reference to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

I’m going to link a previous post I made about how this Halloween connection to Chance was officialized in the show:

3 — 🌶️🌮🔥 (Spicy!) Mexican Food:

Tacos, Taco Bell & other Mexican food that they have been referencing throughout the show, but especially in their latest marketing efforts too.

S3 Starcourt Mall: Eleven uses her powers to explode Stacy’s orange 🍊 drink (Chance is also associated to orange, both the fruit & the colour), covering everyone around her in liquid (hmmmmmm…). It just so happens that the boy Stacy was talking to looks A LOT like Chance.

El & Max laugh & run away. “See? What did I tell you? There’s more to life than stupid boys!”. This Max line is also foreshadowing for Will’s s5 arc, where he attempts to “get over” Mike.

Right while she’s saying this, the camera is showing the huge TACO BELL 🌮 sign behind them.

It then immediately pans to a lush green fountain 🌿⛲️ where Will, Mike & Lucas are seated. “Can we play DnD now?”… “No!”. This foreshadows Will waiting & waiting for Mike, while Mike stalls & stalls.

Will is bored, impatient & needy. He looks outwards, in the direction of the Taco Bell 🌮 sign (duffers you’re diabolical).

ST Marketing: in their official accounts, especially @strangerthings.things on Instagram (their merch & promotion account), they have been including SO MANY hints. Many of them relate to tacos, Taco Bell & other Mexican foods.

4 — 🦅 Thunderbird:

Thunderbird totem pole (Native American memorabilia) in Will’s s2 bedroom.

The Thunderbird was also referenced in the “Hawkins’ Horrors” ST book, inside Steve & Robin’s suspicious story about none other than Lovers’ Lake.

There’s also tons of associations with birds of prey in ST: Hawkins, “Squawk” the s5 radio station, Mike’s consistent associations to hawks & falcons, etc. I talk about this in the following reblog (check the whole thread if you can):

Let’s not forget the association of the Thunderbird to the concepts of thunder, storms, weather, lightning, electricity ⛈️⚡️🌀🌪️🌨️ that are so prevalent in Stranger Things (neural connections, synapses, emotions, attraction 🧠🫀).

Is this Thunderbird foreshadowing a… stormy relationship?

5 — 🦇 Camazotz:

“Escape from Camazotz” s5 episode.

Camazotz being a Mayan deity. The Mayan civilization having been located in Central America, including what is now Mexico.

“A bat spirit at the service of the lords of the underworld. In Mesoamerica generally, the bat is often associated with night, death, and sacrifice.” (Wikipedia).

Underworld = gay community in the 1980s = hidden sexual practices

I talk about these themes (sacrifice, etc. = loss of virginity) in the following reblog exploring Max’s story in “Hawkins’ Horrors” book & its insane references to them:

Also… Bat 🦇-> baseball bat ⚾️ -> Lonnie -> Will’s CSA trauma.

6 — 🕺🏻 Physical Appearance:

Even though Chance’s actor, Hunter Romanillos, is listed as being of Philippino descent, his surname is Hispanic & his appearance matches a Latino guy extremely well.

He was probably chosen & cast meticulously for this specific effect.

Check this post for reference (I included many pictures of him):

7 — 🎶 Should I Stay Or Should I Go:

What language is spoken in Mexico?

[Intro]

Oh! Hola!

[Verse 1]

Darling, you got to let me know

Should I stay, or should I go?

If you say that you are mine

I'll be here till the end of time

So you got to let me know

Should I stay, or should I go?

[Verse 2]

It's always tease, tease, tease

You're happy when I'm on my knees

One day it's fine, and next it's black

So if you want me off your back

Well, come on and let me know

Should I stay, or should I go?

[Chorus]

Should I stay, or should I go now?

Should I stay, or should I go now?

If I go, there will be trouble

And if I stay, it will be double

So come on and let me know

[Verse 3]

This indecision's bugging me (Esta indecisión me molesta)

If you don't want me, set me free (Si no me quieres, librarme)

Exactly whom I'm supposed to be (Dígame que tengo ser)

Don't you know which clothes even fit me? (Sabes que ropa me "quedrá"?)

Come on and let me know (Me tienes que decir)

Should I cool it, or should I blow? (Me debo ir o quedarme?)

Split

[Bridge]

(Doble! ¿Me frio o lo soplo?)

(Esperda, rrattarrattattaa...)

[Chorus]

Should I stay, or should I go now? (Yo me enfrío o lo soplo)

Should I stay, or should I go now? (Yo me enfrío o lo soplo)

If I go, there will be trouble (Si me voy va a haber peligro)

And if I stay, it will be double (Si me quedo sera el doble)

So ya gotta let me know (Me tienes que decir)

Should I cool it, or should I blow? (Tengo frío por los ojos)

Should I stay, or should I go now? (Tengo frío por los ojos)

If I go, there will be trouble (Si me voy va haber peligro)

And if I stay, it will be double (Si me quedo será el doble)

So ya gotta let me know (Me tienes que decir)

Should I stay, or should I go?

⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️

Mike: “My girlfriend saved the world twice!”

Dustin: “Yet, you still got a C in Spanish…”.

[…to be continued…]

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. 🧸🤗

⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️

Tagging: @ven0moir @bylerlipglances @greenfiend & everyone can tag more ppl if you want!

🗝⸮₎₎⁾⁾⸝⁺⋆｡ﾟ⋆⸜﹒⋯﹒