em!

it could have been so easy to clarify “oh shit no mike and el are still together for sure. sorry for the confusion, no byler.” but they held onto it for the “shock factor” and to keep people on their toes but it just made everyone mad and it was the most predictable, conformitive ending possible.

Appropriating the rainbow symbol from queer culture only to proceed on doing torture porn on the gay character that they created and give him the first slow burn rejection in the world

Main gay character can't even kiss his fake epilogue boyfriend made up by his real future husband (after he gets fustigated 50 times)

They didn't even bother to cast an epilogue boyfriend actor with actual chemistry with Will so they don't even look like boyfriends

Only bisexual character in the show disappeared with no explanations after making her the focus of multiple romantic moments with Robin and was also introduced with zero purpose outside of being a romantic interest in the first place

Mike Wheeler's closet blown into pieces while they were well aware of Byler being the biggest ship in the show, and he doesn't even say I love you to his girlfriend who he treated like shit for no reason other than random drama

the duffers absolutely queer baited the audience. everything I learned academically about visual storytelling was pointing toward a byler slow burn, and then they completely abandoned their own setup. we didn’t hallucinate subtext; we didn’t “make up” a ship. they built it, then pretended they didn’t, and the result reeks of homophobia.