My Stuff

The first time we get any acknowledgement of Robin and Will as a sort of duo, it's when Joyce asks Jonathan, Steve and Dustin about the Flux Capacitor during the crawl.

This is easily one of my favorite moments from volume one, where when watching it for the first time I was instantly hit with the implications and couldn't stop laughing.

Most people probably know this, but for those who don't, the Flux Capacitor exists within the fictional world of Back to the Future, meaning it is not real and that's partially why the boys look so confused here.

But there's clearly another layer to this confusion because the delivery of their reactions is so comedic and honestly a bit over the top. Dustin is looking suspect from the jump, with Steve joining him at the end as they both turn their entire bodies away from the road to process what they are hearing. Not only are they realizing that Joyce is clueless that Robin and Will lied to her, but that it involved them running off together, alone.

This scene in just about any other context would be entirely incriminating, if it weren't for the fact that the only two people who know for certain about Robin and Will's sexuality are present. Steve and Jonathan are still confused though, because they only have half of the information, which contradicts what they would usually suspect in a situation like this. Dustin on the other-hand has nothing stopping him from making the most obvious conclusion...

The next notable moment I want to mention, is so blatantly framed as romantic based on the signals Robin herself gave to Will, that it would be naive to think they aren't intentionally leading the other characters to misunderstanding Robin and Will's relationship.

Here we have Will and Robin literally knocking elbows as they have an intimate moment together, laughing and touching and just in their own world, tuning out everyone around them.

And Lucas' comment about them taking their sweet time, does this remind you of anything?

So that makes two party members who have seen/heard things they could easily read as romantic going on between Robin and Will, with it here in Lucas' case being paralleled to his assumption that Mike and El are ‘love-birds’. Lovely.

Now, let's move on to the last member of the party, that being Mike. You might think there’s nothing to go off of when it comes to Mike suspecting something going on between Robin and Will, that's specific to him, but you would be wrong. Because out of all of them, Mike is the only one to outright acknowledge Robin to Will in a way that doesn’t even make any sense if you ask me..?

Initially, when we see the group walking on the field behind WSQK in episode 4, before Robin and Will have their heart to heart in the tunnel, it's Mike and Will who are lagging behind brushing elbows and having an intimate moment. And their conversation literally starts with Mike mentioning Robin and Will’s mom?

I’m sorry, but this is such a weird thing to bring up, given that we never actually see Mike witness Joyce's feelings towards Robin. Sure, you could try to make the argument that Mike and the others were caught up on their antics the following day, and that they all witnessed some of the tension going on there. Maybe Joyce even brought up them playing hooky while explaining the betrayal, something that the show has consistently used in the context of two people romantically. Hell, Hopper even implies that’s what Will might have been doing when he was presumed missing in the very first episode. So, if we're going full-circle here, this is actually pretty consistent with them trying to balance the expectations for both the audience and the characters.

But still, out of all the things Mike could have said to strike up a conversation with Will in that moment, away from the others, why does he feel the need to go with that? There has to be a reason it's on the forefront of his mind...

Could it be that Mike has picked up on his very own hint pointing towards Will and Robin dating, something that we might have missed. Maybe what he heard Robin say on her broadcast before the crawl...

Robin, Vickie and Steve know that she can’t just flat out say the name of her date because it's a girl, and her revealing that would be a little too progressive for a small-town radio station. Luckily, this approach works with the style of her show and has the added bonus of creating some anticipation for the audience watching. Outside of those who already know, and the audience that is shortly going to find out along with Will, no one else has any knowledge of who she is dating. So it's left up in the air, leaving room for the other characters listening to make assumptions. How convenient.

I can’t even blame Mike because the implications of all this are staggering. He hears what Robin says on the broadcast and probably doesn't think anything of it, only to find out the following day that Will and Robin spent the whole night/early morning together, even played hooky, which leads to Joyce being pissed at Robin and making things awkward for a while until things settle. And notably, Robin has not been around any other guy besides Will as of late. So the guy she is dating must be Will, right? At least that's probably what Mike is thinking.

This would perfectly explain why Mike brings it up to Will on the field. We've seen that he's matured a lot since last season. Assuming him and El have broken up, the two boys are back in a place where they used to be, comparable to s1-2. But they're older and these things are inevitable. When presented with evidence that Will is finally dating a girl, Mike's not jumping to avoid it or make it a problem, in fact he's doing something closer to what Will might have done last season when coaching Mike through his relationship with El. He knew this was coming, it was only a matter of time. He's trying to do the right thing and return the favor to Will, he wants to be supportive.

But when he says this, Will instantly brushes it off and switches to sort of acknowledging the whole group, bringing them back to square one. And then suddenly Will is low-key flirting with him and Mike is flustered and dips.

The miscommunication of it all, I have to laugh.

Going into volume 2, there’s going to be a lot of confusion about what the hell just happened with Will killing those demogorgans. Robin and Mike had similar theories about Will, which they both voiced to him, but it was Robin’s words that echoed in Will’s head in those last moments before he saved the others.

Is this something Will would reveal to the whole group? Maybe? Maybe not. I could see it happening a multitude of ways.

Maybe Mike assumes it was his words on the field that inspired Will, followed by Will offhandedly joking that it was actually Robin’s words in the end that helped push him to save them all. Or maybe Will mentions it to the group when explaining what happened and lets them just take it however they want, because he’s not bothered by what they might think/not think anymore.

I do believe the this reveal would predictably seal the deal for the rest of the party and their already existing suspicions about something going on between them.

And since it is likely that if anyone in the party were to vocalize this theory, characters like Joyce, El, Hopper and Nancy could also be in attendance, though it's a lot harder to gauge how they would react. Most of us would probably agree Joyce knows that Will is gay, and so maybe she would instantly deflect and change the subject, or hell maybe she thinks she's completely out of the loop (wouldn't be the first time) and actually considers it. And then there's El, Hopper and Nancy who haven't exactly been keeping tabs like the others. I could honestly see Hopper going along with it easily, while El and Nancy sort of just process the claims, not ruling it out, but also not throwing in evidence to support the claim.

Jonathan and Steve on the other-hand offer a very genius opportunity. This is something that could bring them together in a way that has nothing to do with Nancy, but instead over their individual deeper understanding of Robin and Will. They both have half of the story, evidence for why there is no way in hell the two of them are actually together, and so what would it look like for them to be confronted with the others actually considering it? Funnily enough there was a TikTok that I saw long before s5 premiered, which made a joke about what this exchange could actually look like. Now seeing how Vol. 1 unfolded though, I can’t help but think that there is a very strong possibility they could explore Jonathan and Steve making amends because of their individual care for Robin and Will, which would be pretty special honestly. 

And lastly we have the most terrifying perspective of all our characters, which will always lurk in the background whether we like it or not, Murray. Murray was present during that moment on the field. We see him help Lucas open the door to the tunnel, Open Sesame. Have fun, and while he is no longer visible in any of the shots for the remainder of the scene, with the close-ups of Robin and Byler conveniently leaving him out of the frame, we do see him anxiously waiting for their return, with him opening the door for Robin and the kids later. Maybe he saw their exchange, maybe he didn't (but we all know he 100% did).

I know a lot of people don't want Murray to clock byler, and personally I don’t either at this point. Still, I would not bet my money on the Duffer’s refraining from making him acknowledge them at all. They already had him do it in s4, when they were a lot more subtle with hinting at Mike and Will, and so why wouldn’t he do it in the season that they actually get together? Especially when presented with misunderstandings going on amongst the group, all the conflicting perspectives at play, and we've got Murray just watching this dumpster fire and keeping his mouth shut? I would be genuinely shocked if he didn’t say anything to anyone.

“Hm.” Batman obliges, and he takes the stool next to Danny at his gesture.

“Number one, I’m not a meta. Despite all the data and conclusions you’ve probably drawn otherwise. Number two, I’m on your side. I’m here to work on the base, that’s it. I follow your rules to the letter.”

“The-“

“The classified files I looked at? Yeah that was the one exception. You already know what I looked at, I’m sure, but maybe you haven’t figured out why. It goes back to point one- I may not be a meta, but I am something that organization, the GIW, cares about. I looked at your files on them to sus out your relations. Seeing as I don’t particularly love being the victim to twelve degrees of human rights violations if I can avoid it.”

“Hm.” The Ghost Intelligence Ward was one of many government agencies that the Justice League hadn’t worked closely with. But they also hadn’t been flagged for Justice League investigation. Danny’s comments made him doubt that call.

“Any other questions?”

“If you’re not a meta, what are you?”

“I’m an engineer. A pretty decent one. And I’d really, really like it to stay that way.”

Batman considers, and ultimately lets him stay. He likes Danny (everyone likes Danny), and it would be a massive pain in the ass to replace him. He really is a good engineer.

It’s only much later that his faith in Danny is repaid in spades.

Batman finds Danny on the Watchtower command bridge. Alarms are blaring, the station has been knocked out of orbit, out the window there’s shrapnel floating everywhere as a space battle rages around them.

On the station it’s chaos. Technicians run around, shouts from the med bay, sparks from the walls.

Batman and Danny stand at the main controls, watching the battle outside, stoic, unmoving.

Wonder Woman’s harried voice crackles through on coms: “We need backup.”

“There is no more backup.” Batman replies, while looking pointedly at Danny.

“What?”

Batman doesn’t move.

“What.”

“The impact from Darkseid’s initial attack should have sent this station on a terminal trajectory toward the planet.”

“Well. We aren’t currently plummeting to our deaths, so turns out it didn’t do that.”

“You did something.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re lying.”

“Maybe Superman nudged us back on course in all the chaos.”

“I’ve been watching the trackers. No one else with the capability has come near the station.”

“Can’t you just be grateful we got lucky?”

Sounds of peril screech over the coms. Danny’s face scrunches.

“Luck had nothing to do with it. As it is now, we are going to lose this fight.”

“Isn’t there anyone else you can call?”

“I’m asking you. You can help, can’t you?”

The glare-off lasts a long moment more before Danny breaks.

“Fuck. Fuckity fuck.” Danny runs his hands through his hair. “Shit. You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I’m asking you to save this and countless other worlds from a genocide. I’m also asking you to save my friends.”

Danny looks at him, hard, weary, and with a kind of deep resolve that feels far too ancient to be on the face of a supposed twenty-something.

“Fine. Fine. Okay.” He steps back and transforms. If Batman is surprised when he shakes off his human appearance like an old coat, he doesn’t show it. But what’s undeniable is the being in Danny’s place has the unmistakable presence of power.

“No one else can know.” His voice echoes in a way that’s sonically impossible, both sounding closer and further away than he should be.

He pulls a gear-shaped medallion seemingly out of thin air and puts it over his head in one motion.

“If I get in trouble for this, I’m blaming you.”

He vanishes. Outside, the shape of the battle changes instantly. The stars seem to glow brighter as the arms of the galaxy flash with the colors of the aurora. Then it’s like the void of space itself comes alive. It moves the spaceships back like they’re toys, plucking them from one side of the field to the other. It finds Darkseid at the heart of the chaos and massive arms of nothingness and darkness wrap around him. He’s screaming as it swallows him whole.

His armies scatter. The battle turns. The JL deal with the stragglers, but the air of relief is palpable.

Danny reappears next to Batman, once again donning his grease-stained coveralls. Arms folded.

“Happy?”

It took all of five minutes. Less, probably. Batman tamps down a thousand questions.

“Thank you.”

“I’m gonna need two weeks off minimum.” Danny snaps. “One to deal with the bureaucratic nightmare you’ve just caused me, and another to recover from the headache.”

Batman blanks. “Granted.”

Danny sighs. “And I’m not fixing the station until I’m back. It won’t fall out of the sky as is. Make up whatever excuse you want.”

“Done.” He considers. “I would prefer to tell them the truth. That you saved us.”

Danny glares. “I’m not supposed to save you. I made a pact not to use my power to influence the mortal realm.”

“A pact with who?”

Danny rolls his eyes. “The embodiment of Time. The concept of Justice. Among others.” He smirks at Batman’s confusion.

“And what, exactly, does that make you?”

He stands, framed by the space window, haloed by the stars. “I’ll give you three guesses.”

Batman frowns.

“Look. I like you guys. I like working on your base. I like supporting the work you do. But you can not go factoring me in to any of your plans or contingencies. This was a one time thing.