Vaguely Threatening

Dustin talks about the bridge being held together by exotic matter, represented by the circle on the diagram.

Then later we see Will with his head aligned with the exotic matter circle represented in the diagram.

Then after his talk with Max, her comment about everyone having something they're scared of (Henry with the cave, Will's sexuality) is what motivates him to finally come out to his mom and the whole party.

And later in the coming out scene, Max clocks this when Will talks about Vecna being able to look into their minds and use their insecurities against them.

But what nobody clocks is what Will really means when he tells the party that he needs to be in the Upside-Down while El fights Vecna...

Because Will is planning to sacrifice himself to destroy the exotic matter.

Now it makes sense as to why Will came out to everyone instead of just Joyce and Mike. Not only because he wanted the truth to be out in the open so it couldn't be weaponised by Vecna, but so he could finally be honest about himself for the very last time.

Now it makes sense why he assumed Mike "wasn't like him" and was just, 'his Tammy' when he still hasn't directly talked to Mike about his feelings. By this point, he had seen no hope for a future with Mike and even though he loved him, he was ready to let him go.

At the beginning of 'The Bridge', Will blames himself for being Vecna's vessel. Blaming himself for being weak and controlled.

But even after he's came out, he still holds onto that guilt. If he destroys the exotic mass, even if it costs his life, he thinks it will compensate for digging the tunnels and everything that's happened to him under Vecna's possesion.

(Guys. I cooked with this one fr)

Disclaimer.

I haven’t seen the first shadow so this is just based on what I’ve heard.

In the first shadow, the way the mind flayer finally fully possessed Henry is because he turned patty against him right?

As far as I’ve heard it seems like patty was made to question whether Henry was the good person that she thought he was,

And the mind flayer does this by showing or telling her all these things Henry has allegedly done.

And this leads to their relationship not being strong enough to save Henry, presumably because patty doubts him

I think we will see this paralleled in byler.

If there’s one thing Michael wheeler has never done, it’s doubt will.

Mike is wills biggest believer and supporter, which is confirmed by Will himself multiple times.

So if vecna tried to convince mike that Will is bad, that he’s a traitor, that he doesn’t like Mike, is disgusted by him,

I just don’t think that Mike would believe it.

Because even though there’s nothing Mike is more scared of than being rejected and abandoned, he would never truely believe it coming from Will.

because at the end of the day Mike knows deep down that there’s a special connection between them, regardless of what that connection is.

Byler, unlike creelby and Robin and Tammy, have a long history together. Their lives and personalities are literally built upon their connection to one another.

I think right now Mike is struggling with his own self doubt and hate, and the counter point that he knows deep down that Will would never reject him.

He’s letting himself be blinded and sidetracked by other things so he doesn’t have to deal with it. He’s not ready.

I think if/when he gets vecna’d that will be the moment Mike has been avoiding this whole time, he has to fully acknowledge that he knows that Will is a good person and would never think or act in the ways vecna is saying and that Mike has unconsciously imagined this whole time due to his own self hatred.

It was never about will, it was about mikes own self hate that convinced him to imagine the opposite of what he knew to be true.

This whole time mikes own self hatred has made him impose onto other people this idea that they will abandon him. But I think when Mike is actually confronted with this situation,

Of will rejecting him, abandoning him, he will know it’s not real.

Because Will would never do that.

(Hello IT parallel)

So many things will said to Mike in season 4 can apply to this

When he says sometimes it’s scary to be honest with the people closest a to you because what if the don’t like the truth.

And Mike nods. This is his worst fear!!

Then in the van scene when Will tells Mike that eleven needs him and always will, and so does the party because he’s the heart.

It reminds Mike that he has a real place in the party, real reasons people love him and want to keep him around. Real reasons that aren’t likely to be dissuaded so easily.

I think milevens relationship, especially in season 4,is in part representative of Mike clinging to this identity he’s made that he’s convinced he has to keep to for people to want him around.

He’s worried about eleven realising he’s “just some nerd”, and that she “doesn’t need him anymore”. And then all the talks about telling the truth and that he’s worried to lose her.

Mike is afraid that if he reveals all of himself then he’ll lose everything he has.

So when Mike is confronted with what he’s feared happening all along?

I think that he will be forced to accept that what he has been hiding does not make him unlovable, it does not mean everyone, especially will, will abandon him.

And he’ll have to accept this because, like I said, he knows that Will would never say or do that.

Ooof. I just hurt myself with what I Imagined.

Imagine Mike breaks out of the trance or whatever because he has accepted his feelings and vecna is like. Fck now I just have to kill him to hurt will.

And then he kills Mike (at least we and will think he does)

And vecna uses this to posses Will and take him.

And then we have a scene of eleven saving mikes life like she did for max in season 4.