no fucking way

pack it up

66 days till TUDUM and the drought might be over…..

Chekhov’s Guns In Stranger Things that still haven’t gone off

Season 1

How does Will survive a week in the Upside Down?

Barb was taken to the Upside Down, in a really similar way to Will, she died instantly. But Will somehow survives a week, despite being apparently attacked and taken there by a demogorgan, and the Upside Down is toxic and filled with monsters and parasites. How did he survive?

Will this gun go off in season 5?

We know that season 5 is a Will centric season and there will be flashbacks to season 1, so I’m going to say yes, this gun will go off

Hopper gives up Eleven to save Will

In 1x08, Hopper gives up El’s location to Brenner. The deal Hopper makes with Brenner is that in exchange for letting him and Joyce save Will from the upside down, he will tell him where Eleven is, and that he can’t hurt the boys if they try to protect her

Since this season, Hopper has adopted El and they’ve become father and daughter. Eleven still doesn’t know Hopper gave her up to Brenner in season 1

Will this gun go off in season 5?

At this point, I don’t think so. I think if it was going to go off, it would have in season 4. With Brenner now dead, I don’t know how El will find out now unless Hopper tells her, and I don’t see him ever doing that. He was ashamed of this, and part of the deal was that no one would ever get told. If he hasn’t told her yet, he’s not going to, so I’m going to say this gun will not go off

Eleven recognizing Will

In 1x02, Eleven points to the picture of Will in Mike’s basement, and recognizes him. She knows he was taken into the Upside Down. But how can she know this? Will was attacked by Vecna/Demogorgan in season 1 and taken immediately to the Upside Down from his shed. During this, Eleven seemingly was busy escaping the lab. How did she recognize Will?

Will this gun go off in season 5?

This is another one that I think has passed its due date. If they were going to give us an explanation, 4 seasons later is kind of insane, especially because El and Will have interacted before this. I think this is another one that would’ve gone off in season 2 or 3 if it was going to, so I’m going to say this gun will not go off

Will’s kidnapping seems like a Vecna kidnapping

When will is taken to the Upside Down, there are clock chimes, and the door to his house is unlocked by what looks like telekinesis. Was it really a demogorgan that kidnapped him, or was it Vecna?

Will this gun go off in season 5?

Well, I think it’s a yes. It’s been leaked that Vecna calls Will his “vessel” and “builder” which implies that Vecna personally chose Will to be his vessel, which would, of course, mean Vecna is the one that took Will

Season 2

The tunnels

In season 2, we learn there are Upside Down tunnels under Hawkins… and they haven’t been mentioned since this season. How did they get here? Why did they form?

Will this gun go off in season 5?

We have a bts photo of Will giving what appears to be a presentation. There is speculation that he is giving a presentation on the tunnels from season 2, but that’s just speculation, not confirmed. However, I am going to say this gun will go off

Why did Vecna choose Will?

Obviously, Will is the first victim of Vecna. When Will is in the Upside Down and gets found out in his hiding spot, he miraculously doesn’t get killed immediately, but rather implanted with vines and parasites, which he coughs up in the real world after being saved, which creates Dart, aka, a demogorgan in the real world. Will also gets possessed by the Mind Flayer/Vecna and becomes the access point to the real world. Why Will though?

Will this gun go off in season 5?

Again, we know season 5 is Will centric, and that Vecna calls Will his “vessel” and “builder.” So it looks to be a definite yes, this will he answered

Kali, 008

Aka, another girl who was experimented on by Brenner. She appears in one episode, and then is never mentioned again basically. But why introduce her to never see her again?

Will this gun go off in season 5?

I hope not. This is the first episode I didn’t like, and still one of the only ones I don’t like. But also, I think they seemed to retcon her in season 4 when we see lots if other kids in the Rainbow Room and they all have telekinesis so I’m going to say no

Season 3

Will still has a connection to Vecna/The Upside Down

In the season 2 finale, Will is supposedly released from the Hive Mind of the Upside Down. So why then, can Will still sense the Mind Flayer/Vecna in seasons 3 and 4? Will’s connection is so strong in season 4, he can confirm Vecna isn’t dead and that he’s just hurt, and that he won’t stop. That connection sounds strong to me. Why does this connection remain when Will has been freed of the Hive Mind?

Will this gun go off in season 5?

Again, this is a clear yes, I think, for all the reasons I’ve already said

Season 4

Jonathan’s college lie

Nancy and Jonathan have plans to attend the same college, but Jonathan instead wants to go to a community college that he has already been accepted into. When Nancy asks if Jonathan got any letters from college yet, instead of having a conversation about his feelings and new intentions, he decides to lie to her and say he hasn’t gotten any letters

Will this gun go off in season 5?

This is another definite yes, because this very well be the deciding factor of if they are endgame or not. It all depends on how Nancy takes being lied to

Nancy’s lingering feelings for Steve

In season 4, Nancy and Steve become a pair again after being separated for season 3 and most of season 2. Nancy seems to still like him, even being cut off/interrupted when he asks her if she does. At the end of the season, even Jonathan clocks this when Nancy tells him Steve has “grown a lot.” Why include all this? There must be a purpose…

Will this gun go off in season 5?

It’s honestly hard to say. I don’t think they’d get Stanch back together just to break them up again. If they get back together in season 5, they’re endgame. And again, they had to include this for a reason, otherwise why not just not do all that? But honestly, I’m going to say no, this will not go off. I still think Jancy is endgame

Max’s letters

Before Max’s first Vecna attack, and she was certain she would not make it, she wrote everyone a letter. These letters have still not been read

Will this gun go off in season 5?

I know a lot of people think the answer is yes, but I’m going to say no. I don’t think it would play any huge role in the plot, not with the big time jump, and if it is written into the story for them all to read their letters, it would be emotional purpose only

Will’s painting lie

Will painted Mike their party attacking a three headed dragon, and with Mike at the center of the attack. Will gave Mike the painting when Mjke was feeling insecure about his relationship El. Will lied to Mike, saying El commissioned the painting and made his own feelings seem like El’s feelings to give Mike confidence about their relationship

Will this gun go off in season 5?

This is another clear yes, because this honestly may prevent Mileven from being endgame. Mike only re-gained his confidence around El because of Will’s feelings that he said were really El’s. And I’m sure about one thing, if this painting lie goes off, Mileven is in no way endgame

Will’s in love with Mike

This goes hand in hand with the above. At the end of season 4, we learn Will is not only gay, but in love with Mike

Will this gun go off?

Again, this is a definite yes. Season 5 is Will centric and it’s been said Will’s arc ties the whole series together. You can’t make the main character in love with another main character, ignore it, and then say their arc is satisfying. And again, why introduce this in season 4 explicitly if not to do something with it? Just don’t do it, unless it matters, and here it definitely does

Bro that’s it… a cake

at least theyre confirming that march 22 is still wills birthday

birthday gate is real gang

How do y'all think the duffers are going to go about initiating Byler?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and would love some thoughts on how everyone thinks Byler will progress. This is my opinion on the matter. (PS: this is a very mike centered analysis as I believe his perspective is the most beneficial to the conversation since he is at the center)

Mike is hiding his feelings for Will, but what benefit does this have for those involved? To us, the viewers, we can see the pain Will, El, and Mike experience through this situation. No party is receiving what they truly need to progress their happiness and growth.

El wants a boyfriend who will tell her that he loves her for who she is as a person, not her capabilities. At the heart of this is a need to be understood, but El herself doesn't really know who she is. Her growth is dependent on finding herself without outside influence.

Mike wants a girlfriend to seem/feel 'normal' and cool. He knows who he is but is repressing it. At the heart of this is a need to be desired. Sure, El wants him, but she does not know the truth about Mike. Mike's growth is dependent on someone finding comfort in the real him.

Will wants someone to treat him normal. He knows he's a freak and while he doesn't necessarily try to hide it, he wants the comfort of not being treated differently for it. Will's growth is dependent on the acceptance of those around him.

The existence of a romantic relationship between Mike and El goes against all of this potential growth. Mike idolizes El, never being able to see past her abilities. El is unable to find herself at the cost of being mikes cover. While doing this, he rejects his true self and affection for Will, because he believes he is doing what's right. Simultaneously, Will is left feeling dejected and alone in the disregard of his feelings.

I think Mike has very low self-esteem. It comes with the territory of being a nerdy queer teenager in the 80's. I also, however, believe that when he has enough faith in himself, or the stakes are high enough, he's good at taking charge of a situation. He is selfless, a kind of selfless where you can't always tell he cares for those around him, but he would sacrifice his own comfort and livelihood for the people he loves.

But if Mike is so selfless, why isn't he fixing the situation for everyone involved? Because of one simple fact: He is clueless. He has no idea what he's doing to El or Will.

He may know Will is upset about something while in the Van with him, but that boy has no idea what's going on in Wills head. He might not even realize the painting he got from Will is the one El was talking about in her letter. With everything going on, he probably still thinks will has a girl he likes back up in Cali and this is a completely different painting.

He senses El is upset and won't talk to him, but he thinks it's because she lost to Vecna. He has not even the slightest clue it's partially due to his conditional and untrue love confession. El believes that mike only said he loved her because she finally got her powers back.

Mike thinks he gave El and Will what they wanted. El wanted a love confession? check. Will wanted mike to move on and fix his relationship with El? check. done and done. At least that's what he thinks.

Now that we have motives and perspective out of the way, here's a general idea of how I think the Milkvan-Byler transition will pan out.

We have already established in the show that Will is too selfless to confess, thinking he's saving a perfectly healthy relationship that just so happens to involve the boy he loves and the girl who saved him. There is no way he would break them up on his own, or he would have done that already. The action relies on Mike and El. They both need to respectively decide a breakup is necessary for this to work.

The breakup cannot be prompted by one or the other, it must be prompted by both. Mike cannot be the only one desiring a breakup, because El needs to take her power back and make that decision by herself. At the same time though, El can't be the only one either, as mike needs to accept his feelings on his own and stop being someone he's not. Mike not initiating would also make Will seem like a second option and completely negate Wills growth of being accepted for simply being.

El will have distanced herself from mike tremendously. They may not have broken up officially, but she's realizing Mike is not what she needs right now. She will probably be spending time with Hopper and Joyce training to fight Vecna, and the reminder that that's the only thing mike seems to like about her will only push her more towards her own sense of self. Maybe she still has hope for her and mike, but that is not her focus right now.

While El is distanced, Mike and Will will fall into the same roles they did in season 2. Will will struggle with the supernatural aspects of the plot, while Mike takes care of him and keeps him safe. This will restore Mike and Wills friendship.

Mike simultaneously will realize how much happier he is away from El, because he can't help but act like someone he's not when he's around her. He will also realize the comfort he finds in being relied on by Will. This won't necessarily prompt him into the breakup, as he still believes dating El is the best way he can support her. He might want Will, but he still feels like he can't have him.

I Because of this, El will be the first to initiate, but it will be mutual. I think they will have a long discussion (maybe starting as a fight) about Mikes lies in his speech and the pressure he felt to conform to this relationship. El will share how his actions have not helped the relationship, but instead made them both feel miserable, trapped, and unappreciated. They will realize that the other is not what they need, and though they will both need platonic support through this journey, they just can't benefit each other this way.

While Mike and Will are reconnecting, El will finally notice... everything. The stares, soft voices, comforting, and everything will click. El might need some help understanding though, because even though she did not have a normal childhood, she is still subjected to heteronormativity even if she joined the game late. She will make the connection that that is how she should have been treated, and though they are both boys, I think a sit down with one of the other characters (Johnathan? Hopper? Joyce?) will help her connect the dots.

I think the painting and mikes feelings for Will may become an entirely different discussion later in the season, and this is what will push mike into feeling allowed to want him. The combined acceptance from El, and the implied reciprocation from Will could be the push mike needs for his own self-acceptance.

This will allow Byler to build up in a healthy way where all parties benefit and are able to build even stronger connections with each other. Through honesty, acceptance, and love, all of which have been lacking.

Thank you if you read all of this. Please let me know if you feel like this will go in an entirely different direction in ST5!!!

I made a Byler Iceberg, which included scenes from the series, phrases, words of the authors and actors proving the byler, and also several of the most interesting theories in my opinion. The higher the takes are located, the more obvious they are!

(I'm almost dying right now with a fever and I feel so-so, but hyperfixation is hyperfixation, so I hope the near-death state did not affect this iceberg in any way LOL)

Something I found in my diary from sometime in 2022

Cassie knew who she was from a very young age.....

This was 2022...now in s5 this is byler coded oop 🤭

s5 Byler concept:

they kiss.

via nonsensical-ramblings

the audience is still for a long, terrifying moment. a slow, hesitating clap from the back of the room breaks through the silence, only one at first, but more join in and that clap slowly crescendos into a full-on thunderous standing ovation with cheers and shrieks and howls of joy, people are crying, people are collapsing into each others arms, the fire department is called to calm the crowd and when they get there they fall to their knees and weep with unbridled elation when they learn what you said. I personally crawl onto the stage to offer you my firstborn. The next day, the original inscription on the Statue of Liberty is wiped clean and "s5 Byler concept: they kiss" is etched in instead. The world is forever changed.

#yourlocalbadgerscales could write hamlet but could shakespeare write s5 Byler concept: they kiss?#absolute cinema#this moved me

WHY ARE Y’ALL SO EFFING FUNNY ON THIS POST LMAOOO IT’S *MY* POST AND Y’ALL ARE OUTFUNNYING ME 😭😭😭

First post also byler is endgame <333