#anti eleven

[roadimusprime]

#Thirteen wasn't more out of character then Eleven was. In fact Eleven was consistently worse. #Loon.txt #Not defending anything in these images about Thirteen tho #DW critical #Anti Moffat #Anti Eleven #Anti Thirteen #Anti Chibnall

[tea-time-with-london]

mileven will 100% break up in s5. their relationship has been falling apart since s3, and clearly neither mike or els arc is ending up with each other.

Confession #23

#confession 23 #anti mileven #anti mike wheeler #anti jane hopper #anti eleven #stranger things confessions #london's confession hour #stranger things #stranger things confession #stranger things fandom #stranger things netflix #stranger things season 5

[mylesimeblr]

So, I’ve finished watching the whole first part of season 4. I have A LOT to say (with no specific order).

On the overall, I really enjoyed it, much more than season 3. Mileven was ridiculous as usual and Byler will obviously be endgame.

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW

- Globally, I’ve loved the main story, I thought it was great, brilliant and the last episode all linked everything up nicely

- The first three episodes were weird, violent and creepy

- The deaths were creepy af and I didn’t expect this much level of horror so soon

- Vecna is terrifying (and I couldn’t sleep at all last night, thank you very much)

- I loved the last episode and the plot reveal, it was awesome

- I loved Jamie Campbell’s character (although I’d figured out who he really was mid-through episode 4 - minus the fact that he was also the boy - I didn’t see that coming)

- I felt sorry for Will who looked so excited to see Mike for... nothing in the end... You can tell he’d been waiting for that reunion for a long time and had prepped up for the occasion

- The “We are friends” to me means that Mike kind of knows about Will’s feelings for him, even unconsciously - he’s aware that there is something more either on Will or his side

- Eleven was extremely annoying, esp during the very first part of the season and I wanted to slap some sense into her

- Mike was... Mike, except that I’m definitely convinced he’s gay now and in complete denial of his feelings for Will - and of himself, the fact that he can’t “open up” to El says it all

- Will’s monologue about people being afraid of the truth was as much of a coming out to me

- I don’t believe a SECOND in Mileven

- Will is gay af too and head over heels for Mike, denying it would be absurd now and if the writers take any other direction, it makes no sense

- Mileven is painful to watch, honestly, even my husband couldn’t stand them and he usually doesn’t care about romance arcs because as any grown man, they bore him to death

- Most of the new characters were truly annoying (Argyle... yuck...)

- I wanted to slap Jason

- I wanted to slap Eddie in the first episode but then he grew on me

- Stancy was cute

- Erica and Robin are awesome

- The Russian arc made no sense (Hop breaks his foot but keeps running around like there’s no problem... He’s being beaten up all the time but has no lasting bruise... He’s trying to survive in freezing temperature with barely anything to eat and doesn’t look that starving... That just doesn’t work)

- Max and Lucas were adorable

- Dustin is great

- The Mike/Will/Jonathan arc in California was boring and unnecessary

- Byler is definitely happening

#stranger things #stranger things season 4 #Byler #byler is endgame #anti mileven #anti eleven

[gins-potter]

Doesn’t matter how many times I rewatch season 2 El hating Max for no reason will never sit right with me.

#jot it down with El having an innate (and westernised) idea of what ‘pretty’ is despite it being unlikely she was raised with the concept #anti eleven #it’s not really an anti eleven post it’s more anti the writing but just to be safe #Jess watches #stranger things

[sallysellsseashellssundays]

Disclaimer: This post is going to be Anti Moffat for anyone who’s reading and is a fan you’ve been warned.  

“Let’s Kill Hitler” is the eight episode and if I thought I couldn’t be more disappointed after the last 2 episodes...

The Good: The Tesselecta is an interesting concept but I don’t think it was used to its full potential. Matt’s acting in the scene where he says something about his leg falling asleep was funny.

Everything else being the absolute worst: 

Amy says he’s had all summer to look for Melody, but he has a time machine! He could literally go search for years and come back just one day after they last saw him. They have to make a crop circle to catch his attention and he doesn’t answer their phone calls... at the beginning of the series it had also been a few months for them and they hadn’t heard from him as well. I feel like I’m being hit over the head every episode with the fact that he barely even cares for his friends and would much rather not be around them. It’s such a shame b/c one of the things I liked the most about the show was the interactions between the Doctor and the companions :(

Setting an episode in this time period...especially something having to do with Hitler is a risk that I don’t think paid off, it was essentially used for a few cheap laughs. 

River has apparently been “trained” since birth but it must be the universe’s worst assassin training b/c she didn’t use the lip stick thing right away as Mels and even though she did kill him she then helped him w/o there being ANY reason whatsoever as to why she would do that...she literally would have zero motivation to help the man she’s been trained to kill! She’s also supposed to be quite clever but the Doctor pretty much called her River to her face multiple times and she couldn’t figure out that it was her. She was also very conveniently almost obsessed with the fact that the Doctor kept referring to someone named River. To add to that, if Mels really was their best friend who knew about the Doctor I feel like Amy would have told her everything during the summer...so Mels should know that she’s River unless Amy doesn’t actually tell her BFF anything that’s not convenient to the plot. 

River called him “sweetie” and “my love” when it would be too early in her timeline for her to know she’s going to marry him...much less harbor any feelings for him if she’s supposed to be trained to kill him (honestly this bothered me so much...she’s a hitwoman why would she care at all for her target??). Mels just now being introduced as their “best friend” since childhood was extremely sloppy writing, I thought Moffat had the whole River storyline planned out but it just comes across like he’s making it up as he goes. Mels being obsessed with the Doctor (repeating Moffat theme here we go), initially only talking about him being hot, and shooting the TARDIS console just makes River an even more unlikable character for me. 

There were horrible sexist comments written in this episode about how she was focusing on a dress size, how she needed to weigh herself, essentially everything she does being overly sexualized, the Doctor saying “plus she’s a woman” during the brainwashing conversation and even the comment about how she might focus on her age while looking at herself in the mirror  😒 😒  

The TARDIS materializing around Amy and Rory when in the last episode the Doctor had to assemble an army to rescue Amy when he could have just done the same thing. Amy going through a horrifying situation in the past few months and seemingly being completely fine. Just ugh so much I disliked in this episode!

The Unresolved: I am so unbelievably confused by River’s timeline b/c I thought it was backwards to the Doctor’s. The first time he met her was the last time she saw him...she saw him at his “youngest” so he should be moving towards seeing her younger and younger until she doesn’t know him. But now he’s seen her as a child in the astronaut suit, as a baby, as Mels, and the beginning of her life as “River Song” so it seems like his timeline is now moving in the same direction as hers? River being able to kill all those soldiers with regeneration energy seems new b/c Ten was only able to regenerate his hand. Wondering if they will explain what “child of the TARDIS” even means...unsure as to how she’s practically a Time Lord who apparently got rid of all of her regenerations. The Doctor must have done a lot of research into all of this and now knows all about River b/c just last episode he was very confused but I wish we could have seen him finding out about it so as an audience member you could follow along. The TARDIS voice interface saying “regeneration disabled” and the Doctor simply dying instead of regenerating, umm?? The Silence isn’t a species but a religious order has me confused b/c they all look the same I wonder if they’ll make a reappearance.

Overall I feel like the River storyline could have been decent if it wasn’t tied into her being Amy and Rory’s daughter/their childhood BFF/also the Doctor’s wife, but I’m getting the feeling that it’s all coming apart b/c it probably wasn’t planned out properly. I wish they at least tried to make River a likeable character, but then again the Doctor hasn’t been likeable since like the Xmas special either. I’ve now been bored for 3 episodes which is rough, and for someone who didn’t like Amy much in S5 I feel like I’m now only watching the show for her and Rory.

#doctor who #anti moffat #anti river song #anti eleventh doctor #anti eleven #moffat salt #dw watch #my ramblings #this has become my least favorite season out of all of them #it's seriously becoming difficult to finish it #let's kill hitler

[rjalker]

If the mere sight of the Eleventh Doctor fills you with the undying rage of a thousand screaming voids, clap your hands!

👏👏

#anti moffat #fuck moffat #steven moffat #anti eleven #anti 11 #you kbow when YKW is beaying their fists against the walls of resloty and scrraming their rsge ttying to brrsk yhrough #ywsh

[upsidedownlurker]

GUYS GUYS GUYS!!!!! I totally just figured out the lip-sync leak!!!1! Mike and Eleven have a very deep and romantic conversation together, and they completely debunk byler!!! so cute and slay <3

[Turn your sound on I promise it's better]

...

inspired by @will80sbyers lovely twilight interpretation :D

#byler #gay mike wheeler #stranger things leaks #st5 spoilers #st5 leaks #lipgate #stranger things shitpost #mike WILL have his six little nuggets just like steve #mike and eleven WILL get married #its been built up for four seasons bro its toooootally gonna happen #toooooooooooooootally #anti milkvan #I mean I guess

[byers-bowlcut]

I've seen people say El likes the IDEA of having a boyfriend more than she actually likes her own boyfriend, and jfc it's so true 😭 Like it's all over the show:

Season 1

She's initially attached to Mike because he's the first person to give her shelter, food, genuine human care and just,, not calling CPS immediately. Her feelings for him was born from trauma and dependency in season 1. And throughout the rest of the 3 seasons, we don't see it grow past that.

Also I think it's noticeable in S1 that:

She was uninterested when Mike tried to share his hobbies with her

She also did not seem to mind AT ALL when she questioned if Mike could be her brother. He voice is neutral and curious here, not the least bit repulsed by the thought of being siblings with Mike, like girl does not care 😭

Season 2

This season has zero onscreen moments of Mike and El actually getting to know each other further. They were separated nearly the whole season.

What we DO see:

El's attachment and dependency on Mike that was developed from S1

We also find out how El spent a year of her life watching melodramatic romance films. Many other middle schoolers might identify that relationships in real life don't work like those films. But El is fresh out of lab life, she's literally learning the world through this TV, and has now become obsessed with the IDEA of having a boyfriend/relationship just like that.

Season 3

Again, no onscreen moments of El showing interest in who Mike is as a person.

The very first scene we see of them, she's trying to get him to stop singing along to the song they're listening to. She seems to like kissing Mike. But isn't shown enjoying anything actually characteristic about him, like sharing interests with him such as music.

Hopper indicates that they don't do anything meaningful together either. We see here that before hanging out with Max, El had little sense of her own style, her hobbies, her interests- meaning spending time with Mike for months probably didn't involve many talking points did it?

Also in season 3, El dumps Mike with ZERO hesitation. Then she has the time of her life with Max. The most acknowledgment we get that she's oh so heartbroken is a small frown to Max that her and Mike aren't on best terms. And even that doesn't seem so paramount cause 1 episode later she totally dismisses Mike after he explains how Hopper threatened him. She just tells him maybe Hopper was right 😭😭

It's literally ONLY once she starts becoming in danger that she starts clinging onto him again. I feel like we've seen this film before hm.

Like where are any signs that she likes Mike as an individual, and is falling for who he really is, rather than simply being attached due to trauma, and liking the concept of doing romantic things (ie: kissing, dancing at the ball, etc.)

Season 4

This is the season it becomes the MOST OBVIOUS: El loves the concept of a happy relationship and being loved, but not really loving Mike for who he is. And bringing in Will's feelings just emphasizes this point.

To start, El continues doing all these relationship-y things that she did in the start of S3. She has Mike's name and pictures plastered all over her room. She makes a "Mike box" with his pictures decorated all over it. But the thing is: this is all sort of a façade at this point. We know she's BEEN unhappy with him for months ("From Mike! From Mike! From Mike!"). But with all these items, she's basically trying to convince herself that she's in this happy, fantasy, movie-like relationship, like she probably watched in hopper's cabin in season 2.

And then, there's the sheer difference between her and WILL in their feelings for Mike. We see it right off the bat when Mike comes to the airport: Will and El both have plans to give Mike something.

Will plans to give him a painting he worked extremely hard on. The painting is a connection of what they BOTH love: DnD, and it includes their friends who also play the game. It's very personal and immediately touches Mike. What's more is, the painting illustrates the exact qualities about Mike that Will loves: his leadership, his bravery, his guidance. This painting literally spells out to us that Will truly loves Mike for WHO HE IS.

Meanwhile, El plans on giving Mike a fun reunion date. She has the whole day planned out. And immediately: we see that what she wants to do doesn't actually takes Mike's interests and personality into consideration. You can see and hear the strain in his voice when he talks about "burritos for breakfast" 😬

You can see how he's not that relaxed at rinkomania, and nervous about skating, saying he's clumsy. He probably would've much preferred movies and playing a board game, over skating. But El has her own ideas. When she brings Mike to rinkomania, she tries to act really cool about it. She wants to impress him, wants to seem like she fits in and belongs.

Her present was never actually ABOUT Mike, and about loving Mike that she would plan this huge date for him. Her present was about her desperately wanting to have this cool date like every other normal teen girl might, with a normal boyfriend, and make it seem like they have a happy perfect relationship.

And then finally we reach their S4 fight. I find it extremely interesting how Hopper's cabin is framed in the background during their whole fight. It's almost like an indication that her desperate need to be loved by Mike stems from her trying to cope with losing Hopper and the hole left by him, that clearly did not exist when she happily dumped Mike in S3.

In their fight, when the topic of bullying comes up, Mike says he understands her, but El is quick to say he doesn't. She thinks Mike doesn't understand her, but this is just as much her not understanding HIM as well.

She doesn't get the extent of Mike's insecurities (definitely partially a result of bullying), something that Mike later divulges to WILL and not her. If the writers wanted to show us how much El understands Mike and loves him for who he is, her and Mike would work through his insecurities in their rs together, NOT through a middle man.

Overall it's pretty striking that we've never once heard El actually compliment Mike, or articulate, or even show what exactly she loves about him through four whole seasons. I mean...

Attachment to him due to trauma or grief =/= loving him for who he is.

Wanting to BE loved =/= loving him for who he is.

So really in terms of a relationship, what El ACTUALLY wants is the concept/idea of a regular boyfriend, and a happy easy relationship, all in an attempt to feel normal. And that's why we see them fall apart the way they do in season 4, and why Will is currently so involved. Because Will DOES see and love Mike for exactly who he is.

#eleven hopper #mike wheeler #will byers #byler #analysis on el's character and her feelings for mike #anti mileven #stranger things

[mikeslawyer]

#byler #mike wheeler #byler endgame #stranger things #byler is canon #will byers #will x mike #mike x will #byler tumblr #byler s4 #eleven hopper #anti mileven

[heythatismethecolorfulfriend]

Okay here I am again with some byler shit (okay today it's antimileven but 🫣)

Okay I was watching the scene during Will's Birthday in S4 and...

(sorry for the quality of the pictures)

Mike didn't grab her hand !!! Like that's been nearly a year since you didn't see your girlfriend (and your best friend) and when you go on a date after a year tour not even romantic in your gestures ?! Like excuse me but when I grab the wrist of someone this someone is usually a great friend not my partner !

And they want us to believe in Mileven endgame... Are you kidding me ?!

And voilà ! That's all I return to my goblin hole and will come back in months ! See you !

#byler #anti mileven #mike wheeler #mike x will #eleven #jane hopper #will byers

[roadimusprime]

me, attending a q and a for Steven Moffat: Hello Mr. Moffat, my question for you is *screams into the mic* WHY THE FUCK DOES THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR SEXUALLY ASSAULT PEOPLE?!?! Thank you.

#Loon.txt #Anti Moffat #< apparently some of this wasn't even in the script and something Matt Smith did but tagging anyways #Tagging anti Matt Smith too #Anti Matt Smith #Anti Eleven

[tea-time-with-london]

El is overrated significantly. She’s an important character but she’s not the main character just because she has powers. This isn’t the El show.

Confession #120

I mean...if we want to use technical terms then yeah she is the main character. A main character is impacted by the plot of a show or a movie or a story. So El is the main character, not because she has powers but because she is directly impacted by the plot of the show. And so is Will. And Dustin. And Mike. And Lucas. And Max. Etc....etc. ST is also an ensemble cast. If we want to be even more technical, than the ensemble is the main character, considering everyone is impacted by the plot. :)

#confession 120 #anti eleven #anti jane hopper #stranger things confessions #london's confession hour #stranger things #stranger things confession #stranger things fandom #stranger things netflix #stranger things characters #stranger things discourse

[mylesimeblr]

Why did you find el annoying? She acted a bit weird sure but i believe it was some sort of coping mechanism against the bullies to act like she’s ok. I felt really sorry for her.

Actually, I felt bad for her too during the first two episodes. What I didn't like was how she didn't stand up for herself, the way she let herself be bullied like that (and I was bullied in school, so I know what's like). It's like she didn't have any fire in her anymore, like without her powers she was boneless. Plus, she kept lying to Mike, making Mike believe that she was popular, going as far as to BEG that Angela bitch to pretend to be her friend... It was pathetic. I understand that she felt powerless and vulnerable without Hop and her powers but there really were moments where she could have stood up for herself. During her school presentation, why didn't she insist that her dad was dead for ex just to shut her bullies up? After hitting Angela with the skating shoe, why didn't she tell the cops that Angela had been bullying her and that she lost control? Why did she keep repeating "I don't know?" The only time she had some sort of spite about her was when she confronted Mike about the fact that he never said "Love, Mike" in his letters. Then she agrees to get her powers back but behaves like a moron when she realizes that she'll have to go back into the water tank. Like, what did she expect? Overall, the only thing she did this season was cry and remain passive. It was annoying because I wanted to wake her up like "Come on, fight for yourself! DO SOMETHING!". Plus, there's the fact that I really can't stand Millie Bobby Brown's acting so it really didn't help. Her character is insufferable.

#anti eleven #anti-mileven

[justmy-account]

me after m!leven break up in s5

#stranger things #byler #will byers #mike wheeler #jim hopper #eleven hopper #anti milkvan #anti mileven #mileven is bones

[sallysellsseashellssundays]

Disclaimer: This post is going to be Anti Moffat for anyone who’s reading and is a fan you’ve been warned.

“Day of the Moon” is the second part to “The Impossible Astronaut” and, well there’s no other way to say this, but after enjoying the first part I highly disliked a lot of things in the second part.

The Good: Setting these episodes in 1969 America was a great idea, I enjoyed not seeing an episode in Cardiff or London tbh lol. Amy was being super brave because idk if I’d go investigate in the orphanage, what a terrifying place to be in! The scene with Nixon after The Doctor broke into the Apollo 11 module was hilarious, and Rory doesn’t do much but when he does he’s so funny! Canton was such a great character in just two episodes, I certainly wouldn’t mind if he’d stayed on as a companion honestly. I liked the villains (SUPER terrifying), and how the Doctor defeated them, but I’m wondering if they’ll be back because they were mentioning The Silence a lot in S5 and I’m going to be upset if they did all that just for it to be resolved in the first 2 episodes of the series.

The Bad: What was the point of them investigating for 3 months when all of that drama amounted to “we don’t know anything about them, here’s some nano recorders in our hands”? Murray Gold is still the composer I assume, he’s made some incredible scores but in this series the music keeps playing repeatedly during the episode as if I’m being cued to say “wow this is so cool” and it’s really starting to bother me.  Amy calling out the Doctor on flirting with River when she was tied up by the Silence, good on Amy, but it feels like a repeat of GITF with the Doctor only worried about flirting with Reinette when Mickey and Rose were in danger. It felt really wrong too because we kept hearing Amy sobbing and being so scared, I’d assumed the Doctor was playing off how worried he was for her...but then he really didn’t seem to actually be that worried for her. I’m upset on Amy’s behalf with her saying she’s been travelling with the Doctor for so long and how he’s her best friend when it really feels like he doesn’t seem to like any of them much. It feels like he literally never tells them what he’s going to do, and I know the Doctor sometimes does that, especially in a time crunch, but I feel like he used to interact with his companions a lot more? I mean bouncing ideas back and forth with them, but that mutual camaraderie feels nonexistent now.

The River: I think I could have tolerated River in small doses like I did in S5 and even with some of the things I didn’t like last episode, but this episode immediately pushed me into anti River territory. Why oh why does she have to be some super badass knowledgeable person who apparently just breaks out of prison whenever she wants and does whatever she wants all the time?? I actually rolled my eyes when she was scanning the astronaut suit and telling the Doctor everything about it or when she apparently gets to pilot the Doctor’s TARDIS, why wouldn’t the Doctor not do those things himself?? And shooting while twirling around? Enough said. I’m starting to wish instead of River as a character they’d instead given some of her lines to the Doctor so he could actually explain to his companions and have rapport with them, and maybe pass some of her character traits to Amy if Moffat is determined to have a super bad ass person in the show. Because all I feel is like none of the characters are being developed to their full potential, and they’re all half baked ideas.

The Worst: The nano recorder thing with Amy talking from a dark place while they hear her is literally the same thing as Miss Evangelina in The Library two parter (I am seeing so much of Moffat’s themes just repeating). Rory giving a sweet speech about how Amy knows he’s always going to find her and then her calling out for the Doctor? Ouch. Then Amy with the I love you situation. Please no, just no. We’re supposed to think, along with Rory, that it’s the Doctor then it’s really Rory in the end. Ugh. I thought we left that behind in S5  😒 😒 and it doesn’t even make sense that she would say “to tell you properly” because they’re married by this point she’s told him so many times and “falling out of the sky” is the figure of speech she decided to use? I figured as his wife she’d know Rory is still feeling a bit insecure about her feelings for the Doctor (and wouldn’t use those words!), and honestly it’s quite sad that he still isn’t sure.

The Unresolved: Amy and Rory dying at the beginning...did we literally just not get an explanation as to how that was done? Maybe as we move forward... Woman with eyepatch what was that? I’ve been spoiled about River being Amy’s daughter, but I didn’t actually know anything else about how that came about so now I’m confused as to why Amy may or may not be pregnant and how the little girl (River?) is regenerating. If Amy’s photo was in her room why didn’t the girl call out to her mother, hmmm.... and if she was in the astronaut suit before idk if that means she’ll go back in it and in the future kill the Doctor? Because I think that’s been the insinuation in S5 if I’m remembering properly, that that’s what River’s supposed to be in prison for.

Overall I feel like with the Xmas special and this two parter I fell into a place where I liked the start and then was disappointed with the ending. I’m being so negative in this post, but I’m still trying to stay optimistic about the show. Maybe now that River is back in prison, Amy and Rory can get a little more development and I’ll see some episodes I enjoy all the way through.

#doctor who #anti moffat #anti amy pond #anti river song #moffat salt #anti reinette #anti gitf #my ramblings #dw watch #anti eleven #anti eleventh doctor #the way i actually enjoyed eleven in the xmas episode #and now i'm side eyeing so many things he does #i really want to like him #and i do like some of the things matt does #but why does he have to be so un-Doctor sometimes?? #day of the moon

[teambyler]

Everything after Mike's monologue shows that El has moved on from Mike

After the climactic events of season 4 including Mike's monologue, we have ZERO scenes between El and Mike talking about what happened. And we're never explicitly shown what she's thinking: we have to pick it up through clues.

Here are ALL the significant things El does afterward that give us any clue of what she thinks about their relationship.

Mike tells El to "wake up," and then El says (while looking at Max) "No... You're not going... No." The first "no" can also be a direct response to Mike. She is choosing not to go back to Mike and to help Max:

Of course, she wants to save Max's life. But her "no" becomes more significant when we see her thoughts while saving Max. She remembers her s3 friendship with Max, where she found herself happier dumping Mike and becoming independent. Max told her about ANOTHER female superhero Wonder Woman, said "Not Hopper, not Mike, YOU... There's more to life than stupid boys... Against the rules? We make our own rules":

We then time jump to 2 days later. Mike and El are sitting next to each other in the van, but they don't interact.

When they visit Max at the hospital, El puts her head on Mike's shoulder and he puts his arm around her. This is the ONLY expression of closeness we see between them after the monologue. Even here, both of El's arms hang at her sides:

But in this and later scenes we see Mike having more interactions with Will than with El. When Lucas says the doctors thought it was a "miracle" Max came back to life, Will and Mike have the same thought -- that El saved her -- but they look immediately at each other first instead of El. El, meanwhile, hadn't shared that Max almost died (and what she had done to save her) with Mike. She doesn't look at him. (Thanks to @romainlettusdinnerparty for pointing this out)

While cleaning Hopper's cabin, El tellingly closes the door after entering her old room, immediately after glancing at Mike and Will together. (There is no reason to close a door when you're cleaning a musty old house!) We find out that she has barely been talking to Mike:

Finally, the last scene. The three of them walk out onto the field side by side. Mike and Will stop at the same time. El walks forward ahead of the other two. Mike doesn't follow his girlfriend and stays by Will:

Since this is the very last scene and there's no dialogue, it's fair to say that what we're seeing visually will foreshadow events in the next season. She is walking ahead into the rotting part of the field (the Upside Down?). And she is moving away from Mike, and Mike is choosing to stay with Will. Mike and Will aren't holding hands, but they're BREATHING IN SYNC.

To drive things home, she sees the EXACT same kind of flowers that Mike picked for El and gave her at the airport, the yellow and purple flowers:

... But now they're wilted... a very on-your-nose symbol of their relationship. She holds on to the wilted flower while looking at the devastation in Hawkins. This reflects and foreshadows her personal journey:

The only other reading of these final images is that she will defend what is good -- Hawkins -- from Vecna. But the chosen symbol is too associated with Mike's bouquet. It can't be her protecting their relationship from Vecna. It has never been threatened by external threats. (In fact, facing shared danger from the "bad men," etc. brought them together.) Their relationship has corroded from within.

The absence of ANY scene between Mike and El post-monologue is startling. We get MANY scenes in the epilogue where we see how the main characters now relate to each other. El and Will hug Dustin, we see that Robin and Vickie might enter a relationship, heck we even see how Mike and Hopper regard each other. But for Mileven, where THE arc this season has been "Will Mike say he loves El?" we get no resolution!

Instead, we get implications and symbols. And everything makes clear that Mike and Will have grown closer, while Mike and El have grown more distant.

This, AFTER Mike said what El told her he needed to say for their relationship to work out! If anything, it made El MORE distant. As if El realized that isn't what she wants after all... unlike early in s4, El is now hardly relating to Mike whatsoever.

Mileven is a sinking ship. But that doesn't mean Mike and El must end up unhappy.

-teambyler

#byler #byler theory #byler evidence #stranger things #st4 #eleven #jane hopper #elmax #monologue #anti mileven