#but really just admitting their feelings the buildup itself is very verbal based actually

[gayofthefae]

It's the fact that it's not just that their actions are suspicious/indicative of them knowing they have feelings for each other, but their actual dynamic itself has gotten closer. You can feel the build-up without the plot-pertinent conflict around the romance. The romance itself is at its core there too with the tv-typical buildup.

They weren't this close in season 1. We often talk about it as them always having been different and then realizing but they DO have momentum. They WEREN'T this close. Like any other love story, they have been falling in love in front of us, not just noticing themselves.

They were close, closer than the others it seemed. Then they built on that in season 2 - practicing their close dynamic more and getting more used to it one-on-one, building to Mike telling Will how important he was to him near the climax of the season. In season 3, they fought for the first time, breaking some very important relationship ice, in my opinion, fighting. In doing so, they opened up a conversation about their future. One that, even if they didn't continue it, was now out in the open and they knew that the other knew, and that affects dynamics as well. This ended for the season with Mike purposefully subtextually validating that he wanted that future with Will too. closer. In season 4, they fought again, repeating more directly this new dynamic of saying their feelings out in the open, asking "What am I to you? Am I still important to you? As important as I used to be?" and working their way back. Mike took a big step forward in their relationship by not just letting it be swept under the rug like in the past but coming back to address it and voluntarily iterate how much Will means to him and apologize. That indicated to Will that he might be able to do the same, though he ultimately backed out via the El cover-up.

They have built up. Even if their dynamic has remained the same, they have over the course of the seasons been working more and more up in ability to talk with each other about their feelings. That is what needs a climax in season 5 for their relationship. And for "we're slowly improving at acknowledging the feelings we already have" as an arc, there need to be more unspoken feelings than the "you're my best friend" we've established in past intimate conversations.

#stranger things #byler #byler arc #byler analysis #byler isn't just cute like any other queercoded ship #they have BUILDUP #and we never talk about it and we need to #they have been getting progressively closer emotionally to the point of *kissing* (teehee) #but really just admitting their feelings the buildup itself is very verbal based actually #1) it was a seven. 2) it was the best thing i've ever done 3) i guess i did 4) it's not the same without you #also just noticed that it alternates who initiates it which is awesome #it goes will mike will mike #go them man #better at relationships than me fr #wait til i find out that's literally the whole point of me being a shipper #they're better than me and i am living vicariously through that

[aewriting]

Top 10 Malex scenes (so far)

Again, as a reminder, this is just totally based on my own preferences.

9. The Song

I love the concept of this song (which Alex performs near the end of 2x13), and I like the buildup to it throughout the season (glimpses of Alex writing in a notebook, at a keyboard in his music room, humming it while captive). I enjoyed the scene, but I also feel as if I wanted to like it more than I actually did.

First, the good, and there’s a lot of good here - like, it’s on this list for a reason, ha. I think everything leading up to Michael’s verbal exchange with Isobel was just about perfect:

Alex’s hesitancy at actually getting up to sing this song in this bar.

Michael wandering in, unknowing, at an opportune moment. His realization that it’s Alex singing, and singing about them, no less.

Then Alex noticing Michael, mid-performance, singing right to him at certain moments and looking pleased about it.

And Michael looking so proud of Alex - with Jesse dead, they’re both free in a way they haven’t been since they were 17, and that shows through in this scene.

I also really like the song itself - the lyrics provide a nice illustration of where Alex is, internally, at this point in the show, both with his own self-acceptance and his relationship with Michael. The “meet me in the middle” refrain hit especially hard, because to me this is saying two things. First, Alex is willing to walk toward the middle. The middle’s vulnerable, right? Out in the open, which is so different from how Alex has approached this relationship in the past. With no more running away.

But ALSO (and I think this is very important) he wants Michael to walk toward the middle, too - of his own volition. I will write about this scene at length tomorrow, but in their scene together on Alex’s patio in 2x01, Michael lays it out for Alex: “All our years of this, I’ve never said no to you. You push me away, you pull me back in, and I go where you want me.” In my reading of the song lyrics, Alex wants Michael to be his own agent in this relationship, not to just do whatever Alex wants. If you’ve followed some of my other writings, you know that I love this idea of sovereignty, and I’ll talk more about it tomorrow.

And then the comedown - Michael notices Forrest’s reaction to the song, to Alex, and god, his facial expressions. You can see the pain, the resignation, the decision he makes. For me, these expressions are so powerful that the scene actually loses a little something when Michael starts talking to Isobel. Also, at this point in the scene, the song starts to sound a little more “produced” - more like a studio single and less like a solo open-mic night performance, and I admit that took me out of the scene a little bit.

#top ten malex scenes #the song #malex #roswell nm #my commentary