#number of days since ollie set out to make a short post about byler and then wrote an essay: 0

[deathon1leg]

“m*leven is the main couple of the show” ok but that’s not true. byler has always been the main couple.

i know they’re not together yet but we know they’re going to be, and they’ve been setting it up since the beginning. two characters can be the main couple without being together yet as long as the media they’re from demonstrates that to us through romantic tropes, parallels, set/costume design, camerawork, music, etc. plus, will is already canonically in love with mike.

i know this is an.. unusual show to use as an example, but it’s popular so—take the office. ask anyone who the main couple is and they’ll 100% say jim and pam. ask someone who’s only on, say, season 1, and they’ll probably still say jim and pam. but they didn’t officially get together until season 4. pam actually had a fiancé who wasn’t him for the first two seasons, yet still, they were the main couple. everyone knew it was going to happen eventually.

mike and will’s relationship has always been coded as romantic (not really getting into any specific romantic moments bc that’s not the point of this post, but most of u prob know what i mean. there’s so many and you can find them easily) and more people would see that if they took off the heteronormativity goggles. and again, will is in love with mike, which they have to resolve somehow.

and i DO SEE why people think m*leven is the main couple. on a surface level, it seems obvious. they’re two of the main characters, their dynamic is given a lot of screen time and they’re canon. but when you look harder, m*leven comes secondary to byler. m*leven’s relationship can’t separate itself from will/byler, and a lot of major events between mike and el are intertwined with will/byler, sometimes to such an extent that these things wouldn’t happen/function otherwise. for example:

in s1, they only find el because they were looking for will. mike only keeps her at his house for as long as he does bc he thought she could help find will. he doesn’t value her nearly as much once he thinks she can’t help. for most of s1 he saw her more as a tool to find will than a person.

in s2, mike is very upset about el’s disappearance and tries to walkie talkie her everyday, but (correct me if i’m misremembering) once the mind flayer starts possessing will, mike seems to push that all aside to prioritize taking care of him.

in s3, m*leven’s comedic breakup is overshadowed by byler’s rain fight. there’s no question which one we’re meant to take seriously. mike doesn’t care that he upset el and is in no hurry to make it up to her, but when he upsets will he regrets it right away, and immediately bikes to his house in the rain to apologize.

in s4, el getting bullied turns into a byler fight about them growing apart. mike opens up to will several times (which he can’t do with el) about his and el’s issues, and will offers advice. will gives mike the painting and gives his coded confession, which mike, thinking those were el’s feelings, uses as fuel for his ily monologue. mike’s whole monologue was literally about will.

will is more intwined with m*leven than ever in s4 because it’s the second to last, which means a breakup is coming soon. byler will get together sometime after that—i think it probably won’t be until after the time skip, though.

like i said, this post isn’t about any specific romantic moments between mike and will (but if you wanna see some just search “byler proof”, “byler endgame”, “byler analysis”, “byler evidence” or smth similar on here. there’s tons), but whether or not you take account of their romantic-coding, the show has purposefully shown us many times that byler’s relationship is stronger, healthier, and more loving than m*leven’s. obviously a relationship doesn’t have to be romantic to be those things, but the thing is, they’ve already shown us byler is romantic.

and, as the whole reason for this post suggests, byler is (or—if you’d rather look at it this way—will become) the main couple in stranger things. they’re two of the main characters, and i’d argue that their relationship is given more emphasis and importance placed on it than any other duo in the show, even established couples. the show is constantly saying to us: hey! look at them! look at the way they interact with each! look at them in comparison with other duos/couples! look at the specific type of bond they have with each other! like, the first two seasons’ storylines wouldn’t even work without their bond, which is also true to a slightly lesser extent in s3 and s4.

also, i’m just spitballing here, but isn’t it kinda unusual for a show with multiple established couples to place the most emphasis on a platonic pair? usually if a show has a two characters whose bond they place more importance on than any other pairs in the show, they’re a couple—or will end up becoming one.

so. when you combine the numerous flaws and weaknesses in m*leven’s relationship (which you can also find examples of easily—try searching “anti m*leven” or “anti milkvan”) + the strength and love in byler’s relationship + byler being coded as romantic since the start + s4 making it clear that m*leven’s breakup is imminent + will canonically being in love with mike + the painting that prompted mike’s monologue, which he’s yet to find out was entirely from will...

it’s safe to say byler will be endgame, which is fitting, because they’re already the main couple. i will shout this from the rooftops—they’re already the main couple!!

just in case, let me say it again, but bigger and more colorful:

byler is already the main couple!

thank u if you read this whole long thing!! i should honestly stop expecting that i’m gonna write short posts when i have something to say about byler. it never ends up short. <3 <3 hope you enjoyed

#number of days since ollie set out to make a short post about byler and then wrote an essay: 0 #thanks for reading!! #yes i looked up the info for that office part #byler #byler analysis #byler meta #byler evidence #byler proof #byler endgame #gotta get all the tags #anti m*leven #stranger things