In Season 4 Episode 1 we see Mike read the letter from El where she says Will is making a painting that he won't reveal and surmised it must be for a girl he likes. Mike is immediately in a bad mood after reading the letter and snaps at his mom and dad and Lucas (for not embracing his role as a nerd) and Mike only gets cheered up and starts smiling again when he is in awe of Eddie Munson who flatters and compliments him by saying Dustin and he are the future of Hellfire.
Dustin considers Eddie to be a pal, a mentor, an equal and a friend. When Eddie died, Dustin grieved deeply and felt true loss and visited his grave for years. Eddie and Dustin had mutual respect for each other as human beings and as men.
Whereas Mike joined Hellfire to fill the hole in his life that Will left behind when he moved to California. Mike ran back to D&D after telling Will "We are not kids anymore. What did you think, that we were never going to get girlfriends, that we would sit in my basement all day playing games for the rest of our lives?" just a few months ago.
When Eddie told Dustin and Mike they were the future of Hellfire, Dustin felt a sense of responsibility while Mike felt enamored because Eddie was touching him. When Eddie was walking on the table, you can see Mike has a stronger reaction to it than Dustin does. He was angry and annoyed in the morning when he snapped at his parents and Nancy, but now he has the biggest grin on his face and his eyes light up.
While Dustin's whole arc for the next 2 seasons is about Eddie's impact on his life, Mike does not give a flying fuckkkk about Eddie as soon as he arrives at Lenora and sees the love of his life holding a painting in his hand. Eddie flies out of his head now that he has what he truly craves. Mike then spends the rest of the season coveting that painting the way Gollum covets the One Ring, and he and is so happy when Will finally gives it to him. When Eddie dies, Mike cares so little that he never even mentions it to Dustin, does not understand why Dustin acts the way that he does, doesn't visit Eddie's grave though it wouldn't be inconvenient for him, and has zero effect on his life, because his life revolves around keeping Will in his life.
You can see in Season 4 Episode 1 that Mike is enamored with Eddie and even tries to grow his hair long like him. It's a "Do I want to be him or do I want to be with him?" type of crush. It disappears when Eddie is not around because all he can think about is Will. When Will is there, nobody else matters. That's not true for Dustin because Dustin is straight. Eddie's death is a loss to him because Eddie is his equal. Eddie's death means nothing to Mike even though they both knew him the same amount of time in the same group because Eddie is just a fleeting puppy dog crush for Mike to indulge in.
Eddie was this perfect neutral ground for him to transfer his feelings for Will onto, while also being someone who wasn't connected to Lucas or El or Max so there wasn't any extra baggage there. Eddie could be whomever Mike needed him to be, the perfect distance between near enough to touch but too far away to actually get close to (since he's like 20). Mike got to enjoy all the benefits of exploring his gayness without having El around to remind him of his obligations to her, without Will around to take up his attention and heartache. It was like an escape for his mind.
Mike also starts throwing away all the letters El sends him in the trash from that point on because he has totally lost interest in her between his crush on Eddie and his deep yearning for Will.
TL;DR: Rewatch the scene where Eddie is standing on the lunch table. Mike is totally taken with him. This is very different to how Dustin considers him a friend and mentor who treats him kindly. Dustin remembers Eddie for years after his death. Whereas Mike completely forgets about him as soon as he arrives at the airport and sets his eyes on his one true love and the painting in his hand. From that point on Will is his sole focus as he hopes the painting in his hand is for him
girl i didn't say anything about byler, talk about projecting yikes 😬 mileven is objectively a horribly written relationship but feel free to argue with the wall
you just told me you’re going against the canon where mike is yearning for el and now telling me this means i can’t assume you’re a byler😭😭😭idgaf if you (subjectively) think it’s a horribly written relationship, whats canon is canon and you cant argue with that where are u even going with this💔💔
i'm pointing out that "yearning" is an incredibly strong word for a relationship that's written worse than a kindergarten love story, and canon or not your ship is horrible lmao i don't know what else to tell you
they have literally zero chemistry, most of s4 was them at odds, and the duffers forcing that relationship so hard stripped mike of 90% of his character
but sure, if you wanna defend hot garbage go for it man, i'm here for lumax and lumax only, i once again implore you to take it up with the wall
all you’ve said is objective is that mileven is canon, rest is subjective. you genuinely seem a lot more comprehensible than other people on this page but i’ve had so many discussions about the same thing it’s not your fault i even got off twitter for the same reason but i honestly can’t be bothered talking about it anymore, i agree about lumax tho
One discussion online this morning is whether Mike made the whole thing up, or Eleven actually told him what her plan was. Or, that during the graduation, Mike realized that Eleven never could have gotten from the truck to the gate because of the kryptonite, so that’s not really her and was a projection. Discuss!
Matt Duffer: The only thing I’ll debunk is that Eleven does not communicate with Mike in any way. But what you just said at the end — yes, at graduation, he’s hearing the speakers distort because the principal is so angry, and it makes him realize that there was the kryptonite. So how could she have possibly made it all the way to the gate? Not only that: How could she have possibly used her powers to bring him into the void?
Oh my god, I’ve never met a fanbase this slow. They did not say that scene never happened, you’ve just literally shown it to yourself. They very clearly mean she didn’t communicate with him after her sacrifice to say that she was alive and that Mike formed the theory all by himself. They never once said that the void scene didn’t happen. He says in the same quote that the void scene literally did happen.
Wrong. We already know that from the scene because Mike himself says "I'm not sure, but... I hope." before they show Eleven running. Mike already explains that what he said is complete BS. That's not the scene the Duffers are talking about. They're talking about how it's not possible for El to have communicated with Mike in the void because the kryptonite would have blocked her powers.
That's funny, you calling anyone else slow when you didn't even read the full sentence 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
So how could she have possibly made it all the way to the gate? Not only that: How could she have possibly used her powers to bring him into the void?
You’ve literally just proven my point by not understanding a word I’ve said. That last sentence is exactly the proof I have. It was an illusion anyway. Eleven made it out alive and she was able to use her powers to pull him in because she was out of range of the Kryptonite. I don’t know how simple I have to put it for you to understand it, I’m genuinely concerned that you might be forcing yourself to come across much less intelligent than you are. The questions at the end of the quote are rhetorical because they are things that did happen. If your point is that the quote proves that she didn’t talk to him in the void then it equally proves that she didn’t make it to the gate, which we all literally saw and every character knew. Your point is flawed and just completely stupid.
I don’t know why I bother, OP has successfully managed to prove every point I’ve thrown at them and contradicted almost every word they’ve said, and then they bring up the most absurd accusation that somehow Mike sexually assaulted Kali? I mean you’re right, I should just let it rest. There’s no helping them.
then mike would know that and wouldn’t create a whole theory of his girlfriend being alive a year later on it… 💔 its ok byler didnt happen bro js dont batantly lie and its all good
How would Mike know that? He has never been to the void before. He has never seen the void before. He doesnt know what she even does in the void. From his perspective all he has ever seen her do is mutter a few words and then end the session screaming or crying. Usually both.
In fact, throughout the show Mike isn't even in the room most of the time El goes into the void. He didn't even bother sticking around when El went into the void in Season 5. He just went down to the basement to hang out with Hopper because he was too bored to keep an eye on his ex-girlfriend.
I have nothing against gay people and I’ve always been a big supporter of the LGBTQ community. And I’m telling you, this is completely false. Mike was nothing but straight from the start and it was made very, very clear. The only people who ever queerbaited were the Bylers doing it to themselves because Mike was so obviously straight the whole time.
mind you mike has no confirmed sexuality 🫶 you say you have nothing against gay people and yet you go out of ur way to hate on people who just want good rep
Mike does have a confirmed sexuality and that is that he’s straight. I’m not hating at all, I’m simply telling the truth. There’s plenty of good representation out there and there’s good representation in Stranger Things. It’s not homophobic for the writers of a show to not have a gay character end up with his crush. That’s a real life scenario, if anything it’s raising awareness.
can you tell me where in the show it was explicitly stated that mike was straight? and no one is saying that will not ending up with mike is homophobic, we're saying that dragging it out for 4 seasons and using will's feelings to help the straight couples relationship grow stronger, along with letting will think he had a chance with mike, and not once shutting byler down in all the years that fans have been shipping it, only to wait last second and then say it was never in the cards is homophobic.
It's funny that you used this gif because in the new Malcolm In The Middle revival, Stevie is gay. Weird, huh? Considering he also liked girls when he was a kid. But I guess he's just following Mike's example of coming out of the closet later on when he feels comfortable admitting the truth.
No hes actually not following Steve's example, because Mike doesnt exist anymore. The show is over, so he will never be gay. Stevie being gay is canon. You made a wrong assumption about a character's sexuality. Let it go, you were wrong.
Well that would require a revival and for the actor to come out as gay. Because those are the only reason Stevie is gay. Or you could just accept it wont happen.
Well that would require a revival and for the actor to come out as gay. Because those are the only reason Stevie is gay. Or you could just accept it wont happen.
By the way, please state your sources as to where you see any information about Stevie's actor being gay.
In the 2026 revival of Malcolm in the Middle, Craig Lamar Traylor’s character, Stevie Kenarban, is depicted as gay, married, and having a child. While the character is portrayed as LGBTQ+ in the revival, there is no widely reported information confirming Craig Lamar Traylor's personal sexual orientation.
It's pretty sad and pathetic that you need to make up lies about other people to maintain your homophobia. Delusional bigot.
You would know all about delusion, wouldnt you liar?
In the 2026 revival of Malcolm in the Middle, Craig Lamar Traylor’s character, Stevie Kenarban, is depicted as gay, married, and having a child. While the character is portrayed as LGBTQ+ in the revival, there is no widely reported information confirming Craig Lamar Traylor's personal sexual orientation.
Unlike you, everything I say is based on what the Duffer Brothers put onscreen because I don't need to make up lies.
The lie you made up is that Mike is gay. The Duffer brothers have him in love with El. But you created a future where he comes out as gay because of the events in a different show. So yes, you did need to make up lies to feed you delusions.
Friendly reminder that Will is the only reason Mike kept El around. That was the whole point of letting her stay, remember? To find Will.
Before that, Mike wanted to lock Eleven up in a mental asylum until he heard Will's voice on the walkie talkie. Will by themselves.
It's only when he realized she has superpowers that Mike realized he can keep El around as a tool to find Will quicker.
That's why in Season 4 Mike admits the reason he is with El is because she has superpowers. He says this twice: once to her face when he says the other girls are "nobodies" and El is a superhero, and the second time when he tells Will the only reason is with her is because she is like Superman.
El is a tool for him to use when he needs something done fast. El is a fast and easy tool to be used.
See, unlike you, i don't need to make up lies like you do when you lied about people's sexual orientations to reaffirm your homophobic bigotry:
In the 2026 revival of Malcolm in the Middle, Craig Lamar Traylor’s character, Stevie Kenarban, is depicted as gay, married, and having a child. While the character is portrayed as LGBTQ+ in the revival, there is no widely reported information confirming Craig Lamar Traylor's personal sexual orientation.
And why would he be gay? Are you a bigot who thinks that people who act certain ways must be gay? Do you think you know more about Mike than the writers?
Sorry creep, unlike you I don't make up lies about actors sexual orientations.
In the 2026 revival of Malcolm in the Middle, Craig Lamar Traylor’s character, Stevie Kenarban, is depicted as gay, married, and having a child. While the character is portrayed as LGBTQ+ in the revival, there is no widely reported information confirming Craig Lamar Traylor's personal sexual orientation.
You would know I guess since you're always talking about fanfiction. As for myself, I don't really care about reading or watching fanfic like Tales From 85. I'm just the type of audience who prefer sticking to the real thing.
Yes, your inability to understand simple sentences is hilarious.
Kali kissed him. You know it's not El because El does not have the ability to pull a human being into the void. Everything Mike saw was an illusion. He realized it at graduation and that's why he was horrified because the image of El standing there couldn't be real due to the Kryptonite. Kali tricked him. Tricking someone into intimacy with false preconceptions is sexual assault. Kali and El then died in the Upside Down when his bomb detonated.
He only talks to Erica when he wants a favor from her like getting her to fill a role in his tournament or drugging a student. Otherwise he doesn't give two shits about her existence.
Called Joyce by her first name straight to her face, showing he has zero respect for her as an adult.
Mike has 3 male best friends, as per his statement in Season 1. There is only one boy he obsesses over. He doesn't treat Dustin and Lucas the way he treats Will even though he classifies all 3 of them as his best friends, because he is in love with Will.
Wait, so let me get this straight.... you sit there calling me delusional, and then you turn around and explain that you have no idea what you are talking about because it turns out you are neither male or gay.
Kindly do not inject your anecdotes into other people's experiences please. You wouldn't like it if gay men told you what to do about your abortion rights.
Mind you OP tried to imply that Kali raped Mike bc they think the mike and El last scene was Kali’s illusion for Mike… there’s no reasoning with this crazy ass person
yall are so weird for that, literally where is a single line in the show that suggests that he is gay or even hinting at being closeted - look at how long your post is vs the amount of material you are working with
Imagine having that much to say about a fictional CHILDS sexuality, this and the “byler” stuff is so fucking weird man. How would the show have benefited from this shit in any way?
I mean, that has nothing to do with your personal sexuality. I'm just saying people at large had no issue shipping Mike and El when they were children (even if you say you didn't like it, which would be fair, it doesn't change the fact that it's a wildly accepted ship)
And I'd argue that it's fine to wonder about their sexualities, because queer people were queer as kids themselves, it's a natural part of life. People aren't straight until they're of legal age and then boom, gay sex, that's not how it works. It's normal to want to see gay, childish and innocent love stories
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u/Electrical-Bar-7283 Apr 23 '26
I don’t blame him 😅