okayokayokAY so since some official behind the scenes pictures have been dropped here's some uh speculations/theories/ranting/rambling???? idk ~ alrighty so all/most of us have seen the behind the scene picture of finn that dropped and the difference from last season oH my gosh guys i'm already losing it okay rah okay i have so many thoughts rn and it's been kind of hectic lately so it might be a little crazy (together) but bare with me!!! so i know a lot of people are excited that we're getting s1/2 short hair mike back (including myself i love it so much omg rip mullet hair mike you were a real one for the byler community :pray hands:) but like guys this isn't a good think my boy is going THROUGH IT it's kind of acknowledged/hinted?? that mike is FINALLY coming into his own a bit in s4 with eddie saying he was wearing 'whatever his mom bought him from the gap' when he first came to hawkins high bu tin ep1 when we see him for the first time of the season hes CLEARLY influenced by edmund and has figured out what style he likes and interests like he's in a dnd club, comfortable being known as an uncool nerd (good for him honestly), he's growing his hair out (i believe he did that because of eddie and how he has a massive crush on him like honey you aren't hiding but more on that later!!!) so yeah basically his hair, outfits, and pretty much the way he acts in hawkins (not cali!! he goes back to pretending someone he isn't can i give him a hug please thank you) in s4 represents the ideology non-conformity and his sense of freedom in this persona. he doesn't feel lost in highschool anymore he's doing what he likes with his friends and he's proudly wearing his hellfire shirt around school/hawkins and basically he's accepting that it's okay to enjoy 'different' things that aren't considered the norm and it makes him happy and comfortable!! BUT now in s5 (from the pictures we have seen) it looks like he's fully revereted BACK into his shell and i don't blame him because like he comes back to hawkins after everything and everyone believes he's in a satanic cult. townspeople probably treat him badly and jason's (screw him) team mates most likely blame eddie and the rest of the hellfire club for jason's 'disappearance'/death. they directly connect him with all the horrible things that have happened to hawkins, which is probably?? what the bts of them walking towards mike are about; they probably keep harassing him no matter how he acts and mike just wants everyone to leave him alone high school for mike as probably gone full circle to middle school for mike and he's getting bullied again so he feels his only option is to remove himself from hellfire to become 'normal' i mean if you think about it hellfire might even be blamed for the gates being opened. last we heard the townspeople were hunting down eddie and the rest of the club and the graffiti on eddie's grave in the s5 pics shows that he's is STILL very much hated mike probably got harassed by multiple people who don't believe eddie's dead (oh and also!! pretty sure that joe quinn confirmed that eddie's not going to be in s5 :O) or believe that mike was in on it are out looking for him or think hellfire contributed to some satantic ritual or smth causing the 'earthquake' and therefore mike is dangerous and a target to them personally, i think the part of the style change and haircut is due to that and he doesnt wear his hellfire shirt anymore because he doesnt want any affiliation with the club but that's just me :shrug: plus in interviews, finn has mentioned MULTIPLE times that 'mike's just trying to act as normal as possible', so by seperating himself from eddie/hellfire and becoming more conveniently 'normal' he wont be treated like an outcast he wont be bullied or blamed (or maybe even wors) if he conforms. he has a greater chance of everything becoming easier/better while living in hawkins if he does this. he might even give up dnd as well soooo yeah mike won't be having fun in s5 :star eyes: okay going BACK to mike having a crush on eddie yada yada yada, a lot of people (including myself) wanted to see his reaction to eddie's death, and i think we'll definitely be seeing the lingering effects of it and alot of mike's arc will kick off because of the aftermath of the affliction of hellfire. only few people know that eddie actually died to try to protect hawkins and eddie was a rolemodel (help i almost wrote supermodel) for dustin and mike, but they're grieving in COMPLETELY different ways!! dustin decided to honor him by taking up a similar style and proudly wearing his hellfire shirt and is probably??? trying to sway the town's opinion on eddie and prove him innocent and whatnot on the other hand, mike seemingly decides that he DOESNT want to end up like eddie anymore: dead and hated, known as a satanic freak. someone he idolized is now dead, he doesnt know how to properly handle that fact (MIKE AND NANCY SIBLING BONDING PLEASEE) contd v
it's intimating that someone he looked up to do much could be so hated and in turn has cause the reaction from mike that is basically 'if my idol is treated as such a horrible outcast, and i wanted to follow in his footsteps, where would that leave me?' he's feeling lost and hopeless especially with the state that hawkin's in so he probably decides the best thing to do is just blend in. be normal. it probably scares him that even merely his interest in dnd and all these other factors immediately makes him a target (as far as townspeople believe) mike is one of the kids who was close with a brutal serial k1ller, they probably think he's 'just as messed up as eddie the freak was' for staying friends with someone who'd do such terrible things. i think mike just wants to hide as much as he can rn. he has a LOT on his plate and doesnt need the rest of town out to get him. so if anyone asks he'll just say 'i didn't really know him!! i would NEVER join a cult like that i didnt know!!' or smth idk to seperate himself fom the club mike will end up picking protecting himself and hiding his true identity and values/traits rather then living exposed and vulnerable (he's just like me guys!!!) yet true to what he actually believes is right and pretty much the opposite of what dustin is doing dustin is a proud hellfire member and friend of eddie. he's picking what he thinks is right over self-preservation from the town he's still wearing his battered shirt (show in bts pic) and now HE'S the one growing his hair out he still adores eddie and misses him (so does mike but he feels he CAN'T outwardly pubicly support/stand up for him) i wonder if this will cause some sort of tension between dusty and mike because dustins doing the opposite and becoming more like eddie instead of distancing himself from the hellfire name, he might feel betrayed that mike 'gave up' on the club and maybe accuse him of not even caring about eddie or his death? mayhaps mayhaps but idk lol i ALSO think mike will be clinging a lot to el (or will idrk still kind of inbetween the two ideas i want to see the boyfriends so bad) this season (before they inevitably break up ofc) mainly because just the idea of having a gf corresponds to his idea of conformity and being 'normal'. he just wants to be normal guy yknow his life is nothing out of the ordinary, he's not interested in 'satanic' things like dnd and hellfire, he's just a normal person. a normal person who is PROBABLY a target of vecna in s5 (not me spreading my mike gets vecna'd agenda giggle) (i swear ill do a deeper analysis on that some time soon!) (lie) i believe is arc for this season will be trying to breakou of these notions of conformity in exchange for things he actually likes and is interested in, we saw him sort of branching out in s4 but i think THIS time its happening for real and he'll end up fully embracing his own views and interests after some sort of emotional arc (which will also probably be part of the milkshake breakup or set off by the break up) through s1 he was told he liked el or others assumed it so i think he assumed it aswell. they just never broke up because el ALSO thinks having a boyfriend is normal and expected and because mike was the boy she was closest to she assumed it was romantic feelings (plus he kissed her in s1 which most likely contribted to her assuming they were romantic feelings) alot of the people around her are also in relationships and she watched a lot of tv with happy romantic couples so she thinks it's more normal to HAVE a boyfriend than to NOT have one. i think mike and el kinda stayed together because they think they're SUPPOSED to by these social standards i mean obviously they care about each other and mistook it as reasons to just stay together. she wants to be a normal girl because only being a superhero isnt good for her, she needs to be 'jane hopper' and not '011'. i think she definitely needs to take time to find and discover herself and gain some experiences outside of living her life as a superhero. mike also needs character development outside being 'el's bf', which is why it was vital that her time with max in s3 existed, so el could realize her value and that there is life outside of having a bf. i think mike needs a similar moment too; a wake-up call of sorts where he can take a step back & consider rather than letting societ dictate is actions, he makes decisions for what he wants for himself. think of a 'we make our own rules' sort of thing!! if milkvan is endgame, besides that fact that byler nation will be in shambles 69 dead 420 missing, i GENIUNELY dont know what big character arc could be in store for mike that doesnt involve a break up and themes of non-conforming yknow????? (i could go on and on about anti-milkvan/byler endgame but thats another story) HELP I RAN OUT OF SPACE PART 2 COMING SOON I PROMISEEE
