Been Thinking About A Couple Of Screencaps That @will80sbyers Posted Of What Looks Heavily Implied To

been thinking about a couple of screencaps that @will80sbyers posted of what looks heavily implied to be h*omosexual activity at rink-o-mania not in the closet:

and it's got me thinking: throughout all of s4, we really don't get any introspection into how much personal growth Will has undergone during his year away from Hawkins

we of course know he's torn up about his relationship with mike and is hurting watching his half-sister be bullied at school, but we don't know much about what HE is going through.

what we know contextually:

the fictional town of lenora hills is somewhere roughly between bakersfield and LA metro. even in the 80s when california was overall more right-leaning than it is now, it still would have been leagues more progressive than hawkins, indiana at this time

2) Will clearly feels comfortable enough in his new environment to do research projects and presentations on openly gay individuals in history

3. Will feels empowered enough to paint a very emotional gift for a girl he likes Mike.

4. (admittedly minor) king has a little shop of horrors poster in his room, literally flooded with queer subtext. considering the film had JUST come out, too, this was something he was eagerly anticipating, not hopping onto the cult-classic bandwagon for after the fact

(unrelated note: if you haven't heard m.j. rodriguez, a BIPOC+ trans actress, sing suddenly seymour, you should do that now).

all of these things together indicate: Will has been put in a position that's allowed himself to slowly begin coming to terms with his sexuality in his time away from Hawkins. He may not be vocalizing it yet, but his actions indicate he's probably seen couples like the ones at rink-o-mania already this year. Something that very possibly could have given him the courage to approach Mike about it over Spring Break.

of course, this goes in the trash as all of Will's insecurities hit him full-force the moment Mike steps off the plane in Cali. The rest of s4 depicts this breakdown very well, but it takes understanding just how far Will has come to appreciate how heartbreaking his emotional deterioration is.

We can also support this by considering Jonathan's POV in the van and pizza cooler. Traditionally a loner who has the same kind of reserved life as Will, he also wouldn't have had a lot of exposure to queer people just existing prior to moving to California. He's evidently experienced enough to be able to pick up on Will's (admittedly obvious) subtext and deduce that his brother may be hiding something.

why would the duffers go through the effort of so subtly building up Will's growth arc to not have the payoff be one that completes the hero's journey?

not to get bogged down in mythology: the hero's journey is a very common framework found in thousands of works. it has three main sections: 1) when the hero has to leave home and venture into the world, 2) the ordeals the hero undergoes to realize their full potential, and 3) the hero's return home with whatever they've gained from their trial in order to complete their adventure.

to me, this suggests heavily that Will's journey of self-actualization and facing his inner-demons (both extra-dimensional and homosexual) is going to conclude in Hawkins as he enters the final third of his journey.

notably, a section of this Journey Will hasn't gone through yet:

RESURRECTION) One final test is required for the purification and rebirth of the hero. Alternatively, it may be a miraculous transformation.

all i'm saying is that transformation better involve him getting Mike to shut up and admit how he feels about his best friend.