This Whole Post Made Me Take A Step Back And Think. Thank You. I Think We Overreacted A Little When This

This whole post made me take a step back and think. Thank you. I think we overreacted a little when this Volume came out. I will say I still do not like Volume 2 that much because idk, but this does make me like it a little.

Will is not being used as a plot device for Mileven, it’s the other way around.

insanely steaming hot take but the Will / El / Mike arc was kinda insanely well done

Will

We know Will is the main character in season 5, he was already disliked before by alot of the audience and was battling homewrecker crybaby allegations. Us seeing Will be self sacrificial for the sake of a fan favorite ship / character (Eleven) + willing to suffer for the sake of the ones he cares about makes the audience sympathize with him . Seeing someone suffer even though they're nice to everyone makes us want good things to happen to them.

If they had gone with the route of pushing for Byler , Mike and especially Will would be hated by everyone and that would not be good since they're literally going to be main characters in season 5. Nobody would want to see their relationship get fleshed out because they don't like them.

In the two episodes Will managed to beat homewrecker and useless allegations 🤞 and also become a more liked character that the audience *wants* good things to happen to , it hyped the audience for what's next to come for him

Mike

This season put alot and I mean alot of emphasis on Mike's facial expressions. Whenever he's talking to someone whether that be Will or Eleven they make a point to show the differences in his gaze . Even blind viewers are starting to see how Mike looks distant or faking when he's with El compared to genuine and loving with Will

Mike once again being clueless in the car and with Will in general was a good move, the audience would once again dislike Mike and Will therefore wouldn't want to see them in S5 if Byler started getting pushed when Milkvan was still going . more on this later

Mike's love confession being stale and poorly written and full of lies to the point where the general audience is picking up on how the entire thing can get disproved by Mike's own words ??

Wills "confession" being the catalyst for Mike's confession but it not working

Mike's confession being exactly what El wanted to hear, Eleven ( the fan favorite) got what she wanted , but she didn't like it , in a literal sense Mike's "love" is not enough

Eleven

The general audience would only ever be okay with a Milkvan breakup if it was initiated by El , throwing everything at Mileven and it not sticking was intentional

El gets what she wants. Her love confession, but it's full of lies someone else's words, there's a large disconnect

A big emphasis was put on a sibling bond between El and Will , so much so it was brought up multiple times, this connects back to "Will beating homewrecker allegations" point

El becoming more independent, alot of Milkvans are Eleven stans and adore her, season 3 I've noticed is a favorite because she is so much happier and independent instead of crying over Mike . Her finding her power in her relationship with Max (whom once again was a big part of her finding independence in season 3)

The emphasis on family (Papa vs Hopper) her hug with Will being a bigger deal than her hug with Mike

"Not Mike, Not Hopper, You." "There's more to life than stupid boys"

The only way hardcore Milkvans would be okay with their ship falling is if it was initiated by Eleven for her to have her independence and no longer be held down by Mike which is what the end scenes are alluding to

I missed alot and this is all over the place but the structure and the way things are going (it byler is going to be canon) is actually kinda fantastic