Settling the Mileven vs. Byler Debate

 Stranger Things Season 5 is coming out in 3 days, and I thought it would be a good chance to add my 2 cents on the whole Mileven vs. Byler debate that's been going on since season 1.

Mileven

I totally get why people love this ship so much, especially in the earlier seasons.  In season 1, Mike was the only person to treat El with genuine kindness.  Because she was staying at his house, she trusted him, and Mike got to know her the best.  They formed a deeper bond compared to the rest of the party.  Even though Mike isn't the most verbally affectionate person, he shows that he loves El in so many other ways.  He's very protective of her, and his encouragements give El the strength to fight.  When she moves to California, they constantly write letters back and forth which shows an insane amount of commitment.  It's very clear that they love and care about eachother very much.  They've been the central ship and couple for ten years.  It would make sense if they were endgame.  It started with Mileven, so it should end with Mileven.

HOWEVER, I think that what people forget is that when they started dating, Eleven barely knew English.  She couldn't grasp the concept of "friends".  At least for the first 2 years of her relationship, she probably didn't even know what dating was.  Because of her lack of social development, the romance feels rushed and it feels like she's making out and writing letters because that's what everyone else is doing.  When in Rome, do as the Romans do.  

In season 4, Mike outright says that he's afraid that El won't need him anymore.  He relied on El to make him feel wanted, and in the earlier seasons El depended on him for safety and emotional support.  However, after Max teaches her how to be her own person, Mike loses interest in who she is.  She doesn't need Mike's support anymore.  Mike doesn't feel needed anymore.  They both start losing interest and it leads to tension in season 4.

Ever since becoming a couple, Mike has been retreating from his role as the core four's Dungeon Master/ leader to spend more time with El.  This leads to instability within the friend group.  It's exactly as Will said in their rain fight: "You're destroying everything, and for what?  So you can swap spit with some stupid girl?"  Mike prioritizing El destroyed their friend group.

While narratively, it would make sense to end with Mileven, seeing as it would be a little rushed to change the ship, it wouldn't make sense for their characters.  They essentially broke up in season 4, and it would be disappointing if Eleven finds herself only to go back to being emotionally dependent on Mike.  It wouldn't make sense for Mike to become the group's leader again and be with the core four only for him to go back to pining about how El doesn't want him.  It wouldn't make sense as a narrative.

Byler

Let me preface this by saying that Will's crush on Mike is canon.  Now, it's a matter of whether Mike likes him back, which is ironic because when season 2 came out the debate was whether or not Will liked Mike back.  Oh, how the tables have turned.

Anyways, Mike and Will are best friends.  Even within their friend group, Mike seems to understand Will the most and has a "Will voice", which is a soft and kinder voice that he uses with Will whenever he's afraid.  They have a very deep and long emotional connection which could be the ideal setup for the couple of the century.  However, Mike isn't confirmed to like Will back.  he's in a committed relationship, he emotionally slaps Will around (espescially in season 3), and Byler could ruin some character development that Mike had.  On top of that, since there's only one season left, and it's the season meant to explain and explore the entire Upside Down, El's story, Will's time in the Upside Down, how it ends, etc.  If we add an LGBTQ+ arc for Mike where he accepts his queer identity and gets with Will, it could feel overwhelming.  Plus, if its rushed or gets poorly executed it could ruin the story by being too big of a plot twist.

On the other hand, there's 2 things to consider when it comes to confirming that Byler will happen.

1. Will is the ultimate Mileven shipper because he doesn't think that he could be loved.  He puts his feelings aside because he believes that he's unlovable and that he doesn't deserve love.  If Will dies before Mike loves him back, or if Mike rejects him, all it will do is confirm Will's negative beliefs.  Also, you wouldn't write a 10 year long slow-burn that ends with rejection or closure.

2. Queerbaiting.  Queerbaiting is when a movie or TV show adds a queer coded character to attract a queer audience without ever being good representation.  It' a move to profit off of the queer community without committing to the bit and giving them actual representation where it could risk losing the general audience.  A show made by nerds for nerds, that is meant to uplift minorities wouldn't queerbait to simply profit off of the queer audience.

Final Verdict

Byler is the most likely to happen!!  While Mileven is a stable ship that has its ups and downs, Byler adds emotional depth and connection between the two lovers.  On top of that, it would narratively make more sense.  If they were going to give Will a slightly happy ending, it wouldn't be by kissing a random boy.  It would be from finally having his feeling reciprocated by his long time best friend and lover.  A show for minorities wouldn't just profit off of queer people and not take responsibility.  If they can pull it off well, I will be ecstatic.