TV

Stranger Things season five premiere leaves fans with questions about Will and Mike’s relationship

Finn Wolfhard and Noah Schnapp as Mike Wheeler and Will Byers in Stranger Things.

Finn Wolfhard and Noah Schnapp as Mike Wheeler and Will Byers in Stranger Things. (Netflix)

Finn Wolfhard and Noah Schnapp as Mike Wheeler and Will Byers in Stranger Things. (Netflix)

After a painful three year wait, Stranger Things is finally back on our screens, as the first four episodes of season five arrived on Netflix today (27 November). One subsection of the fandom had just one hope: that Will Byers and Mike Wheeler would become a couple. Did it happen?

Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for the first four episodes of Stranger Things season five.

Stranger Things season five has left fans with a lot to dig into, from the return of Kali Prasad, aka Eight (Linnea Berthelsen), the whereabouts of Max (Sadie Sink) and the Demogorgons breaching the enforced military zone in Hawkins.

Yet the biggest twist in the first volume of season five came via Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), when it was revealed to the viewers – and to Will himself – that he harbours secret powers. In episode four, the last in volume one, Will came face to face with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), where his powers were fully harnessed.

Up until this point, fans who had been hoping to see Will confess his secret love for his best pal Mike (Finn Wolfhard) were probably left feeling a little dejected. Will hadn’t shared feelings with Mike, let alone heard that they are reciprocated. “Byler” – the pair’s much-used ship name online – seemed fairly far from coming to fruition.

Yet some fans have picked up on the events leading up to Will’s face-off with Vecna and the Demogorgons, and are theorising that hope might not be lost for Byler lovers.

Earlier on in the season, Will had a little heart-to-heart with Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) about sexuality, after he spotted her kissing her girlfriend Vickie (Amybeth McNulty) at the hospital.

Then, during a chat between Will and Mike, Mike offers his friend some words of encouragement about tapping into his “innate” powers. “I’m just saying, that you’re a wizard like [Vecna]… in real life, you’re more like a sorcerer, because your powers don’t come from a book of spells. They’re innate,” he tells Will.

“As far as crazy theories go, I’ve had crazier. And with Eleven in the Upside Down, we really need some magic up here.”

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The words seem to stay with Will, and ultimately lead to being able to harness his powers in the fight against Vecna and the Demogorgons in episode four’s epic showdown. Then, as Will embraces his powers, Mike is seen looking on in awe. 

Some Byler fans are taking those two moments as a sign that there could be a revelation of Will’s feelings for Mike in the second volume of season five. How Mike would react to the news remains to be seen.

“I don’t want to hear ANY of you tell me Byler isn’t canon, that boy is in love like a puppy,” one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Mike realizing what he said to Will got through to him. Oh Byler you are so endgame,” shared a second hopeful fan.

During a recent conversation with Attitude magazine, Wolfhard appeared to shut down fan hopes that Mike and Will would end up together, suggesting that it “wouldn’t feel earned”.

“The shipping thing, that’s always, I think, something with fans of the show,” he told the publication, adding: “That’s something in the show that I feel like if it did happen, it wouldn’t feel that earned.”

“What’s so great about the show is that people are able to sort of feed themselves and be accepted for who they are… I don’t really look as much on the internet about stuff,” he continued.

The first four episodes of Stranger Things season five are streaming on Netflix now. The next three episodes will premiere on Christmas Day in the US and 26 December in the UK, with the big finale airing on New Year’s Eve in the US and New Year’s Day in the UK.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.

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