Drag king goes viral with theory on ‘new style of queerbaiting’ after Stranger Things finale
Noah Schnapp added a scene to the Stranger Things finale to tie up Mike and Will’s relationship. (Netflix)
Noah Schnapp added a scene to the Stranger Things finale to tie up Mike and Will's relationship. (Netflix)
A drag king theory about a “new style of queerbaiting” has gone viral and they’re using Stranger Things as evidence.
Queerbaiting refers to when someone attempts to attract an LGBTQ+ audience by hinting at a queer identity or using queer aesthetics without identifying as such.
Ernest Device – aka The Cosplaying Drag King of Brighton – shared his theory on TikTok on Tuesday (13 January).
He said the “covert” queerbaiting involves one canonically queer character and one person where things are more ambiguous.
They continued: “You don’t know what’s going on in their head. It’s just kind of left in the air, and story ends are not completed, and then you can go, ‘oh, it’s just a one-sided queer romance.'”
Pointing to characters like Supernatural‘s Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) and Stranger Things‘ Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) as examples, Device theorised that creators are using this approach to avoid accusations of queerbaiting.
They also highlighted chemistry between characters like Mike and Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), arguing: “If it was a straight couple […] they would put them together.”
Device also said that even with queer characters, like Will, “there’s either vagueness or an erasure of feelings”. He references Castiel’s (Misha Collins) confession in Supernatural, which is seen as both romantic and platonic. Collins has said it was romantic.
“But what did the writers want it to be?” asks Device who suggests it was kept vague to give something to Supernatural‘s queer fans while appeasing straight fans “that ultimately they liked more”.
As for the Stranger Things example, Device was disappointed that Will’s feelings for Mike were made into nothing more than “a hallway crush”. He continued: “And it’s just a lesson about him being gay.”
‘Byler’ fans hoped the final season of the sci-fi horror show would deliver on the chemistry between Will and Mike. Ultimately, they also were left disappointed.
This was despite Will coming out and sharing his feelings publicly in the penultimate episode of season five. It was then quickly referenced in the series finale.
Device also said 9-1-1 and Loki had taken similar approaches describing it as “a punch in the gut” each time.
9-1-1 has long teased fans with ‘Buddie’ – the coupling of Eddie (Ryan Guzman) and Buck (Oliver Stark). Meanwhile, Loki gave us the titular God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson).
In the comments, Device’s followers also pointed to Dead Boy Detectives, Gotham, and What We Do in the Shadows as other examples where potential queer relationships have been downplayed or ignored.
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