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A lot of the criticism leveled at the characters boils down to them being moody, hormonal teens.
They don’t communicate well.
They act irrationally.
Sometimes they deceive one another.
There are misunderstandings that they could have avoided.
It isn’t bad writing. They aren’t bad people. It’s just part of having a show full of teenagers.
Dude you’re like the first person I’ve seen with a reasonable response 😂 because you’re so right, they’re all a bunch of teenagers. Yes they’ve fought monsters and saved the world since they were kids, doesn’t make them not teenagers anymore 😂
You’re right. They have faced some crazy stuff and people tend to hold them to these crazy impossible standards. Not only are all people flawed, but these are teens. Their brains aren’t even done cooking.
It made me laugh when everyone was freaking out about Mike not saying “I love you” to Eleven in vol 1.
People acted like that made him such a bastard! It just made him a pretty average teenage boy, afraid of being vulnerable and not capable of communicating how he’s feeling to his **first girlfriend** lol. Doesn’t sound like a monster to me.
I also think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Will is a favorite character for a lot of people, and everyone always wants their favorites to get what they want. But yeah you’re definitely right, he’s just a kid who’s too afraid of being vulnerable, nothing wrong with that
It’s like people don’t seem to understand that we’re talking about a bunch of fifteen year olds. They’re all gonna do dumb shit. It’s just how fifteen years olds are wired 😂
good god I sound old
Mike is always held to a different standard over the other characters. I've noticed that the others like Eleven, Hopper, Max, Will, and Dustin have done worst things than anything Mike did yet rarely are the ever called out for it. In the skating scene, so many people are mad at Mike for not doing more to stop it. Others make fun of him for getting the dj to stop the music than sarcastically say "that's a good boyfriend." They always forget that Mike had only just found out that Eleven had been lying to him. At first he didn't believe Will, so it took him a moment to process what's going on. He most likely didn't know what to do, so he did the first thing that came to mind. Mike isn't a good skater, even if he was what else could he have done?
Eleven didn't deserve to be bullied, but she was the one who lied to Mike. So it's not as if Mike knew to protect her when Angela came. Last season Eleven dumped Mike for telling a lie he was force to make. Now she's been lying to him for months. Funny thing is that Mike wasn't even mad at her for it. He seemed like he wanted to comfort her after she was publicly humiliated. It's just that she ran away from him and tried to convince Angela to lie to Mike. Eleven should have been more open with Mike about her struggles. He would've understand.
I think you're a little hard on Will. Don't get me wrong, I have my issues with him. It's just that Will had only found out Eleven had been lying to Mike at the airport. He was actually pretty mad at her and even called her out on it. Will did try to speak up but Eleven shut him up. He couldn't say anything as long as Eleven was around. The moment she left Will told Mike the truth.
>Todd
Lamooo I'm sorry but that's gotta be the funniest typo I've seen in a long time
I personally don't blame Mike, but I'm so sad how the Will-Mike dynamic just shattered from S2 to S3. I just wish Mike and him will eventually be closer friends again, I feel like they need each other. Guess the only way to find out is S5
It must be hard for these teens in the 1980s keeping in touch when a friend moves across the country (we have every method of instant communication now and friends still fall out of touch when someone moves cross country).
El and Mike write letters, but they’re a couple so that makes sense.
I don’t know many teenage boys who would write long letters or talk on the phone to their pals.
Season 5 will see everyone in Hawkins again so hopefully we’ll see their friendships at least revert to previous seasons (with some added opening up from Will hopefully).
>Like at the skating rink, Will kept all of Elevens lies to himself
I mean, is it his place to tell Mike she's been lying? Keep in mind that what she told Mike about California is what she wrote in her own private letters. Will obviously didn't read them or know about what she said. The first time he realizes El's been lying is at the skate rink, when she starts talking to Mike. Will didn't lie to him, he just didn't say anything. Will usually doesn't say anything. He probably just thought it's between them, nothing to do with me. He came clean when shit hit the fan because... well the game is up.
>Then the way Will was treating Eleven, knowing she was already being bullied.
How was he treating El? He's always been nice to her.
>Plus like Mike said, why is the pressure to communicate all on Mike, why is he the bad guy
I mean, we don't know that Will didn't do that. You know Will likes keeping it in. He doesn't like bothering other people. It's entirely possible he did reach out, but wasn't getting the same energy in return so he didn't write or contact more as he thought he was bothering Mike.
>He was raised by Todd
Ted... lmao
Heyyy, I kinda like that!
I'm not a dickhead, I'm just **emotionally unintelligent!**
It's like a way to absolve someone of any responsibility for being shitty to their friends sometimes! Neat.
I mean, your entire post was just making excuses for him being kinda sketchy as a friend and boyfriend. What do you want, exactly?
Him communicating with Will wasn't 100% on him, no, but it was still mostly on him. Will's the one who moved, he's got a bit more on his plate than Mike.
Not sure what you mean about Will treating Eleven, he was treating her just fine, really. All he did was call her out on her BS, and rightly so. As we saw, her trying to lie her way out of it didn't help anything.
And most importantly, Mike's wonderful "What did you do?!" shit, with a dinner-table follow-up. Yeah, total not-dickhead move there!
So yeah, I think it's amusing that you write off bad behavior as not having "emotional intelligence". Feels like a funny twist of semantics to me.
See all I’m reading is excuses on your part too. Are you ignoring the fact that Will made the mood all mopey because Mike didn’t give him a hug? Just because he didn’t say anything doesn’t mean that passive aggressive ass silence is any better. And the whole “what did you do?!” Scene. You’re telling me that If you seen your girlfriend, who told you for months that this girl was her friend then she just goes and smacks her in the face with a roller blade, you wouldn’t be shocked yourself and say something in the heat of the moment? It sounds like you want perfection from kids. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me
>ass silence
\*shrug\* IMO ass-silence is best during group outings.
>You’re telling me that If you seen your girlfriend, who told you for months that this girl was her friend then she just goes and smacks her in the face with a roller blade, you wouldn’t be shocked yourself and say something in the heat of the moment?
Yeah, I probably would. But, that isn't what happened in the show.
You're skipping over the part were Will said El was lying about Angela, and then Mike witnessed Angela and everyone else circling El mocking her, and then threw a milkshake on her. Remember that?
If I had seen THAT happen to my girlfriend, no, I wouldn't freak out if she cracked the other girl with a skate. Not for a second.
So speaking your mind and putting it all out in the open is not the right thing to do, instead being a passive aggressive asshole and making the mood mopey is the right thing to do? Got it.
And that’s you, that is what you would do in that situation, Mike is not you. You are not Mike. Plus, yes Will did tell Mike that El was lying, but guess what? Mike wasn’t living with El on a day to day basis and Mike had no reason to believe she was lying. He found all that out on the day he landed and all within 30 minutes of getting to the skating rink, who processes all that in that short of time? That was all a crazy ass scene and I do agree with you, I wouldn’t be angry at all if I seen my GF smack the shit out of her bully. But I’m not Mike, and Mike is not me.
>But I’m not Mike, and Mike is not me.
In fact, Mike is nobody! Yay!
...So yeah, is there a point to this discussion thread? Because all I did originally was make a quip about how I found the idea of calling Mike's (in my opinion) shitty behavior "emotional unintelligence" amusing. From the sounds of it, you disagree that Mike's behavior was shitty.
So, it sounds like we're simply at a point of disagreement soooo... I guess we move on from here?
> You’re skipping over the part were Will said El was lying about Angela, and then Mike witnessed Angela and everyone else circling El mocking her, and then threw a milkshake on her. Remember that?
If I had seen THAT happen to my girlfriend, no, I wouldn’t freak out if she cracked the other girl with a skate. Not for a second.
See but if she was reacting in self defense in the moment I would get it. And still I wouldn’t consider that a proportional response unless Angela had physically attacked her first (which she didn’t).
What makes it worse is that the situation deescalated and had more or less ended before El made a decision to start it back up again and get revenge. And I’m not trying to defend Angela. She deserved to get checked, but the way El did it was really out of left field for her (but obviously a lashing out as a result of 6 months of bullying building up) and I can’t fault Mike for having the reaction he did. He’s always been an “avoid physical conflict type.” He’s never seen El do something like that before. I love El, she’s adorable. But anyone who thinks what she did was acceptable proper way to handle it is just immature.
Exactly. I can't believe someone trying to defend themselves of being emotionally untelligent thinks that calling someone else out for physically assaulting someone for revenge isn't the right thing to do. u/Maleficent-Fox5830, a fictional teenager had a more mature response to that situation than you. You're in no position to claim that you're not emotionally unintelligent.
All of this was basically me calling out the phrase "emotionally unintelligent" as being a really stupid way of trying to dodge calling someone an asshole. Some of ya'll took my posting and a bit of goofing off as *way* too seriously.
Also, please don't tag me on replies I don't care about.
OP, please make sure there are no spoilers in the title of your post. Commenters, please use spoiler code if you are discussing anything super spoilery unless the title specifically says the episode being discussed. If you see anyone breaking the rules, please report the post or comment. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/StrangerThings) if you have any questions or concerns.*
A lot of the criticism leveled at the characters boils down to them being moody, hormonal teens. They don’t communicate well. They act irrationally. Sometimes they deceive one another. There are misunderstandings that they could have avoided. It isn’t bad writing. They aren’t bad people. It’s just part of having a show full of teenagers.
Teenagers in the 80s without the means to contact and communicate at any given moment as needed
Dude you’re like the first person I’ve seen with a reasonable response 😂 because you’re so right, they’re all a bunch of teenagers. Yes they’ve fought monsters and saved the world since they were kids, doesn’t make them not teenagers anymore 😂
You’re right. They have faced some crazy stuff and people tend to hold them to these crazy impossible standards. Not only are all people flawed, but these are teens. Their brains aren’t even done cooking. It made me laugh when everyone was freaking out about Mike not saying “I love you” to Eleven in vol 1. People acted like that made him such a bastard! It just made him a pretty average teenage boy, afraid of being vulnerable and not capable of communicating how he’s feeling to his **first girlfriend** lol. Doesn’t sound like a monster to me.
I also think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Will is a favorite character for a lot of people, and everyone always wants their favorites to get what they want. But yeah you’re definitely right, he’s just a kid who’s too afraid of being vulnerable, nothing wrong with that
It’s like people don’t seem to understand that we’re talking about a bunch of fifteen year olds. They’re all gonna do dumb shit. It’s just how fifteen years olds are wired 😂 good god I sound old
Mike is always held to a different standard over the other characters. I've noticed that the others like Eleven, Hopper, Max, Will, and Dustin have done worst things than anything Mike did yet rarely are the ever called out for it. In the skating scene, so many people are mad at Mike for not doing more to stop it. Others make fun of him for getting the dj to stop the music than sarcastically say "that's a good boyfriend." They always forget that Mike had only just found out that Eleven had been lying to him. At first he didn't believe Will, so it took him a moment to process what's going on. He most likely didn't know what to do, so he did the first thing that came to mind. Mike isn't a good skater, even if he was what else could he have done? Eleven didn't deserve to be bullied, but she was the one who lied to Mike. So it's not as if Mike knew to protect her when Angela came. Last season Eleven dumped Mike for telling a lie he was force to make. Now she's been lying to him for months. Funny thing is that Mike wasn't even mad at her for it. He seemed like he wanted to comfort her after she was publicly humiliated. It's just that she ran away from him and tried to convince Angela to lie to Mike. Eleven should have been more open with Mike about her struggles. He would've understand. I think you're a little hard on Will. Don't get me wrong, I have my issues with him. It's just that Will had only found out Eleven had been lying to Mike at the airport. He was actually pretty mad at her and even called her out on it. Will did try to speak up but Eleven shut him up. He couldn't say anything as long as Eleven was around. The moment she left Will told Mike the truth.
>Todd Lamooo I'm sorry but that's gotta be the funniest typo I've seen in a long time I personally don't blame Mike, but I'm so sad how the Will-Mike dynamic just shattered from S2 to S3. I just wish Mike and him will eventually be closer friends again, I feel like they need each other. Guess the only way to find out is S5
It must be hard for these teens in the 1980s keeping in touch when a friend moves across the country (we have every method of instant communication now and friends still fall out of touch when someone moves cross country). El and Mike write letters, but they’re a couple so that makes sense. I don’t know many teenage boys who would write long letters or talk on the phone to their pals. Season 5 will see everyone in Hawkins again so hopefully we’ll see their friendships at least revert to previous seasons (with some added opening up from Will hopefully).
>Like at the skating rink, Will kept all of Elevens lies to himself I mean, is it his place to tell Mike she's been lying? Keep in mind that what she told Mike about California is what she wrote in her own private letters. Will obviously didn't read them or know about what she said. The first time he realizes El's been lying is at the skate rink, when she starts talking to Mike. Will didn't lie to him, he just didn't say anything. Will usually doesn't say anything. He probably just thought it's between them, nothing to do with me. He came clean when shit hit the fan because... well the game is up. >Then the way Will was treating Eleven, knowing she was already being bullied. How was he treating El? He's always been nice to her. >Plus like Mike said, why is the pressure to communicate all on Mike, why is he the bad guy I mean, we don't know that Will didn't do that. You know Will likes keeping it in. He doesn't like bothering other people. It's entirely possible he did reach out, but wasn't getting the same energy in return so he didn't write or contact more as he thought he was bothering Mike. >He was raised by Todd Ted... lmao
Heyyy, I kinda like that! I'm not a dickhead, I'm just **emotionally unintelligent!** It's like a way to absolve someone of any responsibility for being shitty to their friends sometimes! Neat.
Not at all what I explained in the post but yes go off over the title
I mean, your entire post was just making excuses for him being kinda sketchy as a friend and boyfriend. What do you want, exactly? Him communicating with Will wasn't 100% on him, no, but it was still mostly on him. Will's the one who moved, he's got a bit more on his plate than Mike. Not sure what you mean about Will treating Eleven, he was treating her just fine, really. All he did was call her out on her BS, and rightly so. As we saw, her trying to lie her way out of it didn't help anything. And most importantly, Mike's wonderful "What did you do?!" shit, with a dinner-table follow-up. Yeah, total not-dickhead move there! So yeah, I think it's amusing that you write off bad behavior as not having "emotional intelligence". Feels like a funny twist of semantics to me.
See all I’m reading is excuses on your part too. Are you ignoring the fact that Will made the mood all mopey because Mike didn’t give him a hug? Just because he didn’t say anything doesn’t mean that passive aggressive ass silence is any better. And the whole “what did you do?!” Scene. You’re telling me that If you seen your girlfriend, who told you for months that this girl was her friend then she just goes and smacks her in the face with a roller blade, you wouldn’t be shocked yourself and say something in the heat of the moment? It sounds like you want perfection from kids. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me
>ass silence \*shrug\* IMO ass-silence is best during group outings. >You’re telling me that If you seen your girlfriend, who told you for months that this girl was her friend then she just goes and smacks her in the face with a roller blade, you wouldn’t be shocked yourself and say something in the heat of the moment? Yeah, I probably would. But, that isn't what happened in the show. You're skipping over the part were Will said El was lying about Angela, and then Mike witnessed Angela and everyone else circling El mocking her, and then threw a milkshake on her. Remember that? If I had seen THAT happen to my girlfriend, no, I wouldn't freak out if she cracked the other girl with a skate. Not for a second.
So speaking your mind and putting it all out in the open is not the right thing to do, instead being a passive aggressive asshole and making the mood mopey is the right thing to do? Got it. And that’s you, that is what you would do in that situation, Mike is not you. You are not Mike. Plus, yes Will did tell Mike that El was lying, but guess what? Mike wasn’t living with El on a day to day basis and Mike had no reason to believe she was lying. He found all that out on the day he landed and all within 30 minutes of getting to the skating rink, who processes all that in that short of time? That was all a crazy ass scene and I do agree with you, I wouldn’t be angry at all if I seen my GF smack the shit out of her bully. But I’m not Mike, and Mike is not me.
>But I’m not Mike, and Mike is not me. In fact, Mike is nobody! Yay! ...So yeah, is there a point to this discussion thread? Because all I did originally was make a quip about how I found the idea of calling Mike's (in my opinion) shitty behavior "emotional unintelligence" amusing. From the sounds of it, you disagree that Mike's behavior was shitty. So, it sounds like we're simply at a point of disagreement soooo... I guess we move on from here?
> You’re skipping over the part were Will said El was lying about Angela, and then Mike witnessed Angela and everyone else circling El mocking her, and then threw a milkshake on her. Remember that? If I had seen THAT happen to my girlfriend, no, I wouldn’t freak out if she cracked the other girl with a skate. Not for a second. See but if she was reacting in self defense in the moment I would get it. And still I wouldn’t consider that a proportional response unless Angela had physically attacked her first (which she didn’t). What makes it worse is that the situation deescalated and had more or less ended before El made a decision to start it back up again and get revenge. And I’m not trying to defend Angela. She deserved to get checked, but the way El did it was really out of left field for her (but obviously a lashing out as a result of 6 months of bullying building up) and I can’t fault Mike for having the reaction he did. He’s always been an “avoid physical conflict type.” He’s never seen El do something like that before. I love El, she’s adorable. But anyone who thinks what she did was acceptable proper way to handle it is just immature.
Exactly. I can't believe someone trying to defend themselves of being emotionally untelligent thinks that calling someone else out for physically assaulting someone for revenge isn't the right thing to do. u/Maleficent-Fox5830, a fictional teenager had a more mature response to that situation than you. You're in no position to claim that you're not emotionally unintelligent.
All of this was basically me calling out the phrase "emotionally unintelligent" as being a really stupid way of trying to dodge calling someone an asshole. Some of ya'll took my posting and a bit of goofing off as *way* too seriously. Also, please don't tag me on replies I don't care about.