Stranger Things Theory - Blog Posts

Byler analysis

Ok so I was rewatching 4x09 and the one scene with the endgame couples came up and I noticed something.

Ok so if you look at each couple, they are very clearly divided despite the expected blocking of a scene with this gravity. I’ll break down the divided sections below. ⬇️

Section one: Jopper

So the section where they are is what I would call the clearest. The air and horizon look the least contaminated and the ground in front of them only has smaller cracks. So if you look in the background of the section you can barely make out a tower that resembles a radio tower, I’ll explain the significance of this in a bit. So I would venture to say their relationship is already established, has few problems, and is not heavily involved with the supernatural plot (similar to season one). Section two: Byler

Their section is sitting directly in the middle of the shot and the largest rift, has a red looking horizon, has a heart with lightning on top of them (as does Jopper and I will explain this later as well), the ground in front of them seems very affected by the rifts. Despite them being in the middle of the biggest rift it barely divides them. They also have a radio tower in the distance, very clearly in the middle of them (probably the clearest one in the shot). Overall they are very close and have the least interference in the shot. This signifies to me that they are very crucial to the story, are involved in the supernatural plot quite a bit, their arc focuses around their relationship, and figuring out where they belong.

Section three: El

So her section is directly in the middle of the biggest plume of smoke and there is no clear horizon in her shot at all. The largest rift is directly in front of her, no radio tower in sight. Instead on her horizon is a gap in the smoke surrounded by and emitting red light. She is very clearly alone except that mike is barely in her section and very far away and Johnathan and Nancy are further into the section and closer by a little. To me this means that in season five she is going to be the main character in the supernatural plot, she is going to be dating Mike but very briefly before they both end it, and then she is going to rely heavily on platonic relationships this season.

Section four: Jancy

Theirs is interesting, in the section with their heads (that’s what I’m counting as their section) there are multiple rifts and smoke plumes, the destruction looks bad, there is a helicopter in the sky, and there is a radio tower in the distance. They are close to El so I don’t think they will be off in their own story line like season one but they will have a slightly separated storyline. The helicopter is right in front of the radio tower symbolizing an obstacle or something in their way. Steve, the helicopter represents Steve. The helicopter played a big part in helping me understand the symbolism in this shot. So I would say that they are very crucial to El and the others and they are struggling with their relationship.

Ok onto the other things.

Heart clouds:

The heart clouds represent 2 things. One is a change in the relationship, this means for Jopper and Byler their relationships will change. Why these two and not Jancy? Well let’s start with Jopper. Jopper is an established relationship and they are adults and we are going to have a time skip so it is logical to assume there will be a wedding. Also maybe a more mature change in their relationship. For Byler they have been friends the entire show, and logically ( if you are able to see very obvious subtext) they will end up dating by the end of the show. The heart represents this change in relationship from friends to dating. Jancy might breakup and their relationship might be bumpy and need repairs but overall their relationship will not change. I at least think that they will end the series by them going off to some college together and very happy. They have not had a significant chance in relationship. That is why only Jopper and Byler have the hearts. Two is the hearts also represent charged scenes between the characters since they both have lightning coming out but that’s not as important as the change in relationship.

Radio towers:

The radio towers, these really tipped me off and made me want to do this analysis. Ok so the radio towers represent a future or destination of some sort. (If you all have any better ideas of what they represent feel free to share!) they are clearly placed in front of Jopper, Byler, and Jancy. Though Jancy has the helicopter in front. These represent happy endings for the characters since they are an end point on the horizon. Now El doesn’t have one and here’s what I think that means.

El’s lack of a radio tower and what I think that means:

So, El is very obviously positioned in the biggest smoke column, which is where the upside down is bleeding into Hawkins. She doesn’t have a radio tower or even a clear horizon. This to me means that, sadly, she is foreshadowed to either not survive or be stuck in the upside down somehow. Since the radio towers represent a future/ destination and she only has something from the upside down in her section, that’s why this foreshadows that. And also what Mille said about see El’s ending.

That’s it!! Wow that was a lot of typing. Let me know if anything is off or if I should change anything. If I get a little repetitive, sorry!! I have a problem with that. If I need to elaborate on anything I totally will js ask!!!

YOU SEE THE VISION?????

Haven't seen "The First Shadow" yet,

but here me out......

Haven't seen "The First Shadow" yet,

but here me out......

i love reading all those st5 theories knowing damn well how wrong and delulu we all were before st4 but oh well. i guess im gonna be delulu again and noone can stop me

Can u guess what’s that yellow light? They happen while Nancy team in Creel Upside down and Lucas Max Erica team in Creel Hawkins?

Guys I think I’m gonna start crying I saw a post on how the “let’s start a new party, you and me” line (which till now I thought would be the last line of season 5) being something Mike would say to will as he was being vecnaed and it got me thinking (I hope no one’s said or thought of it before)

What if WHAT IF the “we’re going to do great things together, William” (or however it goes) is the ACTUAL LAST line of season five, like what if the party and everyone are like a little after a time skip and they’re celebrating vecnas BUTTT in reality vecna has permanently attached himself to will or something like 😭😭 and no one even knows 😭😭😭

Or something similar happens and the last scene is like again after party and everyone celebrating or something and it cuts to the upside down and like the monsters (mind flayer, demodogs/demobats/demogorgon or vecna) slowly start getting up and like gathering together or something like everyone thinks the upside down is dead but in reality it was just hurt or something?? 😭😭😭

(Neither of these theories work exactly well with the idea of how I want season 5 and post-season 5 to end up but I will not be sharing because it’s so cringe)

As long as will gets cool upside down powers I won’t be so mad but yeah😭

Well.. once this whole thing with Vecna blows over, at least I’ll still have my boyf-

Oh.

But I’ll still have my best fr-

Oh.

Well at least I can continue with school and maybe-

Oh.

Hello, I was curious to know more of your thoughts about Billy and Max, especially about what do you think their relationship will be like after they are reunited and how "defeating Neil" will fit into that. Thank you! <3

Oh my, you just asked one of the BIG questions! Haha my answer is gonna be longggg~~

Well, before we can predict what their relationship will be like, we have to establish what their relationship has been like so far. That may seem unnecessary, but imo people misread it pretty badly. As it turns out, Neil is central to their dynamic; Billy's fear of him colors everything, including how he treats Max.

For all his protests that "she's not my sister," Billy absolutely views Max as family. He sees his mother in her, and that drives his actions in S2. We know this from several pieces of evidence, most of which didn't become clear until we saw his memories in S3.

1) These two moments parallel each other.

In the first shot, Billy is standing behind his mom, looking past her at Neil. His mom has just thrown a plate to defend herself, but it didn't accomplish anything, and now Neil's poised to attack her. Billy's rushing forward to stop him.

In the second shot, Billy is standing behind Max, looking past her at Lucas. Max was just yelling at him for some reason - Billy doesn't know why - and now Billy's bristling. In the car, he fixates on one question: "Is he causing you trouble?" When she doesn't answer truthfully, he gets angry and orders her to stay away from Lucas. "There are certain types of people in this world that you stay away from. And that kid, Max? That kid is one of them."

Is this a racial comment? You can interpret it that way, and sure, racism could play a part somewhat. Given how "Neil-haunted" this scene is, though, I don't think racism is the main source of Billy's fear. He doesn't mean "certain types of people" as in black people. He means men who upset you, attack you, make you feel unsafe. If Max had been arguing with a girl, he wouldn't have reacted so strongly.

In an aggressive, emotionally-hamstrung way, he's trying to save Max from his mother's fate. She's young, meaning there's still hope for her. If he can pass on the lessons he's learned, teach her to take no shit and treat men with suspicion, maybe she'll be okay.

Runaway Max supports my reading:

Billy talked to me, but in this sly, confidential way, like there was something important he wanted me to understand. It was like he hated me, except for the way he went out of his way to make me just like him. Any hint of softness and he would never let me forget it. (p 52)

Sometimes, though, Billy acted like we were in on some big, crucial secret together. Like we understood each other, like he was so worried about me. And that was worse. I knew he wasn't really worried. He'd just found one more way to mess with me. (p 129)

The second quote comes on the heels of Billy yelling at her about Lucas. It tells us Max senses his worry, even though she writes it off as an act.

And then there's this...

2) Billy's relationship with Neil haunts the entire Byers house sequence in S2.

Let's set the scene. Neil has just punished Billy for failing to watch over Max. Billy rejects responsibility, arguing, "She's thirteen years old, she shouldn't need a full-time babysitter!" We can detect some resentment here if we remember how quickly Billy was forced to grow up. (He definitely didn't have a babysitter at age thirteen.)

Still, earlier scenes have informed us that, on some level, Billy's always afraid for Max's safety. He's convinced men will hurt her if he doesn't intervene. So getting chewed out by his father for failing to protect her has to sting.

When Billy arrives at the Byers house, he's carrying a toxic stew of anger, resentment, and fear. And who does he see first, standing at the door, blocking access to his sister?

Steve. A young man Billy's age.

This is where Billy really starts to lose it. As he talks to Steve, he's physically trembling and twitching, like he's feeling a slow-motion explosion of rage. (Watch the clip carefully and you'll see what I mean.) A lot is going on in his head, more than he understands, but his dialogue clues us in to some of it.

"This whole situation, Harrington, I dunno. It's giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"My thirteen-year-old sister goes missing all day, and then I find her with you, in a stranger's house... and you lie to me about it."

Kill mode engaged.

Picture the situation from Billy's perspective. He has no clue about the Upside Down or the Mind Flayer. As far as he's concerned, Steve and Max shouldn't even know each other's names, let alone hang out with each other. So, with the understanding that Billy suspects men - all men - of secretly being abusive pieces of shit, we realize he's not just blowing smoke here. He believes Steve is an actual threat to Max.

This taps into Billy's deepest fear: that Neil was right about him. He failed to protect his sister, just like he failed to protect his mother... because he's a pussy.

"What, did I raise a pussy for a son?"

That's why he goes bonkers. Shoving Steve down, antagonizing Lucas, and finally attacking Steve outright. He's lashing out, desperate to prove Neil wrong. He's not a pussy. He can protect his family from harm. He can.

To further explain his emotional state, Neil and his mom are echoed viscerally throughout the scene. In his actions, Billy replays things he's seen - and felt - them do.

>>Billy slams Lucas into a shelf. Neil did the same to Billy earlier.

This tells us Billy lumps Lucas in with men like his father. Subconsciously, he's doing what he wishes he could've done to Neil: turn the tables. Slam him into a bookshelf. Yell at him to "stay away from her!" (his mom in the past; Max in the present).

"Stay away from her. You hear me?"

>>When he's backed into a corner, Billy throws a plate at Steve like his mom did at Neil.

This tells us two things: (1) Billy lumps Steve in with Neil too, and (2) he's flashing back to that memory, whether he realizes it or not. It's seared so deeply into his mind that he can't help but relive it. And here, he feels he's in the same position as his mother, defending herself against an abuser.

It's easy to miss all of this. On the surface, Billy's just a bully who's making our heroes suffer. But beneath the surface, his motives are nuanced, complicated, even tragic. That's why he's such a compelling character.

He doesn't hate Max. He wants to protect her against a world he sees as cruel and untrustworthy. Sadly, he's so broken that he doesn't know how to do it without hurting her. His fear of monsters has driven him to become a monster himself.

It makes me think of Kali's speech to El:

"I decided to play the part [of a monster]. To stop hiding. To use my gifts against those who hurt us."

In Billy's world, as in Kali's, the only way to survive is to play the part. And just like Kali tries to teach El this lesson, he's trying to teach it to Max.

--

Okay wowwww, my answer got even longer than I expected. 😅 I'll end it there and pick it up again in a reblog or stand-alone post. So keep an eye out for that. ✌️

And Jonathan in the background.

Okay. So, this part is obviously heartbreaking. We've discussed Mike not hugging him. But look at WILL. Look at his hand. Look at how he GRIPS Mike. Like this bitch needs a hug SO BAD. He is suffering from WITHDRAWAL. MIKE PLEASE JUST FUCKING HUG HIM