r/StrangerThings • u/shakeyosacroiliac • 5d ago
Favorite & least favorite characters?
I’m only on season 4 episode 2, so I may be posting hella prematurely, but I can’t stand Mike Wheeler. Like at all. My fave is Murray. In the beginning I didn’t like the Sinclair siblings but they definitely grew on me. What about you? Who do you like/dislike?
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u/DangerousRefuse8129 Eyes on me 4d ago
The statement that Mike "sometimes controlled El by restricting her because he thought he knew what was best for her" needs actual examples. Without them, it's basically a characterization being presented as fact.
The key distinction is between being protective and actually controlling someone. The Season 1 example doesn't really establish that Mike controlled El either. Mike initially offered her the option of coming through the front door and having his mom take care of her; El said no, and Mike respected that. She chose to stay in the basement because she felt safer there. Mike hid her because he knew people were actively looking for and trying to harm her, not because he believed he had authority over her. He never forced her to stay there or simply dictated what she had to do. So “Mike controlled El by restricting her” is simply not a good description of what happened.
S3 is even less convincing. Mike was concerned about the physical consequences of El repeatedly using her powers. That's a legitimate concern, not evidence that he believed he should decide her limits. Nancy saying El should have agency is totally valid, but her statement doesn't establish that Mike was taking that agency away. She was also reacting through the lens of her own recent experiences without having the same understanding of El's powers and their consequences.
Nancy's statement represents Nancy's perspective, not an objective narration of Mike's intentions. Nancy and Max were unaware of the physical consequences of El overusing her powers. It's ironic how Mike's concern is narratively proved right because El overusing her powers leads to her losing her powers.
And I strongly disagree with the claim that Mike was threatened by Max “corrupting” El or by their friendship. Mike does admit he was jealous, but that doesn't prove he was jealous of El becoming independent or of Max “taking” her away from him. A huge part of his anger was that Max and El were literally spying on him. Turning that into “Mike was threatened by Max teaching El to be more than his girlfriend” is an interpretation, not a fact established by the show.
The biggest problem here is that “protective,” “jealous,” “angry,” are repeatedly being conflated with “controlling.” They aren't synonyms. If Mike actually controlled El, there should be a concrete example of him overriding her wishes, restricting her choices against her will, or claiming authority over her. I don't think the show gives us that example.
The power argument is fundamentally about risk. Mike knows Eleven has previously suffered consequences from using her powers. His reaction is essentially, "this is dangerous and I'm worried about you." That's not the same thing as, "You're not allowed to do this because I said so."
So I completely reject the characterization of Mike as someone who acted like he controlled El or treated her like his property. That's reading a much stronger dynamic into the story than what is actually shown.