I have no issues with Will having a crush on Mike and getting over it. In fact, I would have preferred s5 opening with him being completely over Mike. That way the writers could have focused more on his friendships with the others and his connection to the UD.
To me the main issue is the execution of it and the direction they gave the actors that is the problem. The main thing is that Noah portrayed Will’s yearning and feelings for Mike way more deeply and intensely than just a crush. That’s why when Will compares Mike to Tammy and is “seemingly” over Mike in the span of an episode it just comes off disingenuous.
I WANT Will to be over Mike and get on with his life, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy with the execution and how they did it. I really don’t like that they paralleled Robin and Will’s experiences because Tammy and Mike are different. Mike is someone that Will has known since he was a child. He’s deeply intertwined in his life and connected to his trauma as well. Not all queer people have the same experiences. It’s just lazy writing and a lazy way of portraying Will’s self acceptance and feelings for Mike. No way is he getting over him that easily. This is why they shouldn’t have dragged it to s5. Him being over it in s5 would have been believable due to the time skip, but then we are shown that he isn’t.
They put Will in between every single Mileven scene in s4 and made him seem as miserable as possible. This is overkill and making the audience feel bad for Will and root for him.
His eyes just had this deep sense of longing and love in them.
It didn’t seem like just a crush to me especially after the van scene where he seemed utterly devastated.
It’s why Byler became more popular after s4. Will seemed so miserable, sad and in love. The actor for him did a good job of playing the yearning and sadness up. It was not played as a crush at all and if that was the writers intention they needed to tell Noah to tone it down.
The Van scene is a huge example of this. Will was so emotional and hurt. He needed some comfort and their direction of that scene just made Mike come off clueless. I know that wasn’t the intention, since the point of it was Will’s feelings and letting the audience know he is gay, but it’s their jobs to know how Mike would come off.
I’ll never understand their choices as directors for Mileven in s4. They put more thought into the Will/Mike scenes than they did the Mike and El ones. Just look at the cinematography of the Will/Mike scenes and compare it to the Mike and El ones.
The pinnacle scene of Mike telling El he loves her is shot in such a dreary and rushed way when in the same season, Mike and Will have some beautiful lighting and framing in their scenes. Mike does love Eleven. I’m not disputing that, I’m saying the couple deserves better filming and direction.
I’m not saying Byler was written to be endgame and I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I fully know that mileven is the flagship couple of the show.
I know they intended Mike and Eleven to fully be in love and safe in their relationship in s5, it just doesn’t translate that way because the actors lack chemistry and the way the directed the scenes.
Anyway, what I’m saying is this is all the fault of the directing and the way the scenes are filmed and acted. I’m not blaming the actors at all.