Ted Wheeler - Tumblr Posts
I could write a god damn essay on the Wheelers. And I might. I might. I might write a little essay on them and their god damn nuclear family.
Another thing to note
Mike knew the laboratory was military because of what Ted told him
me when ted wheeler’s actor implied that ted may have served in the military at some point and he seemed to be joking/genuinely didnt know what teds backstory was but like. me when ted is the only one who jumps/startles at the sound of the fireworks in s3. me when he has specific victor creel parallels that are tied to ptsd. much to think about
How to Save the World—Stranger Things 5
I’ve had some time to sleep on the episode titles and think about them, read theories, etc. and I now believe they might be real.
Hear me out: Stranger Things is all about cycles, parallels, tropes happening over and over again. The Duffers love taking a moment and repeating it in slightly different ways to prove a point. The story started with “The Vanishing of Will Byers” because we needed to place a small, innocent child in the center of our story, something to bring our character together and drive them to action. Well, that child is no longer in danger and our team is ripping apart at the seams. It’s almost like we need something similar to reunite everyone and drive them to action again.
Remember: The Duffers love parallels. Will’s disappearance brought his deeply fractured family together, uniting them for a common cause. It also brought Nancy and Jon together when their families needed them most. Now, the Byers are a united front, ready to tackle any monster that comes their way. They are the glorification of the avant-gard family. Now which family is struggling? The Wheelers. The perfect, All-American Nuclear Family: Mom, Dad, 3 kids, and a picket fence. They look perfect to the outside world, but behind closed doors, they are deeply struggling. They don’t communicate, the parents have no idea what’s happening in their children’s lives, and if they’re not careful, if they don’t come together and form a united front—they’re going to lose everything, potentially causing the end of the world. (Why? I haven’t gotten that far yet!)
Now, how do we inspire them to action? Maybe by taking the child who was born to save their crumbling marriage—the one has seen everything but, up until this point, been too young to contribute. Now, she’ll be the same age Will was when he disappeared and Mike and Will are the same age as Jon and Nancy. The Duffers are trying to illustrate the idea of “The Next Generation.” This evil, this Upside Down dimension is NEVER going to stop until someone from the Wheeler and Byers families breaks the cycle. Children will continue to vanish, the world will continue to crumble, until someone steps up and says ENOUGH. The Wheelers and Byers (parents and children) must step up and face their pasts in order to move forward.
The “Stranger Things” are not only LGBTQ+ matters, they are the skeletons we hide in the closet that literally eat us alive. They are the dark, festering parts of ourselves we don’t let anyone else see. The invisible cancers that slowly and silently kill us. Until we face them head on, until we bring them to the light, they will NEVER die. Stranger Things is about owning your past, facing your fears, and finding the light again.
So yes, Stranger Things will end with Will Byers making it home from Mike Wheeler’s house on November 6, 1983, but not in a time traveling way, in a finally letting go of that scared, pained little boy who thought the world was better off without him. It’s Mike accepting his sexuality and place in his family. His role as a leader. It’s Joyce accepting love from Hopper, who must accept that he is not actually cursed, but that sometimes, bad things happen to good people, even when they think they’re doing the right thing (Vietnam). it’s Karen and Ted falling in love again and fighting to save their family. It’s Eleven discovering that love, not anger, should fuel her powers. It’s mourning your stolen childhood while stepping into the version of yourself that child never got to be. It’s stopping the cycle and creating a better world for the Will Byers and Mike Wheelers and Jane Hoppers of tomorrow. THAT’S how you become a Hero.
Thoughts on "Escape from Camazotz"
Oppressive Suburbia, Conformity, and Season 5 Themes
I've long thought that a major focus of Season 5 will be the contrast between the families of The Wheelers and The Byers, and exploring how non-traditional family environments can be freeing vs the oppressive structure of the nuclear family.
In a Wrinkle In Time, Camazotz is a planet controlled by the big bad of the book, the "IT", who forces the citizens into a conformity that resembles American suburbia. All of the houses the same, the citizens the same, doing the same things at the same time without individual identity. Without anything different. Different means a lot of things, but with Stranger Things dropping different in reference to Will's identity and the presumable themes of this season, it will heavily codify as queerness and how it threatens the cisheterosexual family model.
Henry was raised in the 1950s, a decade still revered by conservatives for it's traditional family dynamics that supposedly were the peak of culture and happiness for all. That was all a lie, of course, and Henry knew so as he shows to Nancy and Eleven during his monologue. The second most conservative decade aside from the 1950s in American society is widely considered to be the 1980s.
The Creels will serve in parallel to The Wheelers; the worst example of what they could become and the damage that this type of family could do to a child that is different in any way. Notice how Vecna selectively shows Nancy visions of The Wheelers dying, but not anyone else she may consider family or friends (like Jonathan).
That is; unless they change their ways and come together as a healthy functioning family facing their traumas, The Wheelers will be toast.
Karen has been moved up to a main character role this season. Ted's actor says the father starts to show up more for Holly (hold that) and realizes he wants to act differently. Holly has been recast. Finn has said Mike goes on a much more personal journey this season, and steps up as a leader.
Oh, also: the catalyst for all of this is that Holly goes missing. The contrast will help show how the Byers (including El and Hopper here) were able to pull together and help solve Will's disappearance, versus how the Wheelers as a closed off nuclear family grapple with Holly's vanishing.
Each of the Byers is in some kind of a non-1950s conformist relationship, but particularly Will (not in one now but we all know he will be). I think El might represent, after she breaks up with Mike, the fear of the unmarried woman being satisfied without a husband. The above shot really emphasizes my point.
I predict that Will will end up coming out to his family rather early on, and we will see all of them immediately accept him with little surprise or push-back. Will is a visible gay man who comes from an open minded non traditional family (divorced, non-married, adoptive) that is willing to have honest conversations.
But this theme will place the most focus on the Wheelers. Mike is the main character of said family and this will particularly focus on his arc, and his acceptance of his queerness in the midst of suburban conformity.
He is not visible, he comes from a Reagan-supporting family who don't communicate with each other. He is not particularly close with his family like Will is. He pushes his feelings down and tries his damn hardest to be normal despite it all. His trauma hasn't really been addressed at all. He is falling back into his usual habits - the one thing he dared to do different (grow his hair long) has gone back to how it was.
It's not all doom and gloom though. This season above all will be a redemption arc of the American nuclear family, how they choose to escape their conformity and learn to be there for each other, thus overpowering Vecna. Not that the Wheelers are going to end this personally.
"Great, more hysteria. Just what we need". "It's the news, now indistinguishable from the tabloids".
Ted & Brenner
The fact that Brenner and Ted Wheeler are in a scene together still makes me chuckle.
I keep hearing shit about ships but don't leave out the potential
HopperxBrenner
HopperxBob
TedxBrenner
Ect.
Me, second guessing the algorithm when someone stops following me this week:
I ship Ted Wheeler and Kirk Van Houten because... C'mon!!!!
repeat after me: I ship Ted Wheeler and Lonnie Byers, both being a sad excuse for a father. An underrated ship, honestly
There are parallels between Ted Wheeler and chicken in season 1 and Steve Harrington and KFC in season 2.
Hopper, Ted, Lonnie and Brenner are all garbage fathers.
Now I can never get this picture out of my head !
Okay but really it shouldn't be that much surprising if Ted Wheeler knew what was going on behind back all along . If we pay attention to his character then we will know he is the type to observe everything . Every .Damn. Thing. which is happening in his household but still keep silence because well it's probably too much trouble ,he knew about the weirdo ,bald girl with superpowers living in his basement ,he knew Byer's boy missing was more than just a' boy on run ' ,he also knew abt the government conspiracy all along but he Chose to remain silent bcuz hey who's gonna listen to a boring -behind the desk -accountant ,not his wife flirting with 18 year olds for sure . So yah maybe there would have been a scene when after StarCourt battle ,all cops and ambulances were called along with the children's parents and Ted drove knowing the shit hit the fan this time like a Vin fucking Diesel from Fast and furious because 'Family is Everything ' but 😑.
Sorry for this rant this ,it probably doesn't even make sense .But I also believe that Holly also knew everything and she's gonna have a hell of a confusing childhood memories when she grows up !
Enjoy your chicken kids !!
ted wheeler probably drives like a snail but picture him speeding down the highway at 90 miles an hour with an expression like 😑. u can’t tell me that wouldn’t be hilarious
I actually want to punch ted wheeler in the face and give Dustin Henderson a cookie