History Characters / StrangerThingsTheParty

* DistressedDude: He was TrappedInAnotherWorld, waiting to be saved. He ultimately was saved from the Upside-Down, by his mother and Chief Jim Hopper. He becomes this again in Season 2 when the Mind Flayer possesses him through one of his visions.

* InternalizedCategorism: Downplayed. He alludes to sometimes feeling like a "mistake" due to his sexual orientation, but also states that Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake. Most of his {{Gayngst}} seems to stem from his belief that Mike would never like him back and because these are gay feelings, he shouldn't be allowed happiness or hope, which is a subtle form of internalized homophobia.

* ParalyzingFearOfSexuality: This is one interpretation for his lack of love life. He's the only one in the Party not to have a significant other, he spends the majority of Season 3 commenting on how love and PDA is "gross", and that he's "never going to fall in love". It also doesn't help that people have been commenting on what his potential sexuality his ''entire'' life. On top of that, he watched his parents' marriage fail too. It would be no wonder for him to be averse to finding love.

* UnreliableNarrator: The Rink-o-Mania scene is mostly shot from Will's perspective, as he is the focus for much of the scene. Will also feels unhappy because he perceives that Mike and El are ignoring and third-wheeling him and that they are being a happy couple, despite El lying to Mike. However, the first shot outside of Will's perspective, when Angela sees Mike and El skating together, they both look miserable. There is also a blink and you miss it moment when they are putting on their skates that they are both trying to force a smile. Later, Mike even says to Will that he noticed Will was rolling his eyes, moping, and barely talking, implying that Mike was actually paying attention to him, but Will and the audience didn't see it.

* TheHeart: In "Papa", Will terms him as this, gifting him a painting he'd drawn of their D&D characters fighting a 3-headed red dragon, using it as a metaphor to encourage Mike after he expresses his own feelings of inadequacy, pointing out how his character's shield bears the coat of arms of a heart. Mike doesn't really fit this specific archetype however, and Will's description of the role of the Heart matches the TheLeader much closer. Ironically, during the climatic confrontation with [[spoiler:Vecna when Will reminds Mike he is "the Heart", Mike's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove to Eleven ''isn't'' what enables her to overpower the stronger psychic during a pivotal moment for the various groups to start making headway against him and the Upside-Down monsters he shares a [[HiveMind mind-link]] with. It's only when she finally sees Max getting hurt do the vines loosen and she breaks free]].

* KiddieKid: Downplayed and PlayedForDrama. In season 3, the Party members are all 14, but Will still wants nothing more than to play D&D like they all did when they were 12 and is annoyed at how obsessed with relationships the others are. Mike and Lucas are similarly annoyed by Will's reluctance to grow up, leading to a massive fight in which Mike calls Will out on this.

* SingleIssueWonk: His only concern in Season 3 seems to be about playing D&D with his friends who themselves are not interested anymore. He grows out of this towards the end of the season.

[[folder:Eleven]]
->Has her [[Characters/StrangerThingsEleven own page]].
[[/folder]]

* CoolLoser: A tomboyish social outcast who's quite the cool person.

* AlcoholicParent: While Max's mother seemed a decent enough parent in the second season, by Season 4 the divorce and Billy's death have taken a toll on her, leading to some ParentalNeglect of Max.

* ADayInTheLimeLight: "Runaway Max" is one for her, detailing both the events of Season 2 from her perspective and her backstory.

* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: When Eleven is trying to located a [[spoiler:Flayed!Billy]], Mike is incredibly worried for her safety. Everyone present tries to reassure him but to no avail, as he impulsively states he loves her and is afraid of losing her. [[spoiler:He is immediately regretful however and tries to play it up like he doesn't know what she's talking about when El eventually confesses that she heard him and loves him too]].
** After a year of not saying it outright to Eleven, Mike finally declares his love for her while she's under Vecna's curse to give her a fighting chance against her arch-enemy. [[spoiler:It doesn't work, El is unable to save Max and neither Mike nor El are speaking to each other after the confession]].

[[Characters/StrangerThingsMainCast Main Cast]] ([[Characters/StrangerThingsSteveHarrington Steve Harrington]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsBillyHargrove Billy Hargrove]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsRobinBuckley Robin Buckley]]) | '''The Party''' ([[Characters/StrangerThingsEleven Eleven]]) | [[Characters/StrangerThingsSupportingCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsHawkins Hawkins]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsHawkinsNationalLaboratory Hawkins National Laboratory]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsTheUpsideDown The Upside Down]] ([[Characters/StrangerThingsTheMindFlayer The Mind Flayer]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsVecna Vecna]]) | [[Characters/StrangerThingsOutsiders Outsiders]]-]]]]]

* TheHeart: In "Papa", Will terms him as this, gifting him a painting he'd drawn of their D&D characters fighting a 3-headed red dragon, using it as a metaphor to encourage Mike after he expresses his own feelings of inadequacy, pointing out how his character's shield bears the coat of arms of a heart. Mike doesn't really fit this specific archetype however, and Will's description of the role of the Heart matches the TheLeader much closer. In an ironic subversion, during the climatic conformation with [[spoiler:Vecna when Will reminds Mike he is "the Heart", Mike's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove to Eleven ''isn't'' what enables her to overpower the stronger psychic during a pivotal moment for the various groups to start making headway against him and the Upside-Down monsters he shares a [[HiveMind mind-link]] with. It's only when she finally sees Max getting hurt do the vines loosen and she breaks free]].

* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: When Eleven is trying to located a [[spoiler:Flayed!Billy]], Mike is incredibly worried for her safety. Everyone present tries to reassure him but to no avail, as he impulsively states he loves her and is afraid of losing her.

* OfficialCouple: With Eleven by the end of Season 2. [[spoiler:Eleven dumps him early in Season 3 when he lies to her for the first time, but she's more angry at him for lying than wanting to end the relationship. After they save each other from a Flayed Billy, they're on the road to a quick reconciliation. Additionally, Mike begins to understand that he was becoming too possessive of Eleven. By the end of the season, they are not only planning a LongDistanceRelationship when the Byers move out of Hawkins and take Eleven, but have also admitted they love each other]].

* DemotedToSatelliteLoveInterest: While in Season 1 and 2 he was the closest thing the series had to a protagonist and leader of The Party, his main role is reduced in Season 3 when he becomes Eleven's boyfriend. Mike's plot in Season 3 is mainly focused on his relationship with El and his concern about her wellbeing, while letting go of his other relationships. While for most of Season 4, his arc is primarily about reconnecting with his childhood best friend Will, healing the damage caused my Mike's behavior in Season 3 and from their six month separation on top of his reconciliation with Eleven, the most important thing he does plot wise is tell Eleven that he loves her in the final battle against Vecna.

* TheHeart: In "Papa", Will terms him as this, gifting him a painting he'd drawn of their D&D characters fighting a 3-headed red dragon, using it as a metaphor to encourage Mike after he starts worrying about Eleven moving on after the crisis situation they're in is over, and his own feelings of inadequacy, pointing out how his character's shield bears the coat of arms of a heart. Noticeably, during the climatic conformation with [[spoiler:Vecna, Mike's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove to Eleven is what enables her to overpower the stronger psychic during a pivotal moment for the various groups to start making headway against him and the Upside-Down monsters he shares a [[HiveMind mind-link]] with]].

[[Characters/StrangerThingsMainCast Main Cast]] ([[Characters/StrangerThingsSteveHarrington Steve Harrington]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsRobinBuckley Robin Buckley]]) | '''The Party''' ([[Characters/StrangerThingsEleven Eleven]]) | [[Characters/StrangerThingsSupportingCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsHawkins Hawkins]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsHawkinsNationalLaboratory Hawkins National Laboratory]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsTheUpsideDown The Upside Down]] ([[Characters/StrangerThingsTheMindFlayer The Mind Flayer]] | [[Characters/StrangerThingsVecna Vecna]]) | [[Characters/StrangerThingsOutsiders Outsiders]]-]]]]]

* DemotedToSatelliteLoveInterest: While in Season 1 and 2 he was the closest thing the series had to a protagonist and leader of The Party, his main role is reduced in Season 3 when he becomes Eleven's boyfriend. Mike's plot in Season 3 is mainly focused on his relationship with El and his concern about her wellbeing, while letting go of his other relationships. While for most of Season 4, his arc is primarily about reconnecting with his childhood best friend Will, healing the damage caused my Mike's behavior in Season 3 and from their six month separation, the most important thing he does plot wise is tell Eleven that he loves her in the final battle against Vecna.

* LoveAtFirstSight: Invoked by Mike when he says as much in his [[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove speech to Eleven]] in the Season Four finale. He is also lying, making this trope an aversion, as the first night Mike and El met in season 1, Mike planned to get rid of El the next day, sending "her to Pennhurst or wherever she came from" to focus on finding Will. Only when El demonstrates that she might know more about Will than first assumed does he grow to love and care for her.

* BreakTheCutie: Although Mike has shown signs of depression since Season 1 [[note]] Mike thinking that dying/jumping off a cliff is the best option so Dustin doesn't get his teeth cut out is the kind of thing that puts people on suicide watches in real life [[/note]], he was generally the WideEyedIdealist of the Party. Witnessing Eleven's fake-out death by exhausting her powers fighting the Demogorgon sends Mike into a depression in Season 2, stuck in the denial phase and behaving more apathetic and introverted than before. In Season 3, he is paranoid about El’s overuse of her powers (as it lead to her "death" last time and he blames himself for that), [[spoiler:and is ultimately proven right to be worried when she loses them]]. The tie-in-book ''Lucas on the Line'' shows that Mike was heavily mentally impacted by the events at Starcourt and the Byers leaving, not hanging out with Lucas and Dustin by refusing to leave his basement and turning it into "the armpit" that is shown in Season 4. By the time Season 4 is happening, his grades have slipped and he’s barely eating in meal scenes, far from the smiling, cheerful kid he was at the beginning of Season 1.

* DemotedToSatelliteLoveInterest: While in Season 1 and 2 he was the closest thing the series had to a protagonist and leader of The Party, from Season 3 when he becomes Eleven's boyfriend all his role is focused on his relationship with her and his concern about her wellbeing. His plot in Season 3 is pretty much focused on improving his relationship with his girlfriend and letting go of his other relationships, including his sister Nancy. While for Season 4 he is totally focused on finding her, blaming himself for not telling her his feelings correctly and the most important thing he does is tell Eleven that he loves her in the final battle against Vecna.

** After a year of not saying it outright to Eleven, Mike finally declares his love for her while she's under Vecna's curse, to give her a fighting chance against her arch-enemy. [[spoiler:It doesn’t work, El is unable to save Max and neither Mike nor El are speaking to each other after the confession]].

* BreakTheCutie: Although Mike has shown signs of depression since Season 1 [[note]] Mike thinking that dying/jumping off a cliff is the best option so Dustin doesn’t get his teeth cut out is the kind of thing that puts people on suicide watches in real life [[/note]], he was generally the WideEyedIdealist of the Party. Witnessing Eleven’s fake-out death by exhausting her powers fighting the Demogorgon sends Mike into a depression in Season 2, stuck in the denial phase and behaving more apathetic and introverted than before. In Season 3, he is paranoid about El’s overuse of her powers (as it lead to her “death” last time and he blames himself for that), [[spoiler:and is ultimately proven right to be worried when she loses them]]. The tie-in-book ''Lucas on the Line'' shows that Mike was heavily mentally impacted by the events at Starcourt and the Byers leaving, not hanging out with Lucas and Dustin by refusing to leave his basement and turning it into "the armpit" that is shown in Season 4. By the time Season 4 is happening, his grades have slipped and he’s barely eating in meal scenes, far from the smiling, cheerful kid he was at the beginning of Season 1.

* CannotSpitItOut: Mike shows extreme discomfort with expressing romantic feelings toward Eleven and has a hard time voicing his romantic intentions. In Season 1 he tried, struggled, and failed to put his feelings in a romantic context so decided to just [[AwkwardKiss kiss]] [[FirstKiss her]] instead. In Season 3 he could not bring himself to even ''say'' the word "love" in front of Eleven let alone the phrase "I love you". It ultimately took a heated argument with his friends for him to admit it out loud, albeit accidentally, though with El being in the next room she doesn't hear him say it. [[spoiler:At least that's what Eleven let's Mike think at the time, before revealing that she not only heard, she also loves him]]. Even in Season 4, [[spoiler:he can't bring himself to even ''write'' that he loves Eleven, much to Eleven's frustration. It’s so bad that a FreezeFrameBonus on El’s shrine to Mike reveals that he bought her a valentines day card that doesn’t say love on it, instead saying "I like you"]]. By the end of Season 4, [[spoiler:Mike finally says it to her (see AnguishedDeclarationOfLove). However, he never actually looks El in the eye to say it, and ultimately needs encouragement from Will when she’s in a life or death situation with a grimace on his face]].

* CryIntoChest: In Season 1, Mike is absolutely distraught when Will’s fake body is pulled from the quarry, yelling at El for lying to him and getting his hopes up before biking home alone crying. When he gets home, his mother notices and Mike breaks down into her chest.

* InsecureLoveInterest: Mike feels inadequate to El, which he confides to Will about in Season 4. Mike idolizes El’s powers, yet almost every time that he has been brave, El has saved him. He feels indebted to her, that he isn’t special and it could’ve been anyone who helped her that night him, Lucas and Dustin stumbled on her in the woods, that it was simple dumb luck. Mike feels he took advantage of her vulnerability in the beginning when she needed him then, but now she doesn’t need him to save her life anymore, and Mike is terrified that El is realizing this too.

** Mike is the most zealous of his friends in his search for Will and leads the charge. After Will’s fake body is pulled from the quarry, he is the only other person initially besides Joyce who is adamant that Will is alive, recognizing Will’s voice on his walkie-talkie and convinces Lucas and Dustin that he is right. When Will is finally rescued, Mike is the only one of his friends to stay up in the hospital and is the first to reach and hug Will.

* IWillWaitForYou: As revealed in Season 2, he's [[spoiler:been calling out to Eleven for 353 days, not having giving up hope that she's still alive. He doesn’t go looking for her however, despite seeing her through a window]].

* StarCrossedLovers: Lampshaded by Dustin and Argyle in Seasons 3 and 4, both comparing Mike and El to [[Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet Romeo and Juliet]] respectively. In Season 3, Hopper serves as an outside force working against them which is similar to Romeo and Juliet’s story of disapproving family member(s).

* BreakTheCutie: In Season 2. Due to Eleven's disappearance, he has become a pretty unhappy, depressed boy, stuck in the denial phase and behaving more apathetic and introverted than before. This gradually gets worse as horrific situations advance in the plot. [[spoiler:Being reunited with Eleven in "The Mind Flayer" was honestly the first time he seemed genuinely happy all season.]]

** After a year of not saying it outright to Eleven, Mike finally declares his love for her while she's under Vecna's curse, to gives her a fighting chance against her arch-enemy. [[spoiler:It doesn’t work, El is unable to save Max and neither Mike nor El are speaking to each other after the confession]].

* GuileHero: Mike is incredibly deductive, clever, and strategic for his age.

** After a year of not saying it outright to Eleven, Mike finally declares his love for her while she's under Vecna's curse, which gives her a fighting chance against her arch-enemy. [[spoiler:It doesn’t work, El is unable to save Max and neither Mike nor El are speaking to each other after the confession]].

* ArmorPiercingResponse: "It's not my fault you don't like girls", which he says to Will when their season long tension comes to a boil.

* PineappleRuinsPizza: In season 4, in contrast to Eleven, he's disgusted by the very idea of pineapple on pizza.

* CannotSpitItOut: Mike shows extreme discomfort with expressing romantic feelings toward Eleven and has a hard time voicing his romantic intentions. In Season 1 he tried, struggled, and failed to put his feelings in a romantic context so decided to just [[AwkwardKiss kiss]] [[FirstKiss her]] instead. In Season 3 he could not bring himself to even ''say'' the word "love" in front of Eleven let alone the phrase "I love you". It ultimately took a heated argument with his friends for him to admit it out loud, albeit accidentally, though with El being in the next room she doesn't hear him say it. [[spoiler:At least that's what Eleven let's Mike think at the time, before revealing that she not only heard, she also loves him]]. Even in Season 4, [[spoiler:he can't bring himself to even ''write'' that he loves Eleven, much to Eleven's frustration. It’s so bad that a FreezeFrameBonus on El’s shrine to Mike reveals that he bought her a valentines day card that doesn’t say love on it, instead saying "I like you".]]

* CannotSpitItOut: Mike shows extreme discomfort with expressing romantic feelings toward Eleven and has a hard time voicing his romantic intentions. In Season 1 he tried and struggled to put his feelings in a romantic context so decided to just [[AwkwardKiss kiss]] [[FirstKiss her]] instead. In Season 3 he could not bring himself to even ''say'' the word "love" in front of Eleven let alone the phrase "I love you". It ultimately took a heated argument with his friends for him to admit it out loud, albeit accidentally, though with El being in the next room she doesn't hear him say it. [[spoiler:At least that's what Eleven let's Mike think at the time, before revealing that she not only heard, she also loves him]]. Even in Season 4, [[spoiler:he can't bring himself to even ''write'' that he loves Eleven, much to Eleven's frustration. It’s so bad that a FreezeFrameBonus on El’s shrine to Mike reveals that he bought her a valentines day card that doesn’t say love on it, instead saying "I like you".]]

* StarCrossedLovers: While Mike and El got to be a couple in between Seasons 2 and 3, their relationship has had to deal with at least one spanner in the works the rest of the time due to her supernatural abilities attracting some dangerous kinds of attention.

* AmbiguouslyGay: There is a surprising, yet overwhelming amount of evidence that Mike Wheeler is not attracted to girls. He displays disgust towards [[Creator/PhoebeCates Phoebe Cates]], who is brought up multiple times in the series as an indicator of attraction toward women, and his father expresses disbelief about his "son with a girl". The only girl Mike shows a modicum of interest towards is his eventual girlfriend, Eleven, although even that might not be the case. Mike pushes El’s hands off him as they make out, states multiple times he doesn’t understand the "female species" and after El dumps him the first time, he acts more inconvenienced and annoyed than sad. At the end of Season 3, El tells Mike she loves him and kisses him while he stands in front of an open closet, eyes open, arms to the side and unresponsive. Mike doesn’t even try to kiss her back. When El walks away, she looks pleased. Mike meanwhile has a distressed and confused expression rather than a happy one that she returns his feelings, which reads like he has a LastHetRomance realization. It is also a plot point in Season 4 that Mike [[CantSpitItOut can’t say “I love you”]] towards El, and indeed never actually looks El in the eye to say it, ultimately needing encouragement from Will when she’s in a life or death situation with a grimace on his face. Combine this with Mike initiating almost everything that happens between him and Will, who is canonically gay and in love with him, his lovestruck look he gives Eddie, his staring at Angela’s boyfriend Jake, having more than one poster of buff shirtless men on his bedroom wall, and his comparison of El to [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Superman]] (instead of a female superhero that would match her better) with himself as Lois Lane, Mike could very well be Gay with El as his [[TheBeard Beard]].

* AmbiguouslyGay: There is a surprising, yet overwhelming amount of evidence that Mike Wheeler is not attracted to girls. From his disgust towards [[Creator/PhoebeCates Phoebe Cates]] (brought up multiple times in the series as an indicator of attraction toward women) to Mike's father’s disbelief about his "son with a girl", and to his treatment towards his girlfriend El throughout seasons 3 and 4. Mike pushes El’s hands off him constantly as they make out, states multiple times he doesn’t understand the "female species" and after El dumps him the first time, he acts more inconvenienced and annoyed than sad. In addition, when El confesses that she loves him back at the end of season 3, Mike doesn’t move with his eyes open as she kisses him (without him kissing back) in front of an open closet. This leaves him with a distressed and confused expression when she leaves rather than happy that she returns his feelings, which reads like he has a LastHetRomance realization. It is also a plot point that Mike [[CantSpitItOut can’t say “I love you”]] to El, and indeed never actually looks El in the eye to say it after two seasons of this, ultimately needing encouragement from Will when she’s in a life or death situation with a grimace on his face. Combine all this with his multiple incidents of HomoeroticSubtext with Will (almost all incidents initiated by Mike), his lovestruck look he gives Eddie, his staring at Angela’s boyfriend Jake, him having more than one poster of a buff shirtless men on his bedroom wall, and his continued comparison of El to [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Superman]] (instead of a female superhero that would match her better), Mike could very well be Gay with El as his [[TheBeard Beard]].

** After a year of not saying it outright to Eleven, Mike finally declares his love for her while she's under Vecna's curse, which gives her a fighting chance against her arch-enemy. [[spoiler:It doesn’t work, El is unable to save Max and neither Mike nor El are speaking to each other after the confession.]]

* CannotSpitItOut: Mike tends to get flustered easily when talking about his feelings for Eleven and thus has a hard time putting his feelings into words. In Season 1 he found himself unable to directly tell her he liked her romantically so decided to just [[AwkwardKiss kiss]] [[FirstKiss her]] instead. In Season 3 he could not bring himself to even ''say'' the word "love" in front of Eleven let alone the phrase "I love you". It ultimately took a heated argument with his friends for him to admit it out loud, albeit accidentally, though with El being in the next room she doesn't hear him say it. [[spoiler:At least that's what Eleven let's Mike think at the time, before revealing that she not only heard, she also loves him]]. Even in Season 4, [[spoiler:he can't bring himself to even ''write'' that he loves Eleven, much to Eleven's frustration. It’s so bad that a FreezeFrameBonus on El’s shrine to Mike reveals that he bought her presumably the one valentines day card that doesn’t say love on it, instead saying "I like you".]]

* AmbiguouslyGay: There is a surprising, yet overwhelming amount of evidence that Mike Wheeler is not attracted to girls. From his disgust towards [[Creator/PhoebeCates Phoebe Cates]] (brought up multiple times in the series as an indicator of attraction toward women) to Mike's father’s disbelief about his "son with a girl", and to his treatment towards his girlfriend El throughout seasons 3 and 4. Mike pushes El’s hands off his face constantly as they make out, states multiple times he doesn’t understand the "female species" and after El dumps him the first time, he acts more inconvenienced and annoyed than sad. In addition, when El confesses that she loves him back at the end of season 3, Mike doesn’t move with his eyes open as she kisses him (without him kissing back) in front of an open closet. This leaves him with a distressed and confused expression when she leaves rather than happy that she returns his feelings, which reads like he has a LastHetRomance realization. It is also a plot point that Mike [[CantSpitItOut can’t say “I love you”]] to El, and indeed never actually looks El in the eye to say it after two seasons of this, ultimately needing encouragement from Will when she’s in a life or death situation with a grimace on his face. Combine all this with his multiple incidents of HomoeroticSubtext with Will (almost all incidents initiated by Mike), his lovestruck look he gives Eddie, his staring at Angela’s boyfriend Jake, and his continued comparison of El to [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Superman]] (instead of a female superhero that would match her better), Mike could very well be Gay with El as his [[TheBeard Beard]].

** After a year of not saying it outright to Eleven, Mike finally declares his love for her while she's under Vecna's curse, which gives her a fighting chance against her arch-enemy. [[spoiler:It doesn’t work, El is unable to save Max and neither Mike or El are speaking to each other after the confession.]]

* CannotSpitItOut: Mike tends to get flustered easily when talking about his feelings for Eleven and thus has a hard time putting his feelings into words. In Season 1 he found himself unable to directly tell her he liked her romantically so decided to just [[AwkwardKiss kiss]] [[FirstKiss her]] instead. In Season 3 he could not bring himself to even ''say'' the word "love" in front of Eleven let alone the phrase "I love you". It ultimately took a heated argument with his friends for him to admit it out loud, albeit accidentally, though with El being in the next room she doesn't hear him say it. [[spoiler:At least that's what Eleven let's Mike think at the time, before revealing that she not only heard, she also loves him]]. Even in Season 4, [[spoiler:he can't bring himself to even ''write'' that he loves Eleven, much to Eleven's frustration.]]

** Not as strong as Joyce, but he's determined to find Will.
** As revealed in Season 2, he's [[spoiler:been calling out to Eleven for 353 days, not having giving up hope that she's still alive]].

* LoveAtFirstSight: Invoked by Mike when he says as much in his [[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove speech to Eleven]] in the Season Four finale. He is also lying, making this trope an aversion, as the first night Mike and El met in season 1, Mike planed to get rid of El the next day, sending "her to Pennhurst or wherever she came from" to focus on finding Will. Only when El demonstrates that she might know more about Will than first assumed does he grow to love and care for her.
* LoveCannotOvercome: [[spoiler:When Hopper is [[UncertainDoom seemingly]] killed, the Byers adopt Eleven. Yet they also have to move, which means Eleven and Mike have to part ways, however this is quickly {{subverted}} as they clearly intend to maintain a LongDistanceRelationship and are already making plans for regular visits.]]

** After a year of not saying it outright to Eleven, Mike finally declares his love for her while she's under Vecna's curse, which gives her a fighting chance against her arch-enemy.[[spoiler:It doesn’t work, El is unable to save Max and neither Mike or El are speaking to each other after the confession.]]

* LoveAtFirstSight: His [[WordOfSaintPaul actor]] states as such in an interview, "He's been in love with Eleven since the first season. Since he laid eyes on her." This is later canonised when Mike himself says as much in his [[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove speech to Eleven]] in Season Four finale.

* AmbiguouslyGay: There is a surprising, yet overwhelming amount of evidence that Mike Wheeler is not attracted to girls. From his disgust towards [[Creator/PhoebeCates Phoebe Cates]] (brought up multiple times in the series as an indicator of attraction toward women) to Mike's father’s disbelief about his "son with a girl", and to his treatment towards his girlfriend El throughout seasons 3 and 4. Mike pushes El’s hands off his face constantly as they make out, states multiple times he doesn’t understand the "female species" and after El dumps him the first time, he acts more inconvenienced and annoyed than sad. In addition, when El confesses that she loves him back at the end of season 3, Mike doesn’t move with his eyes open as she kisses him (without him kissing back) in front of an open closet. This leaves him with a tortured and confused expression when she leaves rather than happy that she returns his feelings, which reads like he has a LastHetRomance realization. It is also a plot point that Mike [[CantSpitItOut can’t say “I love you”]] to El, and indeed never actually looks El in the eye to say it after two seasons of this, ultimately needing encouragement from Will when she’s in a life or death situation with a grimace on his face. Combine all this with his multiple incidents of HoYay with Will (almost all incidents initiated by Mike), his lovestruck look he gives Eddie, his staring at Angela’s boyfriend Jake, and his continued comparison of El to [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Superman]] (instead of a female superhero that would match her better), Mike could very well be Gay with El as his [[TheBeard Beard]].

** After a year of not saying it outright to Eleven, Mike finally declares his love for her while she's under Vecna's curse, which gives her a fighting chance against her arch-enemy.

* AmbiguouslyGay: There is a surprising, yet overwhelming amount of evidence that Mike Wheeler is not attracted to girls. From his disgust and confusion towards [[Creator/PhoebeCates Phoebe Cates]] (brought up multiple times in the series as an indicator of attraction toward women) to his father’s disbelief about his "son with a girl", to his treatment towards his girlfriend El throughout seasons 3 and 4. Mike pushes El’s hands off his face constantly as they make out, states multiple times he doesn’t understand the "female species" and never really apologizes to her after El dumps him the first time, acting more inconvenienced and annoyed than sad. In addition, when El confesses that she loves him back at the end of season 3, Mike doesn’t move with his eyes open as she kisses him (without him kissing back) in front of an open closet, leaving him with a tortured and confused expression when she leaves rather than happy that she returns his feelings, which reads like a he has a LastHetRomance realization. It is also a plot point that Mike [[CantSpitItOut can’t say “I love you”]] to El which he still isn’t able to say to her face after two seasons of this, needing encouragement from Will when she’s in a life or death situation. Combine all this with his HoYay with Will, his lovestruck look he gives Eddie, his staring at Angela’s boyfriend Jake, and his continued comparison of El to [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Superman]] (instead of a female superhero that would match her better), Mike could very well be Gay with El as his [[TheBeard Beard]].

* SingleTargetSexuality: Not that there has been much in the way of temptation, but Mike has made it very clear he only wants to be with El.

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Of the Unlucky variety to Mike, both due to their IncompatibleOrientation and the fact that Mike is in love with Eleven (and doesn't even seem to be aware of Will's true feelings toward him).
* ClosetGay: After three seasons of being AmbiguouslyGay, Season 4 has him quietly coming to terms with his sexuality and struggling with an unrequited crush on Mike, culminating in him bursting into tears of relief after Jonathan stresses to him that [[YouAreNotAlone absolutely nothing could ever make him love Will less]]. No one other than Jonathan knows for certain that Will is gay, and he technically doesn't even come out to Jonathan either, though Will clearly realizes that Jonathan knows. While he doesn't say it out loud, his sexuality and crush on Mike [[WordOfGay have been openly discussed by multiple cast members in interviews]] as part of what drives Will and Jonathan's character arcs for the season.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In Season 4, it becomes apparent that Will's attachment to Mike is a romantic one, but he's fully aware Mike is in love with Eleven and chooses to help Mike mend his relationship with El rather than confess his own feelings. At the same time, he does seem to be really upset about the whole arrangement.
* IncompatibleOrientation: Girls throw themselves at him but he is uncomfortable every time that happens. It is also made explicit in Season 4 that he has a crush on Mike, who not only is straight but devoted to his relationship with Eleven.
* InternalizedCategorism: Downplayed. He alludes to sometimes feeling like a "mistake" due to his sexual orientation, but also states that Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake, and most of his {{Gayngst}} seems to stem from unrequited love and the fear of being rejected rather than internalized homophobia.

* MiddleChildSyndrome: Implied. His parents' attention is focused mainly on Holly's infancy and Nancy's teen angst, though this works to Mike's advantage when he goes searching for Will and hides El in their basement without anyone noticing. Downplayed in that while he doesn't get the bulk of his parents' attention, they still show concern for his emotional well-being and he seeks his mother's comfort when Will is seemingly dead and [[spoiler:when El is forced to move away.]]

* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Dismisses both Lucas and later Nancy when they imply he is smitten with Eleven, despite it being obvious.