Mike's Anxiety in Season 2
OKAY, I really wanted to explore/discuss Mike's anxiety in season 2. Specifically around losing Will. Because the show really focuses a lot on Joyce's anxiety but rarely does it touch on Mike's (even tho its clearly hinted at).
You can see throughout the season that Mike is really protective over Will. Whenever Will gets a vision and Mike snaps him out of it. He always hugs him the exact same way. Like outside the arcade and on halloween.
It's the same huge. I don't thing it's just a sign of comfort. I feel like its also Mike's way to coping. He's ensuring himself like I got him. He's here. He's holding him close because he's afraid of letting go and losing him again.
And if you think about it. It really makes sense because Mike was one of the last people to see Will. He disappeared after leaving Mike's house. There is a sense of guilt from that. And if you remember the next day of school, he was the only party member who felt something off about not seeing Will.
Everyone else brushed it off and so he did too. And he went about his day as normal, only to find out his gut feeling was right and that Will was gone. And that stuck with him. He was right and he ignored his gut. And in season 2 you sort of get a parallel to that moment when Will goes to the doctors.
The same thing happens where Mike has a bad feeling and Lucas just tries to reassure him its nothing/downplay it. But this time Mike doesn't ignore the feeling. It sticks.
Because he knows that the last time he ignored it, he was wrong.
Along with all this you also see how much more Mike panics compared to everyone else when Will is sort of unaccounted for.
Like when he finds him in Halloween he's FRANTICALLY asking if Will was okay. He even mentioned how he couldn't find him and that scared him. He was terrified that something happened to Will again. Same thing happens when Mike notices Will wasn't there when they were looking for dart. You can see the rush of panic flood through him. He is terrified.
Like– you can't tell me that in those moments he wasn't experiencing flashbacks to when Will disappeared.
And the next day at school, when Will didn't show up . We see Mike notice and we see how much it affects him. And, unlike season 1, the first chance he gets he calls their home.
And when no one answer, he plans to immediately head to their house the second school is over.
And he doesn't just ask nicely/quietly. he keeps pushing to see Will.
Is Will here? Is he okay? Those were the first thoughts that came to his mind. He wasn't even listening to what Joyce was saying. He just needed to see Will and make sure he isn't hurt (You can literally see him try and peer through the door).
I don't know it's just so sad to see how scared Mike is of losing Will! Like the events of season 1 really affected him mentally and I just really wanted to explore it more in depth.
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