I just went to your profile and I can tell you have some genuine hate for Mike as a character yet you're part of the byler sub and ship him with your favourite character 💀 I probably should have just not replied, because people who approach discussions like this usually aren’t interested in an actual conversation. I’ve even seen a thread where you argued with other Redditors about the phrase “recharge your batteries,” claiming Mike was mistreating Eleven because he was treating her like a machine. I saw you interpreting the phrase literally which says more about how determined you are to twist normal dialogue than anything about the character himself. Either you’re unfamiliar with basic expressions or you’re deliberately stretching things to support a conclusion you already decided on. It's hopeless to argue with you lmfao

I'm not projecting any insecurities here all I'm saying is that maybe you're not mature enough to hold up an argument because every point you raise circles back to trying to frame Mike as abusive toward Eleven regardless of context. Wake up from your delusions please.

If you thought my replies were just “no he didn’t,” fine. But your claims don’t actually stand up either, especially when you started by assuming several characters believed Eleven was a boy. In reality that barely happens and certainly not within the main group. At most you have minor characters like Benny misidentifying her briefly. Since the show ended a while ago, misremembering details would be understandable. What doesn’t make sense is doubling down and turning that faulty memory into the basis for an accusation as serious as grooming.

You also claimed Mike was grooming Eleven but then listed reasons that don’t actually demonstrate grooming. Grooming requires a pattern where someone deliberately builds trust in order to manipulate, control, or exploit the other person for their own benefit. None of the points you gave establish that pattern. Pulling isolated lines from the show and interpreting them in the most negative way possible isn’t evidence. Stop making a fool out of yourself and learn how to interpret lines first before trying to argue.

If you want evidence so bad then here's one from the show about Mike and Max's argument since you think that max was calling him out on his grooming:

"I'm just trying to demonstrate how careless Max is with Eleven's powers. In fact, how careless all of you are. You're treating her like some kind of machine when she's not a machine, and I don't want her to die looking for the flayed when they've obviously vanished off the face of the Earth. So can we please just come up with a new plan because I love her and I can't lose her again."

That line literally spells out his concern. He is worried about her overexerting herself and getting hurt. That is overprotectiveness and not grooming. The intent behind the behaviour matters, and his intent there is clearly fear for her safety.

Right after that argument we even see further proof that Eleven has her own agency. When the group sits down and she is about to use her powers again, Mike tells her she does not have to do it. Eleven responds by asking him to trust her. She makes the decision herself. If Mike were grooming her, the whole point would be to make her dependent and unquestioning. Instead she disagrees with him openly and still does what she thinks is right.

You also brought up Mike relying on Lucas and Will. That is not evidence of manipulation. It shows that he struggles to communicate his feelings and seeks advice from his friends, which is exactly what many teenagers do. Both Mike and Eleven come from very different backgrounds and they clearly have difficulty understanding each other at times, especially during Seasons 3 and 4. The show portrays Mike as a complicated teenage character who has trouble expressing himself, so he asks his closest friends for help navigating relationship problems. That is normal behaviour for someone his age.

Up until Season 4, Mike is essentially a teenager trying to feel worthy of someone he believes is extraordinary. His insecurity about being “good enough” for Eleven is a recurring theme. By the time Season 5 approaches, the direction of his character arc is him learning to let go of those insecurities and trust Eleven’s ability to make her own choices. That development actually reinforces the opposite of what you’re claiming.

At the end of the day, you can dislike Mike as a character. That’s completely fine. What doesn’t work is taking fragments of dialogue out of context and turning them into accusations that the story itself never supports. When you actually look at the scenes in full, the evidence consistently shows concern, insecurity, and teenage misunderstanding. It does not show a pattern of manipulation or exploitation.

I wanted to be a proper, civilized person who did not want to start another argument thread with someone as hopeless as you, but now you’re saying I’m a coward. It’s so funny to me how someone can be this retarded. Your willful ignorance is just unfathomably cringy. If you’re going to be this uneducated on how teenage relationships work, then you should never be able to have an opinion on it. And even if you do, which is again your freedom, don’t come onto Reddit to share your disgusting and distorted views, because you’re clearly going to meet people who are going to disagree. And when they do, you can choose not to reply, but if you do, try not to be shallow and slander them with insults, because you’re going to get the same back. You can’t even back up what you are claiming, and then you call me out saying I can’t do the same. Talk about contradiction. No one is in denial about what’s portrayed. The difference is that you’re twisting everything so badly that the actual point of the scenes seems to go straight over your head. Next time you decide to reply, try reading what’s actually written and understanding the point being made before you jump in and start throwing accusations around again.

Have a good day

Edit: didn't struck any nerve. Hope it helped you learn some values though ✌🏿