While Stranger Things 5 made a lot of noise after its last season’s release, it was also criticised for Will Byers’ (played by Noah Schnapp) coming out scene. Noah came out in January 2023. After his character’s journey as a closeted teen, the last season showed him exploring his sexuality and coming out to his loved ones. Elon Musk felt that the scene was ‘unnecessary’ and ‘forced’ on the audiences and while some sections of the audience agreed with them, others felt that it was a beautiful and emotional moment for Will. Now, the creators of the sci-fi show, Matt and Ross Duffer, have defended the narrative in a new interview.
The episode showing Will coming out with his sexual orientation to his friends before fighting Vecna, became one of the lowest rated episode of the series on IMDb. A section of people flooded social media to slam the sequence for feeling rushed, and out-of-place with characters who had less connection with him, showing lack of emotional weight that fans expected after years of build-up. While talking to Variety, Ross Duffer said, “The coming out scene is something we’ve been building to for nine years now. It was a really important scene for us, and a really important scene for Noah — not just from a thematic point of view, but also a narrative point of view.”
He continued, “This show has always been about our characters overcoming evil, and in order to overcome this evil, Vecna, in so many ways, represents all the dark thoughts and the evil of society. And for our characters to overcome that, it really becomes about embracing themselves, and then also embracing one another and coming together.“
Matt Duffer justified his character’s journey and shared that the scene was “the final step in Will’s journey, and Will is, in so many ways, the key to defeating Vecna.” “Volume 1 is really about self-acceptance, right? I mean, that’s sort of step one. And then step two is Will is talking to Robin — it’s something that he wants to do. He’s trying to figure out how to come out, and he knows that he needs to do that, and that that’s the final step for him. And he finds the courage to be able to do it. And it’s really the ultimate fuck you to Vecna. That was the intention,” he said.
He added, “We’re proud of the episode, and we’re proud of the scene, and proud of Noah, who gave a really brave, very vulnerable performance. I think that’s where Ross and I were most sensitive, was Noah — because of how close to home this hit for him. And our goal was to make sure that he was comfortable and happy with the scene. And when he was, we felt good about it. I’ve been texting with him a lot, but texting with him specifically after that scene and after that episode aired. And he’s in a really good place. He’s very proud of the scene, and we’re proud of the scene.”
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Meanwhile, during a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Noah had opened up about getting the script of the said episode. “I read it alone and just cried and I was like, ‘It’s perfect’,” he recalled. After shooting the scene, he felt “a weight off my chest reading that scene aloud with everyone. I felt like, ‘Ok, I can do this.”
He further added, “I read one through sixth episode at the table read and thought, “OK, it’s not in here. So it’s going to be in seven or eight.” And then the rest of the year I just kept needling the Duffers like, “Did you write it? How did you write it? Is it Joyce [Winona Ryder] who I’m going to be speaking with?” And they were like, “Noah, relax, we got it.” They sent out the scripts mid-summer, and I read it alone and just cried and, oh my god, I was like, “It’s perfect.” Then I spent the rest of the few months of the year stressing about making it perfect; preparing and reading it over and over and over. And then we filmed it in October.“
Stranger Things 5 is streaming on Netflix.
