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Stranger Things Season 5: Duffer Brothers React to Criticism of Will’s Coming Out Scene

The Duffer Brothers said Will Byers' coming out was planned over nine years and is key to defeating Vecna, despite mixed reactions and online review-bombing.

  • Creators Matt and Ross Duffer defended Will Byers' coming-out scene in Stranger Things after it was review-bombed online.
  • Built over nine years, the Duffer Brothers said Will Byers' coming out was the 'final step' in his arc and essential to preventing Vecna from exploiting him.
  • On-Screen, Will Byers nervously tells Joyce Byers and then his friends he doesn't like girls, while Matt and Ross Duffer worked closely with Noah Schnapp to ensure he was comfortable and proud of the scene.
  • With 96,000 reviews, the penultimate episode became the series' lowest-rated and season-five ratings fell to 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the biggest outcry peaking during the Christmas rollout.
  • Will Byers, confirmed gay in season four, had prior continuity supporting his reveal, while the Netflix release schedule concentrated reactions during the holiday period.
Insights by Ground AI

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The episode containing this scene had the lowest ratings in the series' history.

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Variety broke the news in Los Angeles, United States on Friday, January 2, 2026.
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