Warning: The article below contains major spoilers for the Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2 episode “The Bridge.”
Viewers have rewarded Stranger Things’ first four seasons with Popcornmeter scores ranging from 83 to 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. But for the Netflix hit’s current fifth season — which ends with the series finale tomorrow, Wednesday, December 31 — the Popcornmeter score is practically in the Upside Down, at a lowly 56 percent.
Much of viewers’ ire comes from frustrations with the writing, the heavy exposition, and the special effects of Season 5 — and Season 5’s second volume in particular. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show has been review-bombed since the drop of Volume 2, which included the show’s penultimate episode “The Bridge,” in which Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) comes out as gay to his Hawkins friends.
In some quarters of the fandom, homophobia has, like the Demogorgon, reared its ugly head. (Anti-LGBTQ comments also contributed to the review-bombing of shows like The Acolyte and The Last of Us.)
“Stranger Things has been corrupted with the gay mind virus — totally unnecessary and skippable moments in the show,” one X user wrote. “It’s like they just scabbed on the gay parts of the story to appease someone as they have nothing to do with the actual story line.”
Another user wrote, “Trust Netflix to do what Netflix does best, push the gay agenda no matter the cost. They’ve just ruined Stranger Things. What does him being gay have anything to do with actually defeating Vecna [Jamie Campbell Bower]?”
Other viewers didn’t have an issue with Will coming out as gay as much as the timing of the scene — in Stranger Things’ eleventh hour, as it were — and the writers’ execution of such a pivotal moment.
“Something was off about the scene,” USA Today’s Kelly Lawler opined. “For five seasons, Strangerhas struggled with how to deal with Will, who started out as the show’s almost personality-less kidnap victim back in Season 1 and never developed much from there. While his coming out moment could have been triumphant and inspirational, it ends up being underwhelming and awkward.”
But other fans think Will coming out in Season 5 makes perfect sense. “Coming out in the ’80s was not an easy thing to do, and Vecna latches on to your worst fear to control you. Or maybe you all skipped the four kids he killed in Season 4?” one X user wrote. “So Will coming out should have been something you all expected to see if you have actually been paying attention. It wasn’t woke, it wasn’t an agenda. It was just part of the story. Gay kids existed in the ’80s — not a big deal — and for the final battle, Will needed to overcome his worst fear to stand a chance against Vecna.”
Stranger Things, Series Finale, Wednesday, December 31, 8/7c, Netflix and Select Theaters