‘Stranger Things’ Creators Defend Will’s Coming Out Scene and Confront Toxic Fan Review Bombing: ‘The Ultimate F— You to Vecna’

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for the series finale of “Stranger Things,” now streaming on Netflix.

Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of “Stranger Things,” didn’t expect the review bombing that took place after the series’ penultimate episode dropped on Netflix on Christmas Day — but they’re still extremely proud.

The three episodes brought the season’s Rotten Tomatoes score down to 56% — the lowest by far, with Season 4 sitting at 89%, Season 3 at 86%, Season 2 at 90% and Season 1 at 96%. “The Bridge,” the seventh episode, during which Will (Noah Schnapp) came out as gay to his friends before battling Vecna, became the lowest-rated episode of the series with a score of 5.6 out of 10 and 96,000 reviews.

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“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,” Ross Duffer tells Variety on Jan. 1 during a lengthy postmortem following the series finale. “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.”

The scene was “the final step in Will’s journey, and Will is, in so many ways, the key to defeating Vecna,” adds Matt Duffer. “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.”

While the episode was torn apart online, that doesn’t change how the creators feel about it.

“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,” says Ross.

The scene was extremely important for Schnapp, Matt says, and the three of them have stayed close amid the mixed reviews.

“I think that’s where Ross and I were most sensitive, was Noah — because of how close to home this hit for him,” he says. “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.”

But still, even in 2025, the online hate surprised them. “No is the honest truth,” Matt says when asked whether he’d anticipated the homophobic backlash. “Because it is, as Ross said, something we’ve been building for a really long time. I always say, Ross and I are many things, but subtle is not one of those things!”

After the episode dropped, Matt also told Variety that the duo “spent longer writing” the coming out scene than any other — and that it was all about collaboration.

“We were so concerned about getting it right. There were a lot of things that went into it. I mean, we’re definitely nervous about how it’s going to go over with everyone. But not as nervous as we were handing it over to Noah. Because ultimately, it needed to resonate and be truthful for him. We really were writing it to and for Noah. He wrote us sobbing after he read it. So it really worked and resonated for him, which was great,” he said. “On the day, frankly, there wasn’t really much direction at all. Noah spent a long time — I mean, months — prepping for that scene, that moment. Luckily, that script was done well in advance. I know he did a lot of work himself… And most of what’s in there is the first take.”

Kate Aurthur contributed to the reporting of this story.

Inside the Upside Down

• The Duffer Brothers Break Down the Series Finale
• The Duffer Brothers on Noah’s Coming Out Scene
• Noah Schnapp on His Emotional Coming Out in Volume 2
• Stranger Things Finale: How It Ended, Who Survived
• Director Shawn Levy on Key Moments of Final Season
• Noah Schnapp on His Powers Revealed in Volume 1