We’ve talked a lot about just how gay this final season of Stranger Things was going to be, but now we can officially confirm it: this is the gayest the show has ever been.
Not only do we finally get to see Will bonding with Robin (the gays together at last), but we also watch Will (Noah Schnapp) find the courage to speak his truth to his chosen family.
It all begins early in the season when Will witnesses Robin (Maya Hawke) and Vickie share a secret kiss in episode one. Instead of shrinking away, Will later jokes and laughs about it with Robin, a small but powerful moment that signals how far he’s come. We also get so many Will and Robin scenes and honestly, it’s what we deserve.
In an exclusive interview, Schnapp opened up about what that dynamic meant for him and Will.
“It was so nice to get our gays in one frame. I loved working with Maya and she absolutely finally helped Will come out of his shell and make him feel comfortable that he’s not alone in this and that he can be himself.”
It all started when Will was taken into the Upside Down, and the kid hasn’t been the same since. He’s seen a lot of dark things throughout this show, but it’s nice to see him feeling comfortable and laughing with someone amid the trauma. “It was just fun to play with her and get to laugh and actually smile on screen and not just cry all the time like I’m always doing,” he continued.
Later in Volume 2, Vecna targets Will in the most devastating way possible, invading his mind and preying on his deepest insecurities. He forces Will to confront a terrifying vision of a future where his family doesn’t accept him because of his sexuality. It’s that fear that Will ultimately refuses to let define him. With a crucial pep talk from Robin in the back of his mind, he takes control of his own story and comes out to everyone at once in an emotionally charged scene near the end of the chapter.
Schnapp described filming the moment as one of the most intense experiences of his career.
“Yeah, man, a lot of emotions. Probably one of the most emotional, if not the most, I’ve ever had on the show,” he tells Pride.com in a roundtable.
“And the fact that the entire cast was there and it wasn’t just a Will-Joyce scene, was all the more emotional because I’d never had the chance to sit down with them and really tell them personally what my truth is. And it was a lot of pressure because you want to get it right for all these people out there who are struggling with those same self-identity issues.
“So I prepared for it more than I’ve ever have for a scene. And it was like cathartic almost to get to do that with the cast. And after the scene, the day wrapped and they cut and it just became real tears. I was crying, hugging Charlie [Heaton], and it just all felt so real.”
The scene also hits harder because Will’s journey closely mirrors Noah Schnapp’s own. Will’s sexuality became a major point of conversation in season four, when the show finally gave him space to explore his identity after years of survival-mode storytelling. His arc unfolded slowly and deliberately, allowing the moment to feel earned rather than sudden.
Just months after that season aired, Schnapp came out publicly, joking online that his family and friends already knew. “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.”
Co-creator Matt Duffer echoed just how raw this moment was on set.
“It was emotional on the day. And that was mostly the first take that we used. I really wanted to stay out of Noah’s way. I just said, ‘What order do you want to do this in?’ And he said, ‘Just start with the wides so I can kind of warm up into it and then let’s move right into the closeup.’ Because he was so amped up, he’s like, ‘Let’s just get it done.’”
“He wasn’t acting at that point. It felt so raw, real and so vulnerable.”
Duffer added that the emotion didn’t stop once the cameras were rolling.
“But then Noah, he had to perform the scene the rest of the day. I mean, he did it. Noah’s such a kind actor and he went 100% all day, even when he was off camera, which I think we got so many amazing reaction shots from the cast. Like Charlie’s performance. I mean, it’s no dialogue, it just breaks your heart watching him see his brother come out.”
With just one episode left, arriving on New Year’s Eve, the end is officially in sight. The plan is set, the group is united, and our favorites are ready to take down Henry once and for all. And if this season has proven anything, it’s that Stranger Things is ending exactly as it should: emotional, fearless, and unapologetically queer.
