Why Will Doesn't Say He's Gay In His Stranger Things Coming Out Scene
"It felt right for him to express it that way."
Spoiler alert: This post discusses plot details from Stranger Things Season 5, Episode 7.
Stranger Things fans have waited years for Will Byers to finally open up about his sexuality, and although that moment came in the penultimate episode of the series, it still managed to be pretty unexpected. Most notably, Will never used the word “gay” when telling all of his loved ones that he doesn’t “like girls” and is “different” from them. Showrunners Ross and Matt Duffer explained this was an intentional choice in their script.
“For us, it was just trying to make sure that the scene felt unique to both Will and unique for a coming out scene,” Ross said in a Dec. 25 Variety interview. “For us, it was about the fears — because that’s what Vecna does. He preys on the fears, which allows us to explore whether it’s someone like Max, who’s dealing with trauma and depression, or in this case, Will.”
The catalyst for Will’s tearful confession is Vecna showing him a future in which his loved one abandon him before he can ever share his truth.
“The fear is something that Vecna, what he’s talking about, feels really real and grounded to Will, which is not that everyone’s going to make fun of him or be mean to him. It’s that everyone’s going to slowly withdraw from him,” Ross continued. “Talking about it like that, and then getting the reassurance from them — once we had that, then the arc of the scene seemed to make sense, and it felt very specific to both something that Vecna would do, but also to Will as a character. That’s when it really clicked, and that’s why it also helped to have everyone there, as opposed to just Joyce.”
Matt added that he wanted the wording for Will’s speech to emphasize all the similarities he’s always had and still has with his friends.
“I would just add that another thing that helped click it for us, and why he says, ‘I don’t like girls.’ This came about once we added the other actors, his friends, into the scene,” Matt said. “It’s about how they are so similar in every way. He’s talking about everything they share in common, and how little difference there is between them, and at the end of the day, there is no difference. They’re the same people they always were. There’s just one thing that’s different about him. That’s what he’s scared of sharing with them. And that’s why it felt right for him to express it that way.”
