The latest episodes of Stranger Things season 5 touched on Will’s sexuality – but is Mike now aware of his best friend’s crush on him?
During the second part of the final season, broadcast on Thursday December 25, Will (Noah Schnapp) couldn’t help but fight Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) until he reveals a secret he was hiding from those close to him.
“I only told you this because I don’t want you to see me differently, but the truth is I’m different. I just pretended like I wasn’t because I didn’t want to be,” Will told the group. “I wanted to be like everyone else. I wanted to be like my friends and I’m like you. I’m like you in almost every way.”
He continued: “We like Milk Duds in our popcorn with extra butter, and we like drinking Coke with Pop Rocks, and we like bike races and comic book swaps and NASA and Steve Martin and Lucky Charms and literally all the same things. I just don’t like girls.”
Will hinted that he “had a crush on someone” even though he knew “they’re not like him”, which, as viewers know, refers to his feelings for Mike (Finn Wolfhard). The camera panned to Mike’s face, but it wasn’t entirely clear if he understood what Will was referring to with his speech.
Creator Ross Duffer confirmed that Mike knew about Will’s crush on him.
“That was the intention. Once Will talks about Tammy and all that and his experience,” Ross said. People THURSDAY. “It is Mike – and his friends – who now realize and understand for the first time, even though Mike has been somewhat oblivious over these years, to what his friend is saying.”
Ross gave some insight into Mike’s mindset, adding, “It’s a measure of how Will has felt over the years. It’s about Will figuring out who he is, being less afraid and speaking out to all his friends and family.”
When Stranger Things debuted in 2016, viewers were introduced to Will as the child who suddenly disappeared in Hawkins, Indiana. The character appeared largely off-screen until he escaped from the Upside Down at the end of season 1.
Will struggled to return to his normal life as things around him changed and the monsters of the Upside Down returned. The discussion surrounding Will’s sexuality came to light during season 3, when he had an argument with Mike.
As fans continued to wonder whether Season 4 confirmed Will’s sexuality, Schnapp noted that he liked the ambiguity of his character’s love life.
“I have the impression [creators Ross and Matt Duffer] never really talking about it or being open about how Will is,” he told Variety in 2022. “I think that’s the beauty of it, that it’s just up to the audience’s interpretation of whether it’s Will who just refuses to grow up and grows slower than his friends, or whether he’s really gay.
Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, and the rest of the Stranger Things cast have evolved immensely since the series debuted in 2016. These once relatively unknown actors broke into the Hollywood industry at full speed following the drama’s massive success. “I don’t think Netflix thought it was going to be as huge as it has become, […]
The actor praised the way Stranger Things allowed Will to explore his feelings towards romance. “I find people try to put a label on it and just want to know, so much, like, ‘Oh, and this is it.’ He’s just confused and growing up. And that’s what it’s like to be a kid,” Schnapp added.
His co-star Millie Bobby Brown also applauded the show’s approach to Will’s story over the years. “Can I just say it’s 2022 and we don’t need to label things. I think what’s really great about Will’s character is that he’s just a human being going through his own demons and personal issues,” she shared during the joint interview. “So many young people don’t know, and that’s okay. It’s okay not to know. And it’s okay not to label things.”
She continued: “It’s such an incredible role for Noah to play. And to be that role model for kids who don’t know what they’re going through growing up.”
Stranger Things is currently streaming on Netflix.
