Spoiler alert: This story contains spoilers for the final episode of Stranger Things, currently streaming on Netflix.
Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer weren’t expecting the review bombing that followed the series’ penultimate episode on Netflix on Christmas Day, but they’re still very proud.
Three episodes brought the season’s Rotten Tomatoes score down to 56%. Season 4 was at 89%, Season 3 at 86%, Season 2 at 90%, and Season 1 at 96%, the lowest ever. Episode 7, “The Bridge”, in which Will (Noah Schnapp) comes out as gay to his friends before fighting Vecna, was the lowest-rated episode of the series with a 5.6 out of 10 and 96,000 reviews.
“The coming out scene is something we’ve been building for nine years. It was a really important scene for us, and it was a really important scene for Noah, not just from a thematic standpoint, but from a narrative standpoint,” Ross Duffer told Variety on Jan. 1 during a long post-mortem after the series finale. “This show has always been about the characters overcoming evil. And in order to overcome this evil, Vecna represents all the dark ideas and evils of society in different ways. And for our characters to overcome that, it really comes down to accepting themselves and accepting each other and coming together.”
Matt Duffer added that this scene is “the final step in Will’s journey, and Will is in many ways the key to defeating Vecna.” “Book one is really about self-acceptance, right? I mean, that’s like step one. And step two is Will talking to Robin. That’s what he wants to do. He’s thinking about how to come out, and he knows he needs to do it, and he knows it’s the last step for him. And he finds the courage to be able to do it. And it really is the ultimate fuck you for Vecna. That was the intention.”
Powered by NETFLIX © 2025
This episode has been torn apart online, but that doesn’t change the creator’s feelings.
“We’re proud of this episode. We’re proud of this scene. And we’re proud of Noah, who did a really brave and very vulnerable performance,” Ross says.
According to Matt, this scene was very important to Schnapp, and the three of them have remained close despite the controversy.
“I think the one that Ross and I were most sensitive to was Noah because this was something that was very close to home for him,” he says. “And our goal was to make sure he was comfortable and happy with that scene. And when he was happy with that scene, we felt good about it. I texted with him a lot, but especially after that scene and after that episode aired. And he’s in a really good place. He’s very proud of that scene, and we’re proud of that scene.”
But even in 2025, the online hate surprised them. When asked if he expected a homophobic backlash, Matt said, “The honest truth is no.” “Because, as Ross said, it’s something we’ve been building for a really long time. I always say, Ross and I are a lot of things, but subtle is not one of them!”
After the episode wrapped, Matt told Variety that the two had “written the coming out scene longer” than any other scene, and that it was all a collaboration.
“We were so worried about getting it right. There was a lot going on with it. I mean, we’re definitely nervous about how it’s going to go to everyone. But we weren’t as nervous as we were about giving it to Noah, because in the end it resonated with him, Because it has to be true. We were really writing it to and for Noah. He wrote us a letter sobbing after he read it. So it really worked and resonated with him, which was great,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of direction that day, frankly. Noah spent a long time preparing for that scene, that moment, months of time. Fortunately, that script had been ready for quite some time. I know he did a lot of the work himself…and most of what’s there is first takes.”
Kate Aurthur contributed reporting to this article.
• The Duffer Brothers Break Down the Series Finale
• The Duffer brothers discuss Noah’s coming out scene.
• Noah Schnapp talks about his emotional coming out in Volume 2
• Stranger Things finale: how it ended and who survived
• Coach Shawn Levy talks about key moments from final season
• Noah Schnapp talks about his powers revealed in Volume 1
