Stranger Things 5 already made Will Byers a hero in Episode 4, and now the beloved series has revealed just how powerful he is when he finally accepts his true self.
In Episode 7, Will (Noah Schnapp) realizes that the only way to free his mind from Vecna’s grip is to face his deepest secrets. One, in particular, has haunted him until Vecna shows him a devastating future that could await if he’s not honest about who he really is.
Initially confiding in his mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), Will decides everyone needs to know at the same time. As he wrings his hands in despair, his friends and family assemble in a circle, listening intently to Will as his eyes glisten and well up — until a single tear falls right before his big reveal.
“I haven’t told any of you this because I don’t want you to see me differently. But the truth is, I am different,” he tells them. “I don’t like girls. I mean, I do. Just not like you guys do. I had this crush on someone, even though I know they’re not like me.” He chokes up with that confession, looking right at his best friend, Mike (Finn Wolfhard).
Everyone sits in silence, but Robin (Maya Hawke), who had inspired Will with her own journey, nods in loving approval. At long last, Will Byers has come out and shed the shame and fear he felt about hiding his identity.
Joyce interrupts him to say he’ll never lose her, and then his brother, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), chimes in with his support, followed by his friends. “Or me,” they each say as they stand up to embrace Will in a group hug as he sobs enveloped in their love.
The nearly five-minute scene tugs at the heartstrings — yet another tear-jerking moment for Will this season after Episode 4’s revelation that he has powers.
“I was really nervous to see how [the Duffer Brothers] would write it, because it was obviously so important for me. And I remember when they sent out the script for Episode 7 for that scene. I read it alone in my room, and I was crying, and it really resonated with me,” Schnapp says. “I texted them, and I was like, ‘This is great. This is awesome.’ I didn’t know if they were ever gonna write that story for Will. They could have just left it up in the air, so getting to finally see it happen was amazing.”
Schnapp adds, “I thought the scene would be just with his mom, so for it to happen with the entire cast sitting there watching him was just so special. I remember when I finished that scene, I ran into Charlie Heaton’s arms and was just crying. And with the cast, I never really got to sit them down and have that conversation about my own coming out, so getting to do it was totally therapeutic and cathartic for me.”
Series co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer knew that Will growing into — and loving — his authentic self was key to unlocking his powers.
“Will and his coming-out scene was something that we’d been building to for a very long time,” Ross Duffer says. “It’s important that he comes to terms with this. Once he’s able to do that, he’s heading into this final battle with a confidence and maturity that he hasn’t had before.”
Schnapp was so enthralled with the script that he could barely put it down weeks before it was time to film.
“I read it every morning, every night for the month leading up to it,” Schnapp says. “And that allowed me on the day to just completely forget the script, completely forget about remembering my lines, and that just kind of poured out of me. And what I could focus on is just tapping into that feeling and that emotion.”
Schnapp, who came out on TikTok in 2023, says you can’t sift his story from that of the character he’s been portraying for nearly a decade.
“I believe our journeys are pretty close in specific ways. Will definitely gave me confidence in my own life, and seeing how audiences reacted to his character made me proud of who I am publicly,” the 21-year-old actor says. “I wouldn’t be where I am without that character and seeing how people reacted and received him. So I’m very thankful that the Duffers gave me this opportunity through the years to find myself through him.”
Schnapp hopes Will’s courage to tell his truth ripples far and wide.
“I hope it touches everyone — not just queer people — and makes them feel emboldened and empowered to be who they are and be proud of who they are,” he says. “That goes back to the heart of our show: What makes you unique is your superpower.”
Stream the first seven episodes of Stranger Things 5 now, and then tune in for The Finale on New Year’s Eve at 5 p.m. PT. Find out when the last episode arrives in your part of the world here. And test your knowledge of Stranger Things with our superfan quiz.
