Warning: This article contains spoilers for Season 5 of the Netflix TV Show “Stranger Things”
6 mins and 58 seconds of screentime for a coming out that was canon, implicitly woven into the entire show, and long overdue, seemed like too much time for some people. If there was any lack of evidence that people were overreacting, the episode was rated the lowest of all 50 episodes in this popular TV show’s total run time.
As it also always is the case, the criticism is not just from homophobes, but also equally from members of the LGBT+ community who felt that Will’s coming out was not done right. Whilst it is reasonable to have critical expectations for such a delicate development, particularly in light of the lack of representation of queer individuals exploring their identities in mainstream shows, most arguments around the scene were not very substantial.
Here’s something most people do not tend to get right: there is no right way of coming out.
That’s the whole point. It is up to the individual to decide whether they want to privately share their identity with friends and/or family, or to share it more publicly and openly, or sometimes to not share it all.
My take, based also on my personal coming out journey, is that a large part of coming out is self-acceptance. Whilst acceptance from others is important and influential, for almost 3 out of the last 5 years since I have been out of the closet, my “coming out” was to a larger audience of strangers, mostly students in schools or small corporate crowds when I volunteered with my charity.
To me, coming out was more about moving the dialogue from inside my mind to the world outside, to reassuring my younger self that it really is okay to be who we are, and to display courage as an act of self defiance.
This is exactly what it seemed to have been for Will. He emphasised on wanting to take power back from Vecna, but more importantly to recognise that he was telling you it was one of his biggest fears. A fear he had not confronted. This was also the gist of Robin’s speech. To that end, is there a better way to overcome one’s fears than being able to articulate it loud, proud, with emotion, to a room full of people?
It is less of significance whether each person in that room “actually cared” or if they had a “validly close enough relationship” with him to understand his emotional ramblings. The show is set in the 80s. For Will to be able to say to a room full of people, “I do not like girls”, a big step not demanding the use of labels, was in itself, a beautiful, whole act.
Many people complained on the same note that he did not receive his happy ending, he should have had a clearer “after” in the epilogue, but this was his story. His completion. His after. Accepting himself. Knowing that life does not start and end with Mike, that there was so much more in store for him. That him accepting himself is enough. That him thinking that is all he needs is enough.
There are many more plot holes and criticisms to the show to focus on than this personal, not-really-up-for-debate scene. Will came out, and we are so very proud of him.