Noah Schnapp's Blunt Response To Critics Of Will's Stranger Things 4 Storyline
Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) has certainly been through the ringer during the course of the entire "Stranger Things" timeline. All the way back in Season 1, Will was abducted into the mysterious dimension known as the Upside Down, where he spent most of the season struggling to stay alive while being pursued by the hellish Demogorgon. Season 2 saw Will struggling with the intense trauma of his trip to this alternate dimension, which was coupled with his ongoing possession by a monster known as the Mind Flayer.
Seasons 3 and 4 have once again seen Will suffering immense emotional distress, but now, it has been due to his feelings for his best friend Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard). Throughout Season 4, it's made abundantly clear that Will is extremely unhappy seeing Mike and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) together. It's heavily implied — but never directly stated — that Will is in love with Mike, but too afraid to come out and say it. Indeed, while the car scene in Episode 8 of "Stranger Things 4" is a blatantly obvious reveal of Will's sexuality and his strong feelings for Mike, some fans online have criticized the show for not allowing Will to actually come out to his friends on-screen, claiming that this "vague" treatment of his sexuality is undeserved and dissatisfying (via Yahoo News).
Surprisingly, Noah Schnapp himself actually took the time to respond to these critical fans online — albeit, in a rather blunt way.
Schnapp stoutly defended the slow development of Will's storyline
In response to a now-deleted TikTok post which criticized the show's "vagueness" regarding of Will Byers' sexuality, Noah Schnapp candidly defended Will's storyline, saying: "First of all its the 80s and the kids a FRESHMAN in [highschool]. Let them slowly develop the plot and when he does come out it will be really special and real" (via Twitter).
Schnapp's blunt response to this criticism emphasizes the importance of letting the show build up a character arc over time, so that the eventual end of that arc feels earned and powerful, and not at all cheap or inconsequential. It's also worth remembering that "Stranger Things" isn't averse to having outright LGBTQ+ characters, as seen with Robin (Maya Hawke). That said, fans will probably be happy with the fact that Schnapp's comment (seemingly) confirms that Will is, indeed, going to come out in the final season. Schnapp also addresses the elephant in the room — that this is still the 1980s, and perhaps not everyone in the series will be as open to Will's coming out as the fans are.
That said, Will has some other things to handle in Season 5, as well, particularly given his past connection to Vecna. As is often the case in "Stranger Things," it seems as though things might get worse for Will before they get better. That said, Schnapp's response makes it clear that the actor is fully on board with the way that Will's storyline is progressing. One has to hope that the ending of Will's arc will allow the often-troubled character to finally be happy, once and for all.