One of the biggest questions fans had heading into Stranger Things Season 4 was whether or not Will Byers was gay. While the show had offered subtle hints toward Will's queerness, it was never directly confirmed. Even in prior interviews, actor Noah Schnapp left his character's sexuality open to interpretation
It wasn't until this latest season that we got our most direct answer. Will didn't formally come out as gay during Season 4, but it's strongly implied during an emotional monologue in which Will explains to Mike that he's the heart of the group.
In explaining to Mike why Eleven cares for him, Will points out how hard it has been for her in California. But in doing so, Will is also talking about his own experiences. He states: "When you're different, sometimes you feel like a mistake. But you make her feel like she's not a mistake at all. Like she's better for being different and that gives her the courage to fight on."
Again, Will is not directly coming out to Mike, but it basically serves as confirmation for the rest of us. Still, there are some who needed to hear it from actor Noah Schnapp, and in an interview with Variety, the actor finally confirmed Will is gay and that he loves Mike.
"Now it’s 100% clear that he is gay and he does love Mike. But before, it was a slow arc. I think it is done so beautifully, because it’s so easy to make a character just like all of a sudden be gay. People have come up to me — I was just in Paris and this, like, 40-year-old man came up to me and he was like, “Wow, this Will character made me feel so good. And I related to it so much. That is exactly who I was when I was a kid.” That just made me so happy to hear. They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they’re doing it so well."
While none of Will's friends seem to have gotten the hints yet, season 4 did deliver us a heartfelt moment between Will and Jonathan in which his brother basically communicates to Will that he knows he's gay and that he's always going to be there for him. Schnapp revealed this scene between Will and Jonathan was not originally part of the script.
"So this scene was actually not originally written in the script. It was only until after I did the scene of me in the van, where they saw me crying and the protectiveness that you see with Jonathan looking in the rearview mirror. They were like, we need a scene with that. So they wrote it as we were filming. It’s also very important for people to see that Will is not alone — because all we ever see of him is struggling and feeling depressed and that he can’t be himself. Jonathan is talking to him in code — it’s just the perfect way to tell someone like Will that he cares about him and he accepts him no matter what. I think it was really wholesome."
While Will has sort of taken a back seat to all of the drama with Vecna this past season, he's had some of the show's biggest emotional moments. With it now basically confirmed that Will is gay, it will be interesting to see if the writers do more to explore his sexuality in the fifth and final season. Will he finally open up to his friends?