This review will have major spoilers for all of Stranger Things, including the Season 5 series finale.
It’s hard to remember a world before Stranger Things. It has been a media phenomenon for almost a full decade, which is like three lifetimes for pop culture. Especially these days, when attention spans are short and media literacy is at an all-time low, it’s no small feat that Stranger Things not only remained relevant, but also widely beloved, while dropping seasons every two to three years.
Season five dropped in three parts this month, with its two-hour series finale hitting last night and proving that TV shows are always better when they’re given the time to say goodbye on their own terms. Too many shows these days are cancelled on a whim between seasons, leaving the story open-ended, giving audiences no closure. So it was really refreshing to get a series finale that was truly a goodbye to the show we’ve loved for so long.
And what a series finale it was! It was emotional and harrowing and nostalgic and fun. And gay! This final season was its gayest yet, and that’s what I’m here to talk about today.
Robin coming out to Steve, a little high on truth serum in a mall bathroom stall, is one of my favorite scenes in the show. It’s tender and sweet and, considering the person Steve “The Hair” Harrington was when we met him in season one, him being accepting (after a dash of confusion) and continuing to be best friends with Robin going forward was truly special. I kind of thought that would be the end of it. I’ve been burned by enough shows that I was afraid this would just be a trait of Robin’s that would never be spoken about again. But I was wrong. I was SO wrong.
Season four showed Steve and Robin talking about it more, joking about boobies, Steve encouraging her to take a chance on her crush on Vickie, Robin thinking Vickie was maybe straight and actually voicing the reality that it’s not as easy for her to just ask someone out as it is for Steve, her fears of becoming “the town pariah” because of it. And, in the end, she gets the girl.
And then! Season five! Robin’s gayness literally saved the world.
Will catches Robin and Vickie kissing, and it shines a spotlight on the thing inside of him he’s been trying not to look directly at for years. (Not Vecna, the other thing.) And when Robin realizes this, that Will isn’t horrified by what he saw — in fact, just the opposite — she takes him under his wing. She tells him about how it felt to realize she was gay, and then accepting that part of herself instead of fighting it. Looking within herself for confidence and acceptance, instead of trying to find someone else to make her whole. And that once she did accept that part of her, how free it made her feel. Will looks at her with hope in his eyes; maybe there’s happiness in his future after all.
When Vecna gets his hand on Will again, he tries to tell Will he’s weak, and shows him all the broken parts of him…but this time, Will fights back. With Robin’s voice echoing in his mind, he thinks instead of all the things that make him strong. His best friends, his mom and brother, his art, D&D. He accepts every part of himself, and he’s more powerful for it.
Later in the season, knowing Vecna will use anything he can against them, Will realizes he has to let go of the one weight he’s still carrying. Vecna had shown him that if he came out to the people he loves most, they would leave him, that he would be alone. But he is stronger now and he doesn’t believe the lies. He decides to see for himself, to trust in his circle, to give them a chance to prove Vecna wrong. So he comes out to them. He reminds them that, in so many ways, they’re still the same. They still like all the same things, there’s just one thing that’s different about him, and it’s that he’s gay. Robin listens with tears in her eyes, watching on proudly, with Steve putting a supportive hand on her shoulder. And when he’s done, Will’s family (given and found) doesn’t push him away, they don’t leave, they just hug him and tell him they love him. He’s still their Will, their sorcerer, their friend.
It’s a very touching scene and I have seen some people saying they didn’t like it on the internet, and I think maybe the people who didn’t like it are people who didn’t need to come out, or for whom coming out wasn’t a big deal. And I’m glad they didn’t relate to the scene. I hope it does feel outdated to them. But to me, it feels real, and I wasn’t even coming out in the 80s. I remember my friends all starting to talk about which boys they liked and feeling left behind because I wasn’t interested in them. I remember realizing that I wasn’t just a late bloomer, that I didn’t like boys because I did like girls, and then trying to hide it, even change it, for years. I remember feeling like I was walking around with an albatross around my neck, scared that somehow people could tell, that I’d be ostracized, that I’d lose all my friends, that I’d be alone. And I remember the relief when I finally came out. When I no longer had to hide it.
So I understood Will in this moment, why he didn’t want to go into the final battle with this secret, why he wanted a clear head for this fight. And I was really moved by everyone’s reaction, especially Mike’s, because Will admitted to having a crush on him, but also acknowledged he knew it wasn’t reciprocated, and Mike still loves him. There is a moment in the last episode where Mike says he doesn’t want to be friends, and for half a heartbeat Will looks like he hoped he wanted to be more, but he wanted to be BEST friends. It ends up being a sweet moment for our OG pals.
And all this was made possible by Robin! She remains critical to the success of the team throughout the series, and Vickie even gets looped in. I was a little sad we didn’t really get closure on the Vickie front. In the epilogue, we learn that Robin goes to Smith (gay), and she mentions something about “overbearing significant others” perhaps implying that Vickie didn’t want her to come back to Hawkins for the kids’ graduation, but it’s not confirmed they’re even still dating.
But overall, I think Robin is a great addition to the canon of lesbian fictional characters. She’s smart and awkward and hilarious and brave. She rambles when she’s nervous and she sounds perpetually sarcastic, but she’s kind and she loves her friends and will always be there for them. She is such a bright spot in this show, and I feel lucky that we not only got her, but that she was featured so prominently this season. And perhaps most importantly of all: She survived.
Also not for nothing, but in the epilogue, Nancy is also looking pretty gay. Her new haircut and blazer scream gay, and Robin even asks her about the “babes” at Emerson, which might just be Robin being her usual quirky self, but also might be a gender-neutral term on purpose. I do wish we had confirmation here that Robin was officially out to Nancy and Jonathan here, but I’m just going to assume. Because they are bonded for life in a way their new friends in their new lives will never understand, and they agree to hang out once a month forever, which isn’t sustainable but sounds good to them in the moment. Regardless of how often they do end up meeting up, they’ll always be family, and that’s what matters.
Overall, this silly little show about monsters and D&D ended up being delightfully gay and told a really beautiful story about friendship. I only covered the gay parts here, but there was so much of this show to love. I loved Nancy and her guns and how her grief for her friend Barb motivated her and that she didn’t end up with either boy in her love triangle. I loved little Holly growing up too fast and being the hero her big sister is, her big brother believed her to be, and that her new friend Max helped her become. I loved Max! Her complicated feelings about Billy, her love for Lucas, her strength and sass. Eleven’s journey was amazing to watch, from a little girl who didn’t even remember how to string together a sentence to a powerful “mage” who helped save the world at a great sacrifice to herself. I loved the tenderness and desperation and protectiveness Winona Ryder brought to Joyce Byers. I loved watching Karen Wheeler go from being a bit of a creep lusting after Billy to a badass who tried to save her own baby, and DID save her adopted basement babies. Hell, I even loved Dipship Derek evolving to Delightful Derek. I just had a great time watching them all and I love that the D&D themes ran throughout, and even were passed on to Holly and her pals in the end. It’s not a perfect show (don’t even get me started on the Russia side plot in Season 4), and there are plenty of things it got wrong, but I loved it all the same.
To me, D&D is fighting monsters with my friends, sometimes making jokes at inappropriate times, sometimes exploring really deep feelings, and ultimately winning because of the power of friendship. And that’s what Stranger Things is to me, too. Friendship is magic, in this case literally, and watching this little band of weirdos grow up together has been really great. I loved watching them learn to love each other and themselves, how to face their fears and be brave in the face of them. I especially loved the teamwork this season, with all the different groups coming together, everyone having their role, everyone playing their part. They were a true D&D party, and they played the game beautifully.
The show, and its finale, rolled a natural 20 in my book.
Comments
Love this write up. Totally agree with you.
I agree, I hope the coming out scene feels outdated to many. But for many of us xennials, it’s a reminder of what it was like for some of us, and how far we’ve come as a society, despite how dark it looks now.
I knew I was different when I saw Elisabeth Shue in Adventure’s In Babysitting. I just turned 9. All my friends were talking about Tom Cruise but I wasn’t interested in him. I played along, for a long while, dating guys, and never letting them do anything, until it happened against my will. It wasn’t until I was 20 that I came out. Of course I got the, “Yeah, I know,” comments, but it was agony thinking about how different I was from everyone around me, and that I couldn’t be my true self, or ask out a girl I liked because I’d be a predator gay. What happened to me, because I was in a place where I didn’t feel safe coming out, I truly hope no one experiences, or can ever relate.
You only have to look at the idiots review bombing the will coming out episode and complaining about “stranger things going woke” to see that coming out scenes are still necessary. Great write up 👍
I loved Stranger Things. Even though it was set in a very convincing 80’s (setting, costumes and pop culture references), it is, of course, about contemporary issues.
Thr story arc was always about exploring the relationships of power dynamics, secret identities, and how both have roles to play in abusive situations.
People who have autonomy taken from them (whether by the government or through shame by a sexual predator).
This series explored the relationships between the conscious and the subconscious on cultural and individual levels. It was alwaysabout how the vulnerable can be targeted…but also how we can effectively fight back.
It is a guidebook in the age of the Epstine files showing us that friendship and acceptance can win the war.