The hit series Stranger Things faced a wave of negative reviews for its penultimate episode, with critics accusing the show of becoming excessively “woke.” This backlash has cast a shadow over what has been a largely beloved series on Netflix.

The highly anticipated second volume of season five was released on Boxing Day, while the eagerly awaited final episode is set to premiere on New Year’s Eve.

Chapter Seven: The Bridge, the episode in question, has drawn significant criticism, marking an unexpected turn for a show that has otherwise enjoyed widespread acclaim.

For its first four seasons, Stranger Things consistently earned high ratings on the review platform Rotten Tomatoes, underscoring its popularity.

However, the recent deluge of 0.5 and 1-star reviews has pulled the series down to a 56% rating on the Popcornmeter, which reflects audience feedback.

Fans highlighted scenes including the timing of Will Byers’ (Noah Schnapp) long-awaited coming out, as well as an ‘unrealistic’ dramatic gun-toting moment for Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer).

They claimed that Will’s long speech about sexuality jarred with the urgency of the impending final battle and insisted that Nancy’s martial prowess seemingly came out of nowhere and felt exaggerated.

Will gathered the whole gang together before listing everything he had in common with them, before concluding: ‘I just don’t like girls.’

After he finished speaking they enjoyed a group hug – seemingly sweeping the battle ahead of them, which will define the fate of the world, under the rug.

He claimed that Vecna would use his fear of coming out against him if he didn’t get it off his chest, despite Vecna never mentioning as much in his many interactions with him before. 

Meanwhile Nancy managed to take down three armed soldiers in watch towers with an assault rifle from a atop a truck.

She somehow caught them off guard despite the huge vehicle crashing through a gate and a soldier screaming for backup as soon as the group entered the military compound.

The feat of heroism was accused of being a crowbarred ‘girl boss’ moment that didn’t align with Nancy’s skillset as an investigative journalist. 

One penned on X: ‘Btw the Will coming out scene may be the worst in the entirety of ST. 

‘Making that the most important plot point for the penultimate episode of the show is such a waste. Plus it was super cringy too. A hard watch…’

Another wrote: ‘The girl-bossing in Stranger Things S5 is another example of how this show has fallen off… Nancy Wheeler, who is 5 ft. nothing 90lbs soaking wet, is like a Navy SEAL and John Wick combined, taking out highly-trained military personnel. 

‘She also broke up with her bf because she need “don’t need no man” and needs to be “independent” so she can “find herself”.’ 

A third echoed: ‘Nancy gunning down & killing soldiers – even though they’re under Dr. Kay’s command – just feels wrong.’

A fourth opined: ‘Nancy being able to sit on top of a non-moving vehicle in the middle of a military zone and open fire on military personnel without being shot at once is the definition of Plot Armor. There are no stakes.’

A fifth remarked: ‘Stranger Things S5 was doomed from the start bc it was written back during the era of Peak Woke before the writers’ strike and then filmed before Trump won in 2024.

‘Here we can see Wokeness literally jammed down the throats of children.’ 

While a sixth chimed in: ‘Stranger Things season 5 has been review bombed even tho every episode has been good but apparently one scene means the whole of season 5 is bad, what a world we live in.’

And a seventh wrote: ‘Will Byers: I lost to Vecna because he used my fears against me, so I’m gonna face my biggest fear: coming out to everyone. That way he can’t use it against me! *Proceeds to have an ok coming out scene, not the best, but ok. Most of the Audience: Is this bad wrting?’

Others compared the show to the ending of Game Of Thrones – which was infamously poorly received by its audience.

A viewer shared: ‘Looks like Stranger Things final season is as bad as Game of Thrones final season.’ 

Despite the criticisms, some fans expressed that they were enjoying the final season, with one penning: ‘Too many haters this season, i thought it was pretty good. 

‘I don’t see any flaws in the pacing or acting despite what others say.’

Another said: ‘Don’t understand all the negative reviews, makes no sense. 

‘This season is amazing, all characters are getting excellent development, with their relationships with each other getting further fleshed out in the best way possible. 

‘The plot is super entertaining this seasons, maybe the best plot ever, with each individual plotline and character being fun to watch. 

‘In my opinion the best season yet, all the negative reviews make no sense whatsoever in my opinion.’

‘People are review bombing this for no reason other than they can’t handle character development and character arcs without gory slaughter. 

‘If you want to watch GOT, go watch GOT. Season 5 has wrapped up so many stories beautifully and we have learned so much about the upside down with great action and emotional scenes. 

The acting is incredible, especially from Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, and Gaten Matarazzo’, wrote a third.

With regards to Will, the character’s sexuality had been a long-running plot point throughout the series. 

In the first series, his mother Joyce, portrayed by Winona Ryder, even recalled how Will’s father had referred to him as ‘queer’.

Set in the 1980s, Will famously disappeared from his small-town friendship group, who loved playing Dungeons & Dragons and cycling around Hawkins, before becoming trapped in the terrifying Upside Down.

While his friends grew older, found girlfriends and moved on, Will remained something of an outsider following his traumatic abduction.

Speculation surrounding his sexuality intensified in later seasons, particularly after Mike, played by Finn Wolfhard, lashed out at Will for not liking girls.

Fans believed their suspicions were quietly confirmed in season four, when Will broke down in tears while struggling to express his feelings for Mike during one scene.

However, it wasn’t until ‘The Bridge’ that Will finally put it into words, admitting to his friends that he ‘doesn’t like girls’.

Speaking to Variety, actor Noah opened up about filming the hard hitting scene and revealed how closely he worked with creators Matt and Ross Duffer, as well as director Shawn Levy.

When asked when he learned that Will would finally come out, Noah explained: ‘You know that it’s coming. This season, we read the first six episodes together, and I was like “OK, it didn’t happen yet, so it’s going to be in Episode 7 or 8,” which hadn’t been written yet.

He added: ‘So then from January of filming on through the year, I kept texting the Duffers, “Is it done? Did you write it? Is it in 7 or 8? How are you gonna write it?” Eventually, they said they had it, and I read it by the end of the year in August or September.

Noah admitted the script left him overwhelmed with emotion: ‘And I was just in tears. It was perfect.’

Reflecting on the final cut, Noah admitted he was surprised by how the scene was edited.

He explained that actors often don’t realise the power of editing until they see the finished product, but felt the balance struck in Will’s coming out scene was perfect.

The episode shows moments of raw emotion alongside lighter flashes of nostalgia, allowing Will to smile as he reminisces with his friends, rather than simply sobbing throughout.

Noah said he was grateful producers chose that approach, as it gave the scene a lighter feel.

Elsewhere in the interview, Noah discussed the decision to have his character Will say ‘I don’t like girls’ instead of explicitly saying ‘I’m gay’.

He explained that the wording felt more authentic to the 1980s setting, and to Will’s emotional state at the time.

Stranger Things is available to stream exclusively on Netflix and the final episode lands on New Year’s Day.