One of the major turning points in Stranger Things season 5 was Will Byers' (Noah Schnapp's) emotional confession of his queerness. His coming out scene was long overdue and crucial in completely shaping his character arc as Will and his friends prepare to defeat Vecna and restore peace to Hawkins one last time. However, reactions to the scene and the episode were mixed, with many expressing that they couldn't resonate with it and others criticising the makers for its staging.
As a result, the season's Rotten Tomatoes score has fallen to 57 per cent, lowest in the show's history. Episode seven of the fifth and final season titled 'The Bridge' is now the lowest-rated episode of Stranger Things on IMDb, with a score of 5.4 out of 10. The other episodes, however, received a rating between 8.6 and 9.2. 'The Bridge' was a part of Volume 2 of season 5. For the unversed, the latest season has been split into three volumes. The first one debuted on Netflix on November 26.
Elon Musk pitched his views, saying, "It’s completely unnecessary and forced on audiences who just want to enjoy some basic sci-fi."
Created by Duffer Brothers, this eight-episode season also sees the return of beloved characters played by Millie Bobby Brown (Millie Bobby Brown), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Brett Gelman (Murray), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Amybeth McNulty (Vickie), Nell Fisher (Holly Wheeler), Jake Connelly (Derek Turnbow), Alex Breaux (Lt. Akers), and Linda Hamilton (Dr. Kay). Jamie Campbell Bower returns as Vecna/ Mr Whatsit/ Henry while Linnea Berthelsen came back as Kali from season 2. Nell Fisher takes the centrestage as Holly Wheeler this season who is trapped in the hands of Vecna.
Volume 2 ends with Holly being captured once again by Vecna, along with her classmates to "form a new world". They are all trapped in his lair to complete Vecna's final mission while the team of Will, Eleven, Mike, Lucas, Jim Hopper, Mr Clarke, Erica, Nancy, Jonathan, Joyce, along with Kali, and others are working on their ultimate plan on heading to the upside down for one last time to defeat Vecna.
Volume 3, which marks the finale episode of Stranger Things series releases on New Years eve. It will be releasing in theatres simultaneously with its streaming premiere.