The Way Stranger Things Handled Will’s Feelings For Mike

Warning: This story includes spoilers for Stranger Things season four, volume two.

Even Stranger Things has a soft side.

In the penultimate episode of the show’s fourth season, released July 1 on Netflix, Will (Noah Schnapp) subtly opened up about his sexuality in a conversation with Mike (Finn Wolfhard)—while using Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) as a conduit. 

Will presented Mike with a painting he had made—which, in the season’s first installment, Eleven told Mike she assumed was for Will’s crush—and he used Eleven as a means of talking about his own feelings.

“Yeah [I painted this]. I mean, El asked me to. She commissioned it, basically,” Will told Mike. “I mean, she told me what to draw. Anyway, my point is, see how you are leading us here? You’re guiding the whole party, inspiring us. That’s what you do.”

Will pointed out a coat of arms he had painted, saying, “It’s a heart. I know it’s sort of on the nose, but that’s what holds this party together. Heart.”

As he continued explaining the way that Eleven feels about Mike, it became clear that Will was talking about himself.