Stranger Things Failed Us (So let’s talk about queerbaiting)

Remember my previous post about Stranger Things?

Yeah, this week’s post isn’t so optimistic.

The first half of season 5 gave us some really nice queer moments. For example, I adored Will and Robin’s friendship. There were plenty of hints that Will and Mike liked each other, and Robin+Vickie even got a few scenes together.

The second half of the season took those moments and…left them to fizzle out.

Okay, that’s not 100% true. Will came out. To a whole crowded room of people, some of whom he barely knew. Not…super well handled, that. And Robin and Vickie interacted (hey look, they weren’t completely sidelined).

But for the most part, the queer storylines in the season’s second half felt like firework fuses fizzling out.

This, my friends, is called queerbaiting (here’s a Wikipedia article for fun reading).

It’s not just that the first part of the season (or rather, the past 3-4 seasons) seemed to be setting up something between Mike and Will, only for that not to pay out in the slightest. Though that was a major issue. It’s that…. Well, let’s make a list.

1. Of the main characters, Will is the only one to never have any romantic relationship in the show, despite the fact that, in later seasons, he wants one. But don’t worry, in the epilogue, he meets a guy in a gay bar who might maybe possibly be a date.
2. In the final scene with the college-aged kids, Robin only talks about her life in very vague terms. Are she and Vickie still together? (No one knows.) Is she at college, or working, or doing something else entirely? (Maybe, to either.) Meanwhile, the other 3 kids get to talk about their jobs, film goals, or love interests in detail.
3. Mike’s ending has him pining after his girlfriend who (probably) died a year and a half ago, so now he’s writing stories all alone.
4. Meanwhile, Lucas and Max’s relationship is thriving.
5. Meanwhile, Dustin has a bright future of friendship and academic success ahead of him.
6. Meanwhile, Hopper and Joyce finally get their on-screen date at a fancy restaurant, where Hopper proposes to her.

The way straight characters and queer characters are treated in the finale is vastly different. Even Mike’s lonely ending seems to point to failed potential. Like maybe his arc was building up something between him and Will, only for the show to chicken out at the end and veer Mike down a different path…

Here’s another list, of evidences that pointed to Will and Mike getting together in the show:

1. the painting Will made for Mike in season 4, that was never addressed in season 5. This is called, Chekhov’s gun done wrong.
2. the fact Mike couldn’t say “I love you” to his girlfriend, until Will seriously encouraged him to.
3. the flirty scene in the field.
4. there’s so much more but this article’s getting long so look these things up if you want.

Point being, this isn’t just viewers grasping at straws and trying to shoehorn two characters together. There was genuine depth there.

Then the show tossed it all out for a “safe” ending.

I know, this is just tv, and it’s probably not worth getting so upset over. But it’s so frustrating when you believe you’ve found something safe, something you can see yourself in, but due to vague reasons (or just cowardice), that safe space kicks you out for fear of the masses not taking it well. For fear of it not being safe or comfortable for them.

I think the purpose of art is to remind us of our humanity, to teach us about our inner worlds. What does a queerbaiting piece of media teach us?

It teaches anti-queer audiences that there’s nothing wrong with their comfortable worldview. It teaches queer audiences they’re wrong to hope. It teaches that queer people and their relationships are second-class. That we don’t deserve happiness in our own stories.

I fundamentally don’t believe any of that.

So…trash the Stranger Things ending, I guess. I’m gonna go read some Byler fics on ao3, or watch Heartstopper, or try to find Heated Rivalry books that are still in stock. Happy 2026, everyone.