Posted:

Dec 29, 2025 11:00 pm

Stranger Things is suffering from review bombing after its latest Season 5 episode met with lower audience scores than the Netflix series has typically seen. But some fans are striking back with 5-star reviews in a bid to reverse the trend.

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5 follow:

While the fifth and final season of Stranger Things has sparked complaints from some fans about the exposition-heavy writing, the varying quality of the actor's performances, and the plot armor some of their characters seemingly enjoy, Episode 7, called ‘The Bridge,’ has become the focal point of a vociferous debate that has spilled over into review aggregate websites.

Will Byers' coming out scene appears to have fueled the review bombing. In it, Will, played by Noah Schnapp, issues a lengthy monologue in which he tells a gathering of characters that he “doesn’t like girls.” The scene, which takes place as supervillain Vecna applies the finishing touches to his masterplan for world domination, ends with an emotional Will comforted by his friends.

Will's coming out scene is the focus of a Stranger Things Season 5 review bomb campaign. Image credit: Netflix.

Season 5 has a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter, which means 56% of users rated the season 3.5 stars or higher. That’s the lowest by some distance of all the seasons so far on the website. Meanwhile, Episode 7 specifically currently has a 5.4 user review rating on IMDb, with the majority of user reviews rated either 1/10 or 10/10.

One of the 1/10 IMDb user reviews declared Will’s coming out scene as “the worst thing I've ever witnessed in film history and that's saying something, because I've adored god-awful movies and shows.” “Worst episode ever,” complained another viewer. “Stranger Things seriously disappointed me with how it handled Will's storyline and it honestly made me angry. After seasons of careful buildup, emotional trauma, and quiet character development, the show suddenly made Will explain his feelings in a way that felt forced and unnecessary, like the writers stopped trusting the audience to understand subtle storytelling. Instead of exploring his deep pain from being possessed, ignored, and emotionally left behind, they reduced his entire arc to one blunt moment and moved on as if nothing else about him mattered. It felt lazy, rushed, and poorly written, more like a checklist decision than real character growth. Will deserved a thoughtful, meaningful storyline, not something that stripped away his depth and turned years of buildup into a shallow and frustrating reveal.”