Stranger Things fans are waiting in suspense until New Year’s Eve, when the final episode of the hit Netflix series will be released, bringing an end to the story of the unlikely heroes of Hawkins, Indiana. In a virtual roundtable Polygon attended, series star Noah Schnapp said he was just as anxious to read the final script.
“They didn’t send it to anyone,” Schnapp revealed. “We all actually read it together for the first time at a table read. It was scary to turn the page. You want to just skip to the end and see is it good? Progressively through that table read, the emotions just were higher and higher, and everyone was crying by the end. If it was that emotional reading it, I can’t even imagine what it’s like to watch the episode.”
[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 5, volume 2]
Stranger Things season 5 involves lots of big moments for Noah’s character, Will Byers. The season premiere begins with a flashback thatprovides a new look at Will’s abduction, revealing it was the beginning of a scheme by Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) to exert influence over Hawkins. While Will has been a victim for much of the series, this season he’s proving as good at fighting monsters as Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
“Millie was so excited and supportive,” Schnapp said. “It’s fun that now we’re both like twin superheroes.”
After using his new powers to protect Max (Sadie Sink) and Holly (Nell Fisher) from Vecna in season 5 episode 5, “Shock Jock,” Will finds himself at Vecna’s mercy again in the episode 6. But while Vecna holds Will in a trance to extract information about Max’s whereabouts, Will now has the strength to fight back. Schnapp enjoyed filming the scene, which involved being tied to a wall with lots of blood coming out of his eyes and ears.
“It was fun to be face-to-face with Vecna and actually get to talk back to him,” Schnapp said. “He’s always talking to me, and I’m just sitting there, taking it, scared. But this time, I actually got to put my foot down and speak assertively to him. It just felt very full circle. That place is where I was in season 1. I love revisiting those moments and showing how far we’ve come and how long this journey has been.”
Vecna tortured Will with his own fears about how his friends and family would react to him coming out. That made Will further internalize the lesson Robin (Maya Hawke) taught him about loving himself and led him to prepare for the final confrontation with Vecna by sharing his secret with everyone so there wouldn’t be anything holding him back.
“I just hope [that scene] can touch real people and help empower so many kids out there struggling with that same self-identity journey to come to terms with themselves and accept themselves and, beyond just the queer community, help many people out there who just struggle to believe in themselves and are scared to be who they are, to feel empowered and that it’s OK,” Schnapp said. “When you see everyone hug Will and embrace him like that, it’s just so powerful.
The first seven episodes of Stranger Things season 5 are available to stream on Netflix now, with the finale airing on New Year’s Eve.
