2 Will's Confession in the Car He then expresses his romantic feelings for Mike, using Eleven as disguise. As expected, Mike doesn't get the cue, and Will ends up bursting in tears when his best friend isn't looking.
“It was always kind of there, but you never really knew, is it just him growing up slower than his friends?” Schnapp said in a new interview with Variety. “Now that he's gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. Now it's 100% clear that he is gay and he does love Mike. But before, it was a slow arc.
The following contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 2, now available to stream on Netflix. In Season 4, Episode 8 of Stranger Things, “Papa,” the series finally gave Will a moment to confess his love for Mike. When Mike shows his insecurity, Will uses that moment of confession in Eleven's name.
Will's coming out moment comes when he gifts Mike a painting and gives a speech about how Eleven is "different," though he is referring to himself throughout. He lies to Mike, saying Eleven commissioned him to paint it, but in reality it was him expressing his love for Mike.
While Schnapp has refused to explicitly answer questions about Will's sexuality in the past, to him, it's always been obvious: His character is gay, and has been in love with Mike all along.
Now that he's gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. Now it's 100% clear that he is gay and he does love Mike. But before, it was a slow arc. I think it is done so beautifully, because it's so easy to make a character just like all of a sudden be gay.
Now that Stranger Things season 4 has confirmed not only Will's queerness, but also his unrequited love for Mike, it's certainly interesting to look at their relationship in retrospect.
Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things season 4. Noah confirmed that Will is in love with his best friend Mike Wheeler, played by Finn Wolfhard, but doesn't want to hurt Eleven's feelings by confessing it.
The speech does reassure Mike, but along the way, Will begins noticeably crying, to the point that Jonathan — who is involved in his own love triangle with Nancy and Steve — looks back at his brother with concern. Yet, Mike does not seem to even realize Will is crying.
Noah Schnapp CONFIRMS his Stranger Things character Will Byers 'is gay and he does love Mike Wheeler' | PINKVILLA.
Will was indirectly telling Mike that he was gay and it was actually him who felt like the "mistake" for being different. Fans took to Twitter to share their heartbreak at this emotional moment.
He's a kid with a lot of emotions that he never learned how to express with words or say something as vulnerable as "I love you", and thus expresses his feelings with actions instead.
First Kiss
In the season 1 finale, Mike invited Eleven to be his date to the Snow Ball, which she happily accepts. He tries to explain that he likes her more than a friend, and when she didn't understand what he was trying to say, he kissed her in an attempt to demonstrate his love for her.
But for those who still weren't sure, Noah has now officially confirmed it. In a new interview Variety, Noah has confirmed that Will is gay, and that he is in love with Mike Wheeler.
But David and Finn are quick to shut that one down, appearing to confirm that Will's affections are elsewhere within the party. "If you've been watching the show you should know that Will is...not interested in El," David says. "He's interested in someone else in the group."
Byler is the slash ship between Mike Wheeler and Will Byers from the Stranger Things fandom.
He got so upset every time Mike and Eleven became close and it was almost as though he was jealous of their relationship. He attempted pulling Mike away from Eleven but at the same time he hated seeing his best mate so visibly sad.
"Stranger Things" creators Matt and Ross Duffer recently spoke with Variety about the show's fourth season, which sees Will in a sad state, perhaps because of his unrequited love for his friend Mike (Finn Wolfhard).
Different Values. By the summer of 1985, Will and Mike are already on different levels when it comes to maturity and how they want to spend their time. Their different values have created an underlying tension in their friendship.
The Stranger Things costars appear to have a close bond off-screen, but no, they are not dating each other in real life.
And in season 4, it became apparent to many that Will was struggling with a secret. Now actor Noah Schnapp, who plays Will, revealed to Variety that his character is indeed gay, and secretly has feelings for his best friend, Mike, who's in a relationship with Eleven.
Where Does Each 'Stranger Things' Character End Up at the End of Season 4? Following his emotional speech, Will turned away from Mike as he broke down in a sob. Jonathan later offered Will some support when he reminded him that he loves him no matter what.
"I think you find out slowly through the season, Will's kind of love towards Mike and I think it's a really beautiful thing."
Sadie Sink confirms that Max Mayfield is gay and in love with Eleven. Source : Variety.
“If you've been watching the show, you should know that Will is not interested in El,” Harbour said. “He's interested in someone else in the group.” Later, Harbour added, “Will wants to be in the basement with Mike playing D&D for the rest of his life.”