Genuinely amazing and deeply moving character development!

Let me preface this by confessing that I’ve never been a die hard fan of this show: I really enjoyed season 1 and kept watching because the show was good, but it never really deeply struck a chord in me - apart from the touching rescue scene in season 1 finale portraying a sad parallel between Will being given CPR by Hopper and the flashbacks of his own daughter dying from cancer. It has always simply been good entertainment to me.

But oh boy did Will’s recent evolution affect me. The writers absolutely saved the depressing mess that his personal storyline has been since the end of season 2 and made it blossom into something really powerful.

Beyond the fact that I’m also queer, I’ve also related multiple times during my life to this horrible feeling of not belonging, even among those you call friends. I never went through the appalling depth of the trauma Will has gone through but I do also know the terrible internal struggle that comes with the curse of falling in love with your best friend, at an age when you still haven’t figured out your full self and how to express it.

Robin’s speech to him about letting go of Tammy and realizing that her fantasy with her was slowly eating her away and that she had all the answers within herself is so powerful and it’s something I wish I could have heard all these years ago.

But watching the consequences of Will integrating this essential lesson truly made me bawl my eyes out. To finally understand your own worth does not depend from others, that you don’t need to define yourself as a failure for your unrequited love, to remember how genuine and care-free you were as a child and realizing how that child is still within and waiting to grow into its fully formed and authentic self was beautiful. It’s truly so inspiring that the one boy that has always been looked over both by his friends and the audience and has gone through so much to yet still be considered weak finally morphed into his unapologetic self by tapping into the very connection that has tormented him for years. He’s the strongest-willed of them all and he himself does not realize that.

These power-upgrade scenes are not rare in the show you’re gonna tell me. But I’ll argue that while Eleven has also gone through horrible hardship and trauma that she still pulled through as reflected by the multiple instances of her character momentarily showing exceptional power through emotional connection, she has always had support and people believing in hert. She has always been the center of attention, whether it is by her support system or by the bad guys whereas Will has visibly felt alone, ignored and ill-at-ease for practically the last 5 years.

Episode 4 truly moved me in a way I wasn’t prepared for and beyond amazing entertainment actually showed some deep emotional writing that felt completely earned and is such an immense relief for such a physically and mentally tortured character.

Will has for me settled to be the most inspiring character of this show and its actual emotional heart!