{"id":24252,"date":"2025-12-30T07:46:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T23:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=24252"},"modified":"2025-12-30T07:46:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T23:46:34","slug":"stranger-things-season-5-episode-7-sparks-review-bomb-battle-as-fans-combat-backlash-to-hotly-debated-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=24252","title":{"rendered":"Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 7 Sparks Review Bomb Battle as Fans Combat Backlash to Hotly-Debated Scene"},"content":{"rendered":"


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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.<\/p>\n

Warning!<\/strong><\/em> Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5 follow:<\/em><\/p>\n

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 \u2018The Bridge,\u2019 has become the focal point of a vociferous debate that has spilled over into review aggregate websites.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cdoesn\u2019t like girls.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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Will’s coming out scene is the focus of a Stranger Things Season 5 review bomb campaign. Image credit: Netflix.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Season 5 has a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes\u2019 Popcornmeter, which means 56% of users rated the season 3.5 stars or higher. That\u2019s 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 I<\/u>MDb<\/u>, with the majority of user reviews rated either 1\/10 or 10\/10.<\/p>\n

One of the 1\/10 IMDb user reviews declared Will\u2019s coming out scene as \u201cthe worst thing I’ve ever witnessed in film history and that’s saying something, because I’ve adored god-awful movies and shows.\u201d \u201cWorst episode ever,\u201d complained another viewer. \u201cStranger 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Stranger Things is now the setting of a review bomb battle, which is playing out across aggregation websites as groups of fans attempting to combat those 1\/10 and 1-star reviews with super positive reviews of their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon’t believe the review bombers,\u201d reads one 10\/10 user review on IMDb. \u201cThere are many who will say that the coming out scene was unnecessary, but when have the Duffer Brothers ever put something in that won’t be followed up on? It will come up in the finale, TRUST. Not only did they spell out why Will needed to come out, they gave his moment the gravity it deserved. The fact that so many are angry about that (and done call it unrealistic about a show full of monsters and other worlds) really makes me wonder about the fan base of this show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat show. For the nerds,\u201d reads one 5-star review on Rotten Tomatoes. \u201cFor those who can manage their expectations and enjoy the world of Stranger Things. Two or three scenes that could have been paced or placed better does not undo the entire series. People need to chill and stop expecting perfection.\u201d<\/p>\n

From another 5-star review: \u201cIf you put your phone down and actually watch and listen \u2014 you would like 90% of episodes (it still has some problems but they are not that deep) The whole story is literally described for the audience to understand (and they still complain about it though they don\u2019t get the easiest hints there without it). Don\u2019t read reviews, don\u2019t rely on it \u2014 just watch (really watch) and make up your own mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

And another response to the review bombing in the form of a 5-star review: \u201cPeople are review bombing this for no reason other than they can\u2019t handle character development and character arcs without gory slaughter. If you want to watch GOT, go watch GOT. Season 5 has wrapped up so many stories beautifully and we have learned so much about the upside down with great action and emotional scenes. The acting is incredible, especially from Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, and Gaten Matarazzo.\u201d<\/p>\n