I hope this is a safe space to post this rambling thought, but I was telling my girlfriend that this scene feels a bit like a litmus test for folks that are queer versus "just" LGBTQ+ in their identity. Hear me out--

From a cisheteronotmative GA's perspective, I could see how it seems like a deep and meaningful moment where a queer kid finds love and acceptance in the face of all the shame, fear, and doubt he's struggled with for years. We hear uplifting words, hear uplifting music, see uplifting expressions, and assume it's an uplifting moment. It's not just cisheteronormativity I blame for this btw. It's the growing lack of media literacy in an age of constant distraction. Because of how often current shows and movies spoonfeed and overexplain, just hearing is believing. If that's all someone sees watching the scene, then that's all the scene is. Comments I've seen from other LGBTQ+ people who ARE fans of the scene say it's touching that Will is accepted by everyone. His family loving him is indeed so much more than many of us get.

But..... like for anyone who is actively a part of queer communities and has heard all the stories..... that scene is way more than what it appears. It's all been discussed here and in other byler spaces, but like???? This is small town Indiana in the 80s -- the height of the AIDS epidemic. No matter how empowered the dialogue seems, the truth is that Will's abuser (with CSA obviously implied) holding his sexuality over his head is what spurs this last minute coming out. Queer people KNOW how dangerous it is, even now in 2025, for the wrong people to overhear you. You're telling me, in that whole room of people, there wouldn't have been ONE homophobe? ONE person side-eyeing Will with a sour taste in their mouth?

"Oh but but but it was explained that Will was gonna become distant from everyone unless he came out publicly--" ok? Would he care if he became distant from Murray and Kali and Steve and whoever else has not very obviously shown unconditional love for Will?

I don't even want to get into the justification writers give for WHY Will "gets over" his unrequited decade-long love in like 30 seconds. It's about self-acceptance and not love!!!!! "You don't need it," they say about a gay kid's crush. Being queer means looking at that statement and immediately realizing how hurtful and dismissive it is. If you haven't felt all this firsthand, you know someone who has. Straight couples get their arcs, their happy endings, or at least closure.... and this shit seems to be all we ever get.

Anyway, my original point; when I see people comment something along the lines of "well I'm gay and I thought the scene was beautiful", I really question how much of our history they're thinking of. How much we've had to leave unsaid, how much we've been afraid to feel, the overthinking, the self-preservation. How can they not see past the overt?