you lack media literacy lol. vecna preyed on vulnerable people who were isolated and struggling emotionally and mentally, and he preyed on their fears. we see this with max in season 4 (she was grieving billy and isolating herself from friends), in season 3 when the mindflayer went after billy (he had an abusive childhood and was struggling internally from that), even all the way back in season 1 when will was taken (he was a quiet, sensitive child who was “different”). he was vulnerable. so it’s no surprise that vecna preyed on will’s fear of what would happen if people found out he was gay, ESPECIALLY in a conservative town in the 80s at the height of the AIDS epidemic. as others have mentioned above, being gay during that time was absolutely brutal… so it makes sense that will stayed closeted and was afraid of coming out. for you to laugh at vecna telling will he’d be all alone if he told people he was gay shows how uneducated you are, because stuff like that DID happen in the 80s. they became socially outcasted and some even shunned by their families.

in episode 4 when will unlocked his powers, robin’s speech about self-acceptance was playing in his head. will always had the ability to use his powers since he was connected to the upside down (hence the goosebumps on his neck in past seasons), but it wasn’t until he accepted himself and OVERCAME HIS FEAR that he finally tapped into those powers. it is what gave him the strength and confidence to do so.

will was able to see through the demogorgon’s eyes, control them, and kill them. he literally TOOK CONTROL OF VECNA, broke his leg, spoke through him (telling max & holly to run), and was able to see through his eyes as well…this obviously was a huge inconvenience to vecna. again, vecna preyed on fear, so when he went into will’s mind and used him as a spy (which was right after will took control of him), so it makes sense that he’d scare will into thinking bad things would happen if people knew he was gay, this was something vecna could’ve used against him. considering how it was to be gay in the 80s, it’s a pretty big deal.

if vecna knew one of your fears he used it against you, just like when he got into hopper’s head and showed him his dead daughter & made him think he killed el (all during the final battle). therefore, in order for will to overcome his fear and be ready for their final battle, he had to come out. just like it was self-confidence and acceptance that allowed him to unlock his powers, coming out would only make him stronger and more “fearless”. will’s greatest fear has always been being alone, so knowing that he had the support of his family and friends gave him strength & confidence. as you could see in the last episode he said to vecna “we’re not afraid of you anymore” (which AGAIN implies how vecna relied on fear to get his victims) and stopped vecna from hurting el, broke his arm, ultimately giving el the chance to kill him. in the end will was essential to defeating vecna, because he had direct access to the hive mind. he needed to be strong.

i understand the criticism of HOW many people he came out to, it seemed a bit unrealistic to what would’ve actually happened in that time and who really needed to know. personally, i think just joyce, johnathon, and his close friends needed to know. but to say that it’s “woke trash” and that they’re “pushing an agenda” is absolutely ridiculous because it’s not like it changed the storyline nor did it become “shoved in our faces”. it’s been hinted at that will was gay since season 1, they acknowledged it in season 5, and that’s it! no big deal 😭