Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Stranger Things finale
NEED TO KNOW
Noah Schnapp knew the fans needed one last moment between Will Byers and Mike Wheeler before Stranger Things concluded.
In the penultimate episode of the series, Will (Schnapp) came out as gay to his family and friends before they embarked on their final fight against Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). As he shared his truth for the first time, he hinted at his longtime crush on Mike (Finn Wolfhard), which was confirmed in season 4.
He didn’t refer to Mike by name, but said, “I had this crush on someone even though I know, I know they’re not like me, but then I realized, he’s just my Tammy,” referring to the story Robin (Maya Hawke) told him about her first crush on a girl.
Schnapp, 21, tells PEOPLE that he wanted more to be addressed between the lifelong best friends before the series closed out.
“I did feel there was a little bit left unsaid with [episode 7]. And I did actually speak to the Duffers, and they included a scene in the finale that wasn’t originally there to kind of close that story properly,” he said, referring to series creators, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer.
Netflix
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The scene in the finale happens while the group is climbing the radio tower to get closer to the Abyss. Mike stumbled over his words as he apologized to Will for being “self-absorbed” and not supporting him enough, but Will told him, “It needed to happen the way it happened. I needed to find my own way.”
The pair then agreed to be “best friends,” easing any worry from Will that his confession would alter their tight-knit relationship.
Schnapp says it was “nice to have that trust from [Matt and Ross Duffer]” when he suggested adding that conversation.
“If something doesn’t work, or if something feels not right, you can speak to them, and they will work with you,” he says of the show’s creators.
The final conversation between Mike and Will left things feeling “completely closed and satisfying,” Schnapp adds. “I think the fans will be happy.”
Matt and Ross previously told PEOPLE that Mike understood during Will’s coming-out scene that he was the secret crush being referenced.
“That was the intent,” Ross, 41, said. “Once Will is talking about Tammy and all that and his experience, yeah, it’s Mike — and his friends — all realizing and understanding now for the first time, even if Mike has been somewhat oblivious over these years, what his friend is saying.”
“He’s clocking what Will felt over the years,” Ross explained, though he noted that Mike isn’t the focus of the scene. “It’s about Will understanding who he is and being less fearful and expressing himself to all his friends and family.”
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
The scene was “perfectly” done in Schnapp’s eyes.
“I was nervous, I was like, ‘How are they going to write that?’ But I read it, and I just cried reading it, and I was like, ‘This is perfect. They did it.’ There’s no notes,” he told PEOPLE of the pivotal scene for his character.
He was glad, too, that it “wasn’t just a sob fest,” he said. “He was happy through the beginning of it, kind of reliving those memories. And it makes it hit harder, almost.”
Stranger Things season 5 is streaming now on Netflix.
