“The Bridge,” Stranger Things Season 5’s seventh and penultimate episode, drew sharply divided reactions after Volume 2 arrived on December 25, 2025. The controversy centered partly on Will Byers’s coming-out scene, while viewers also criticized the season’s writing, exposition and pacing. Reports described allegations of review bombing, but they do not establish that the episode’s low ratings were manipulated or explain every negative review.
What happened with “The Bridge”?
After Volume 2’s release, discussion of Season 5 Episode 7 focused on its audience reception and on a pivotal scene involving Will. Variety reported on December 30, 2025, that the episode had an IMDb rating of 5.4 out of 10, based on more than 96,000 user reviews at that time. Variety also reported that the show’s other episodes were rated higher in that snapshot. Those are historical figures, not verified current ratings.
The scale of the reported response made the episode a flashpoint, but a rating alone cannot show why a viewer voted or whether votes were coordinated. “Review bombing” became a prominent characterization of the episode’s reception; the available reporting does not prove that all, or even a particular share, of its low ratings came from organized activity.
What do the reported scores measure?
The figures circulating in coverage refer to different platforms and different scopes. They should not be treated as two measurements of the same thing.
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| Figure | Platform and scope | Reported snapshot |
|---|---|---|
| 5.4/10, with more than 96,000 reviews | IMDb user rating and review count for “The Bridge,” Season 5 Episode 7 | Reported by Variety on December 30, 2025 |
| 56% | Rotten Tomatoes audience score for the entire fifth season, not Episode 7 alone | Reported by TheWrap on December 29, 2025 |
Audience scores can change, and the two reports capture different dates. The IMDb number concerns one episode; the Rotten Tomatoes percentage concerns the season as a whole. Neither figure, by itself, establishes a cause for the reaction.
Why did the episode provoke backlash?
Coverage described overlapping complaints, rather than a single explanation for the ratings.
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Objections to Will’s coming-out scene
Some commenters objected to the scene itself, with some describing it as “woke” or unnecessary. Others criticized its placement near the setup for the final battle, arguing that it interrupted the story’s momentum. Those are reported reactions, not evidence that online comments represent the whole audience.
Other viewers defended the scene as part of Will’s established character arc and as relevant to the story. The distinction matters: a complaint about timing or pacing is not the same as an objection to the scene’s subject, and neither should be assumed to explain every low rating.
Writing, exposition and pacing
Criticism also extended beyond the scene. TheWrap reported complaints about exposition and repetitive dialogue, while coverage described objections to the season’s writing and slow pacing. These criticisms offer a separate account of audience dissatisfaction; the reported score does not indicate how much any one factor contributed.
Did IMDb confirm the episode was review-bombed?
No episode-specific confirmation appears in the available IMDb forum discussion. Users raised review-bombing concerns, and an IMDb employee replied that the voting system has safeguards and that this type of behavior is periodically detected and automatically defeated. That is a general statement about platform safeguards, not a finding that “The Bridge” was targeted or that a campaign affected its score.
Rank #4
The evidence therefore supports describing a polarized response and allegations of coordinated scoring—not stating as fact that the episode was review-bombed. The forum thread contains user claims and a platform representative’s general explanation; it is not an independent audit of the episode’s votes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How did the Duffers explain the scene?
In a post-finale response reported by Parade on January 2, 2026, co-creator Ross Duffer said the scene had been built toward for nine years and was important both thematically and narratively. Matt Duffer said they had not expected the scale of the backlash, adding that the brothers were “many things, but subtle is not one of those things!” Their comments explain the creators’ intent; they do not settle disagreements among viewers about the scene’s placement or execution.
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What the controversy does—and does not—show
The episode’s reception was divided across several questions: Will’s story, the scene’s timing, and broader concerns about the season’s writing and pace. The December 2025 platform figures document the scale of attention at the time, while the January 2026 comments offer the creators’ view of the scene’s purpose. None of these sources establishes how many ratings were coordinated, or lets a reader separate audience objections by motive.
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