YMMV / Stranger Things S2E9 "Chapter Nine: The Gate"

• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • The kiss between Lucas and Max at the dance. There even being a kiss started as a joke, but Sadie Sink (Max's actress) reacted so strongly and negatively to it (she was only 14 at the time and had never kissed a boy before) that they put it in and made her do it over and over because the shot wasn't working quite right. This story came out at the same time stories were coming out all over Hollywood of women and girls being forced to do things they didn't want to do, and the Duffers — rightfully, many thought — took quite a bit of heat for it. Not helped by them doing something similar in season one with Millie and Finn, although at least in that case the kiss actually was in the script and they both knew about it ahead of time.
  • Will's reluctance to dance with the girl at the Snow Ball and being prodded by Mike to accept her invitation comes across a lot harsher after Season 4 reveals that Will is gay and in love with Mike.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: While it's supposed to be a nice gesture, the girl who asks Will to dance comes across as pretty insensitive by calling him "Zombie Boy," a cruel nickname that other kids teased him with.