i think my biggest gripe about will's coming out scene is that it's largely disconnected from the arc we've seen with will across the past few seasons. yes, it finally confronts his queerness -- which is undoubtedly very important -- but. from watching the show alone, the key conflict that's presented is that will is in love with mike. we actually don't see much of him being gay (except for, like, one alan turing poster) outside of that context! his arc is about being gay, and it is about being in love with mike. those two aspects are interwoven & you can't just ignore one half. it's not a baseless feeling either, because (regardless of ships) it's made pretty clear that will is also incredibly important to mike. at the very least, the canon affirms that both of them are key forces in each other's life. whether this was intentional or not, it's very easy to pick up on.
so, when they handle his arc as: accepting himself as gay (good!) -> suddenly 'understanding' that his feelings for mike was more of a misguided crush built on the need for validation (NOT good!) it just... isn't satisfying.
will did not fall for mike only because he's gay. he fell in love with mike because he's mike. they are one of the main duos in the show, right there with joyce & hopper, lucas & max, dustin & steve.
that's why the far more cohesive conclusion to this arc would be between mike and will. will has been burying his feelings for at least two seasons (i'd argue much longer), and so without actually giving him the dignity of having his feelings addressed -- whatever the outcome of that may be -- his arc seems unsatisfactory.
