‘Stranger Things 2’ Teen Stars React To Unscripted Kissing Scenes

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers from Stranger Things 2.

The Stranger Things 2 finale featured several unscripted kisses, and not all of the teen stars of the Netflix hit were happy about it. In a post-season interview on Beyond Stranger Things, which you can see below, Stranger Things 2 star Sadie Sink revealed that producers Matt and Ross Duffer sprung an unscripted kissing scene on her in the final Season 2 episode shot at the Snow Ball. In the scene, Sink’s character, Max, locks lips with Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin). In the interview, Sink, who is 15, revealed that “the kiss was not written in the script” for the episode “Chapter 9: The Gate,” and that she was stressed out all day over it.

Stranger Things creator Ross Duffer defended the script update. The showrunner said the kissing scene was all Sink’s fault, explaining that after she “freaked out” when he made a joke about it, he decided he had to make her do it. Sink revealed that the kiss was filmed in front of a room of spectators, including her mom, other cast members’ parents, and hundreds of people from the Stranger Things crew. Sadie Sink’s kissing co-star, McLaughlin, 16, also admitted that the unplanned kiss left him “feeling weird.” You can see the teen Stranger Things stars talking about the uncomfortable unscripted kissing scene below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=25&v=RUk4Vje_mCQ

The Snow Ball scene also served as the setting for a previously unplanned kiss between Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard). The characters exchanged a brief kiss in the Stranger Things 1 finale, but for Stranger Things 2 they had a double dose.

In an interview with Collider, Stranger Things executive producers Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen revealed that the unscripted kissing scenes resulted in “mercilessly” teasing among the teen cast members. The EP’s revealed that Finn Wolfhard even warned Millie Bobby Brown and the cameraman when he was “going in” for the kiss.

For Millie Bobby Brown, an on-camera kiss with Wolfhard was also her first real-life kiss, too.

“It was a strange experience. Having 250 people looking at you kissing someone is like, ‘Whoa!’ ” Brown, 13, told Variety.

Brown also joked that while Wolfhard likes to say he was an “experienced” kisser, she’s pretty sure she was his first.

“He says I wasn’t, but I definitely think I was,” Brown said. “I think he was just trying to be cool.”

In August, the Stranger Things kids appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show, with Brown and Wolfhard revealing that they went through a lot of Tic Tacs ahead of their first kissing scene last season. Brown said it was “awful” to have her dad watch the kissing scene and she even quipped, “Kissing sucks!”

There has been some backlash against the Stranger Things 2 producers for springing the kissing scenes on the unsuspecting teens, but so far the Duffer Brothers haven’t commented on the hoopla.

Stranger Things 2 is currently available on Netflix.

[Featured Image by Netflix]