diff --git a/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/events/events.go b/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/events/events.go
index 3835d7f2234a..f2745649cb9f 100644
--- a/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/events/events.go
+++ b/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/events/events.go
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ func (s *Server) StreamEvents(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	}
 
 	api.SetSSEHeaders(w)
-	sw := NewStreamingResponseController(w, timeout)
+	sw := newStreamingResponseController(w, timeout)
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
 	defer func() {
 		cancel()
@@ -178,22 +178,22 @@ func (s *Server) StreamEvents(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		log.WithError(err).Debug("Shutting down StreamEvents handler.")
 	}
 	cleanupStart := time.Now()
-	es.waitForCleanup()
+	es.waitForExit()
 	log.WithField("cleanup_wait", time.Since(cleanupStart)).Debug("streamEvents shutdown complete")
 }
 
 func newEventStreamer(buffSize int, ka time.Duration) *eventStreamer {
 	return &eventStreamer{
-		outbox:    make(chan lazyReader, buffSize),
-		keepAlive: ka,
-		cleanedUp: make(chan struct{}),
+		outbox:        make(chan lazyReader, buffSize),
+		keepAlive:     ka,
+		openUntilExit: make(chan struct{}),
 	}
 }
 
 type eventStreamer struct {
-	outbox    chan lazyReader
-	keepAlive time.Duration
-	cleanedUp chan struct{}
+	outbox        chan lazyReader
+	keepAlive     time.Duration
+	openUntilExit chan struct{}
 }
 
 func (es *eventStreamer) recvEventLoop(ctx context.Context, cancel context.CancelFunc, req *topicRequest, s *Server) error {
@@ -265,13 +265,13 @@ func newlineReader() io.Reader {
 
 // outboxWriteLoop runs in a separate goroutine. Its job is to write the values in the outbox to
 // the client as fast as the client can read them.
-func (es *eventStreamer) outboxWriteLoop(ctx context.Context, cancel context.CancelFunc, w *StreamingResponseWriterController) {
+func (es *eventStreamer) outboxWriteLoop(ctx context.Context, cancel context.CancelFunc, w *streamingResponseWriterController) {
 	var err error
 	defer func() {
 		if err != nil {
 			log.WithError(err).Debug("Event streamer shutting down due to error.")
 		}
-		es.cleanup()
+		es.exit()
 	}()
 	defer func() {
 		cancel()
@@ -313,20 +313,23 @@ func (es *eventStreamer) outboxWriteLoop(ctx context.Context, cancel context.Can
 	}
 }
 
-func (es *eventStreamer) cleanup() {
+func (es *eventStreamer) exit() {
 	drained := 0
 	for range es.outbox {
 		drained += 1
 	}
 	log.WithField("undelivered_events", drained).Debug("Event stream outbox drained.")
-	close(es.cleanedUp)
+	close(es.openUntilExit)
 }
 
-func (es *eventStreamer) waitForCleanup() {
-	<-es.cleanedUp
+// waitForExit blocks until the outboxWriteLoop has exited.
+// While this function blocks, it is not yet safe to exit the http handler,
+// because the outboxWriteLoop may still be writing to the http ResponseWriter.
+func (es *eventStreamer) waitForExit() {
+	<-es.openUntilExit
 }
 
-func writeLazyReaderWithRecover(w *StreamingResponseWriterController, lr lazyReader) (err error) {
+func writeLazyReaderWithRecover(w *streamingResponseWriterController, lr lazyReader) (err error) {
 	defer func() {
 		if r := recover(); r != nil {
 			log.WithField("panic", r).Error("Recovered from panic while writing event to client.")
@@ -342,7 +345,11 @@ func writeLazyReaderWithRecover(w *StreamingResponseWriterController, lr lazyRea
 	return err
 }
 
-func (es *eventStreamer) writeOutbox(ctx context.Context, w *StreamingResponseWriterController, first lazyReader) error {
+func (es *eventStreamer) writeOutbox(ctx context.Context, w *streamingResponseWriterController, first lazyReader) error {
+	// The outboxWriteLoop is responsible for managing the keep-alive timer and toggling between reading from the outbox
+	// when it is ready, only allowing the keep-alive to fire when there hasn't been a write in the keep-alive interval.
+	// Since outboxWriteLoop will get either the first event or the keep-alive, we let it pass in the first event to write,
+	// either the event's lazyReader, or nil for a keep-alive.
 	needKeepAlive := true
 	if first != nil {
 		if err := writeLazyReaderWithRecover(w, first); err != nil {
@@ -358,6 +365,11 @@ func (es *eventStreamer) writeOutbox(ctx context.Context, w *StreamingResponseWr
 		case <-ctx.Done():
 			return ctx.Err()
 		case rf := <-es.outbox:
+			// We don't want to call Flush until we've exhausted all the writes - it's always preferrable to
+			// just keep draining the outbox and rely on the underlying Write code to flush+block when it
+			// needs to based on buffering. Whenever we fill the buffer with a string of writes, the underlying
+			// code will flush on its own, so it's better to explicitly flush only once, after we've totally
+			// drained the outbox, to catch any dangling bytes stuck in a buffer.
 			if err := writeLazyReaderWithRecover(w, rf); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
@@ -659,22 +671,26 @@ func (s *Server) currentPayloadAttributes(ctx context.Context) (lazyReader, erro
 	}, nil
 }
 
-func NewStreamingResponseController(rw http.ResponseWriter, timeout time.Duration) *StreamingResponseWriterController {
+func newStreamingResponseController(rw http.ResponseWriter, timeout time.Duration) *streamingResponseWriterController {
 	rc := http.NewResponseController(rw)
-	return &StreamingResponseWriterController{
+	return &streamingResponseWriterController{
 		timeout: timeout,
 		rw:      rw,
 		rc:      rc,
 	}
 }
 
-type StreamingResponseWriterController struct {
+// streamingResponseWriterController provides an interface similar to an http.ResponseWriter,
+// wrapping an http.ResponseWriter and an http.ResponseController, using the ResponseController
+// to set and clear deadlines for Write and Flush methods, and delegating to the underlying
+// types to Write and Flush.
+type streamingResponseWriterController struct {
 	timeout time.Duration
 	rw      http.ResponseWriter
 	rc      *http.ResponseController
 }
 
-func (c *StreamingResponseWriterController) Write(b []byte) (int, error) {
+func (c *streamingResponseWriterController) Write(b []byte) (int, error) {
 	if err := c.setDeadline(); err != nil {
 		return 0, err
 	}
@@ -685,15 +701,15 @@ func (c *StreamingResponseWriterController) Write(b []byte) (int, error) {
 	return out, c.clearDeadline()
 }
 
-func (c *StreamingResponseWriterController) setDeadline() error {
+func (c *streamingResponseWriterController) setDeadline() error {
 	return c.rc.SetWriteDeadline(time.Now().Add(c.timeout))
 }
 
-func (c *StreamingResponseWriterController) clearDeadline() error {
+func (c *streamingResponseWriterController) clearDeadline() error {
 	return c.rc.SetWriteDeadline(time.Time{})
 }
 
-func (c *StreamingResponseWriterController) Flush() error {
+func (c *streamingResponseWriterController) Flush() error {
 	if err := c.setDeadline(); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -702,5 +718,3 @@ func (c *StreamingResponseWriterController) Flush() error {
 	}
 	return c.clearDeadline()
 }
-
-var _ io.Writer = &StreamingResponseWriterController{}