A long-running series has its perks, profit, but also some troubles, mainly continuity errors. Stranger Things is no exception – here are some of the things I noticed in the show that just don't make sense!
With the release of Stranger Things Season 4 on Netflix more than a year ago, a lot of fans have been pointing out continuity errors. I thought this might be a fun topic to write about, and here I am, nitpicking one of the better Netflix releases. I love my job!
Stranger Things: Three Things That Make No Sense
Will's Birthday
This one was all over Twitter as soon as fans realized. Imagine, not only was Will abducted to the Upside Down and possessed by the Mind Flayer in the first two seasons, now they even forgot his birthday. Poor Will sure has been through enough hardship, I mean, just look at his haircut in season 4!
In season 2, they even made a big deal out of it when Joyce tries to get through to the possessed Will by talking about it.
Well, in the fourth season, either the show writers, or the characters in the show have forgotten that Will's birthday was March 22. In the episode where El is bullied in a roller rink, one of her bullies records the whole thing. In the bottom left of the camera, you can clearly see the date, Mar 22. But it gets even worse.
so not only EVERYONE forgot about will's birthday, he also had to deal with mike telling him that he ruined the day and joyce saying that she was leaving to alaska, wow well done duffer brothers you just showed that you hate your own character
— sara. (@wherexbyers) May 31, 2022
Matt Duffer even made a statement, admitting that they forgot about the date of Will's birthday.
The honest response is, clearly like the characters in the show, we also forgot about Will’s birthday, [...] So the debate now is whether we adjust Will’s birthday or we just let it be really sad.
And sad it really is. Poor Will was so excited that Mike came to California, only for him to forget his birthday. No wonder he cried in a later episode! Well, I guess that had a different reason, but that is just another way the show writers torment poor Will!
El Was Quite Talkative
Remember when El wasn't really talking after escaping the facility? In season 4, they showed a very different El. She talks quite a lot, with Father and the other numbers in the facility, as well as the staff there.
The co-producers of the show, the Duffer brothers, explained that it had something to do with her isolation after the incident. If you've seen the show, you know what I'm referring to.
I guess this could be an argument, but if they wanted to explain it more plausible, they could have said it had something to do with her overusing her powers. You know how she "lost" her powers before season 4? Maybe she lost the capability to speak the same way and had to learn that again too?
They went for a different, less logical explanation, which makes it seem fabricated. I would do the same, though. People just keep nitpicking at every little thing that doesn't quite add up! Disgusting! Vultures! I'm different, though.
The Upside Down is Frozen In Time
This one kinda bothered me the most. People forgetting Will's birthday? Pretty sad, but Mike was only thinking about El and everybody else was busy, I guess, so okay. The El can talk thing? Can somewhat be explained, so it didn't really bother me.
But what the hell were the showrunners thinking with this one?
The premise can be kinda cool and is important to the plot, I get it. But why would Hawkins' Upside Down counterpart be stuck at the moment in time, when Will got abducted? And even if so, how are they interacting with stuff that got added after Will's abduction?
One of the best scenes in season 1 was, when Joyce puts up the Christmas light alphabet and Will is able to communicate with her. But if the Upside Down is stuck at the moment in time, when Will entered that world, then there wouldn't have been anything to interact with and send a message!
For this one, the producers really have some explaining to do. I guess you could make an argument of electric appliances leaving some sort of mark through the dimensions, but then Will wouldn't have been aware of the letters below them. So that doesn't add up either.
Well, messing up is human, and at least it wasn't as blatantly stupid as pretty much everything in Game of Thrones season 8. But nitpicking is just fun and if you noticed any of these continuity errors, you probably were paying a lot of attention to the show, which is a good sign.
How do you assess the development of Stranger Things over its four seasons, and what are your expectations for Season 5? Let us know in the comments!