After five seasons filmed across nearly a decade, a show like Stranger Things is likely to face certain continuity errors.
The hit Netflix series returned with part 1 of its fifth and final season on Wednesday, November 26, with a scene showing flashbacks of Will (Noah Schnapp) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard). One of the key moments featured Will when he was younger building his iconic Castle Byers with brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), which caught fans’ attention.
“Jonathan once said that when he and Will built Castle Byers, it was pouring rain and they both got so soaked they ended up sick for a whole week,” read a post via X alongside clips from the flashback sequence.
Social media users pointed out that the footage was during a sunny day — with both Will and Jonathan on good terms despite the circumstances.
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“It also makes no sense for them to act so normal when it’s literally the day their father left the house,” wrote a viewer about the context of Will and Jonathan creating the background area to distract from their parents getting a divorce.
While many agreed about the mistake, others tried to rationalize the issue.
“I explain this by the fact that they most likely started building the castle before Loni left, and on the day he finally left, Jonathan decided to finish it with Will so that he would have a safe place,” replied another fan of the show.
Elsewhere in the season, a poster for Will during the period of time he was missing marked him as 12 years old while other dialogue in the show claimed he was 11 at the time. This was added to a larger fan conspiracy about “birthday gate,” where viewers question the inconsistency surrounding Will’s special day.
Season 4 inspired the onscreen mix-up when viewers were quick to point out potential subtext for Will’s distant behavior.
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“They forgot will’s birthday. I’m f***ing crying,” one social media user wrote in 2022 via X alongside a screenshot of the footage taken of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) at the skating ring in episode 2. The date on the tape read March 22, which Joyce (Winona Ryder) previously confirmed as Will’s birthday during season 2.
The official account for the Stranger Things writer’s room previously seemed to tease that Will’s birthday may get forgotten by others, tweeting in March 2020, “Some friends forget to play dnd and some forget birthdays, it happens.”
Some fans pointed out that this explains why Will is so upset throughout the season. Others, however, questioned whether the mistake was intentional. “Gonna speak my mind… i dont believe that the duffers forgot about will’s birthday or messed it up. they’ve had three whole years to make this season. they took care of every single detail and it’s too weird that they chose march 22nd out of ALL dates to be a coincidence,” read one response to the continuity controversy.
Stranger Things returns with Volume 2 on December 25, and the finale drops December 31 on Netflix.
