Stranger Things Finale Sparks Fan Debate Over Timeline Errors

 

‘Stranger Things’ hit with more timeline errors ahead of finale

Stranger Things fans have once again zeroed in on continuity errors—this time in the newly released first volume of the show’s fifth and final season.

Viewers quickly noticed a discrepancy involving Will Byers’ childhood memory in episode 4, Sorcerer.

In the scene, Will (Noah Schnapp) flashes back to a bright, sunny day when he and his brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) built Castle Byers. But the moment doesn’t line up with how Jonathan previously described that day in season 2’s The Mindflayer.

At the time, Jonathan said, “We stayed up all night building Castle Byers… just the way you drew it. And it took so long because you were so bad at hammering. You’d miss the nail every time.” He also recalled that it started raining and they both got sick but refused to stop.

“We just had to finish it, didn’t we? We just had to.”

Fans pointed out that the two versions of events don’t match, though some note the difference could be attributed to the way trauma distorts memory—especially since it happened shortly after their father left.

The flashback isn’t the only continuity slip viewers caught. In episode 6, The Turnbow Trap, Joyce (Winona Ryder) says Will was 11 when he was taken into the Upside Down, despite earlier missing posters listing his age as 12.

This echoes a previous oversight from season 4, when the show failed to acknowledge Will’s birthday. At the time, creators Matt and Ross Duffer admitted the mistake, telling Variety, “It was obviously a mistake, and we’re sorry. We apologize to the fans.”

They joked about possibly doing a “George Lucas” fix in the future, though it hasn’t happened.

Volume 2 of the final season arrives December 25.

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