With nearly a decade of lore to reference (and ample time between seasons to rewatch), Stranger Things fans are known for their attention to detail. This skill comes in handy when it’s time to hunt for Easter eggs, but it can also prompt viewers to call out apparent continuity errors — like one in the final moments of Stranger Things 5 Part 1.
Wait A Second…
At the end of Season 5’s first installment, Will uses his connection with Vecna to stop a demogorgon from attacking his bestie, Mike. Right as the creature is about to carry out a fatal blow, Will locks in by remembering Robin’s earlier advice about navigating his sexuality by tapping into his truest self. “I was looking for the answers in somebody else, but I had all the answers,” Robin says. “I just needed to stop being so goddamn scared. Scared of who I really was. And once I did that, I was so free. It’s like I could fly.”
The sweet monologue plays over a montage of happy memories from Will’s younger days — including several moments of his early friendship with Mike, as well as building a fort with his brother, Jonathan.
However, as several Stranger Things fans pointed out, the sunny scene of constructing Castle Byers doesn’t quite track with an earlier mention from the series. “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,” one fan noted on X (formerly Twitter), adding that it “makes no sense” the brothers were so “normal” and happy on the day their dad left home.
Similarly, one viewer on TikTok pointed out that Jonathan actually said the fort-building took place at night — not in the daytime at all. While it may not be a major blunder, Castle Byers is an important piece of Stranger Things history, so the continuity error is surprising.
Of course, memories do often evolve over time, so even if the build was actually wet and dark and miserable, you could read the scene as Will remembering the brotherly moment with rose-colored glasses.
Stranger Things Have Happened
Whether it’s a mistake or a statement about the power of nostalgia (because why not?), Stranger Things’ twisty timeline has confounded fans before. During Season 4, for example, co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer apologized for a continuity error that made it seem as though Will’s birthday had been forgotten by his loved ones.
As Matt told Variety at the time, “We love Will, and I don’t want people to think we don’t love Will because we forgot — we do!”
