Stranger Things Fans Call Out Continuity Errors In Season 5

The first volume of Stranger Things Season 5 has been out for less than a week, and fans have already spotted apparent continuity errors in the Netflix series.

After watching the first batch of new episodes, which dropped on November 26, viewers took to social media to call out two mistakes in the series, which both involve the character of Will Byers, played by Noah Schnapp.

If you can recall, in the epic final scene Season 5 Episode 4, titled "Sorcerer," Will recalls a series of happy memories, diving deep into himself, before he then comes into his supernatural powers. One of the memories he sees during his flashback includes when Will and his older brother, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), first build their fort, Castle Byers, in the woods. In the flashback, the weather is clear as they constuct the fort.

However, fans pointed out that this was a discrepancy as in Season 2 Episode 8, "The Mind Flayer," Jonathan tells Will -- in an attempt to pull Will from the possession of the Mind Flayer -- recalls the day they first built Castle Byers, noting that it had been a rainy day.

"Do you remember the day Dad left?" Heaton's Jonathan tells Schnapp's Will in the episode. "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. And then it started raining, but we stayed out there anyway. We were both sick for like a week after that. But we just had to finish it, didn’t we? We just had to."

Another error fans pointed out was a detail regarding Will's age. In Season 5 Episode 3, titled "The Turnbow Trap," Will has a conversation with his mother Joyce (Winona Ryder), who reflects on the day Will was taken into the Upside Down.

"What kind of mother doesn't check on their 11-year-old son?" she asks.

While the detail may have slipped some viewers' minds, several fans noted that it was previously stated early on that Will was 12, not 11, when he was taken, citing the "missing" posters that were shown in Season 1.

Fans subsequently took to X, formerly Twitter, to express their frustration over the two continuity errors.

"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. And it also makes no sense for them to act so normal when it’s literally the day their father left the house," a user wrote.

"inconsistencies are kinda driving me crazy ngl," a second person added. "first joyce saying will was 11 when he was taken when he was actually 12, and him remembering the building of castle byers with jonathan during a clear day when in s2 jonathan said they built it through the night in the rain."

Another fan responded to a post shared by Stranger Things producer and director, Shawn Levy, who posted behind-the-scenes photos, and asked, "Season 5, Volume 1 -- Thoughts? Theories? Concerns?"

"Joyce says will is 11 but wasn’t he 12 when he was taken to the upside down?" a fan asked.

Meanwhile, another user similarily noted, "birthdaygate is insane because he was 12, not 11."

According to Entertainment Weekly, "Birthdaygate" is a reference to a past Stranger Things error -- also involving the character of Will -- from Season 4. Episode 2 is set on Will's birthday, March 22, but no one makes note of it in the entire episode. This promoted some fans to speculate that it was intentional and his friends and family had forgotten his birthday.

However, showrunners the Duffer brothers subsequently apologized, with Matt Duffer telling Variety, 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."

The brothers noted that they would consider changing Will's birthay, and "George Lucas it," with Ross Duffer adding, "It was obviously a mistake, and we’re sorry. We apologize to the fans."

Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 is streaming now on Netflix. Volume 2 drops on Christmas Day, while the series finale will drop at 5 p.m. PT on New Years Eve on Netflix -- and will premiere in theaters.