The 10 most unforgivable Stranger Things plot holes from seasons 1 to 5, including the finale
How is Hopper the chief of police again? And what's the deal with the Upside Down?
Stranger Things has ended, but despite the creators’ promise to “tie up loose ends” in the season 5 finale, fans have pointed out a lot of plot holes.
These were the Duffer Brothers’ exact words: “The goal is to tie up the remaining loose ends and answer any questions that remain.”
“There are a few specifically big ones… Henry and his backstory, and then Eleven and what all this means for her and Kali,” they told Deadline.
We did get some answers (and a big tease for the next Stranger Things spin-off). However, several things remain unaddressed – and these are the biggest plot holes across the whole series.
The biggest Stranger Things plot holes
10. What happened between Suzie and Dustin?
Dustin and Suzie (or Dusty Bun and Suzie Poo, as they called themselves) were one of the cutest couples in Stranger Things. Despite his friends’ doubts in season 3, she became a huge asset from afar and even helped Mike and co. in season 4.
However, not only is she never seen in season 5, but nobody mentions her. Did Dustin break up with her? Was she unable to visit because of the quarantine? Are they still together? Considering how Dustin flirts with Stacey in the finale, it certainly seems like they split up.
In an interview with Elite Daily, Gaten Matarazzo revealed what happened between them.
“I’m really sad to say, but because Dustin’s in his really rude era of just being an emo little butthead, I think he broke up with her,” he explained.
“Either he broke up with her, or maybe he even just ghosted her,” Matarazzo says.
“Do you think that he’s in a state right now where he’s going to be like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to talk?’ Also, it’s long-distance. The best case scenario is he broke up with her over the phone. That’s tough. How lame is that?”
9. How did Hopper become chief of police again?
Let’s briefly recap what’s happened to Hopper since season 1. He was Hawkins’ chief of police, he harboured Eleven and kept government secrets, and then he died… except he didn’t, because he was kidnapped by the Russians.
Joyce (with the help of the government) brought him home, and he lived quietly (and secretly) while training Eleven in season 5.
Yet, by the end of the final season (after murdering several soldiers), he’s somehow back in his old job, no questions asked.
8. What happened to the Turnbow family?
In season 5 volume 1, Joyce and the others drugged, abducted, and tied up Derek and the other members of his family to prevent Vecna from getting to him first.
They eventually let Derek go and enlist him as their mole in the government camp with the rest of the children. However, what happened to his mum and dad?
Did they free themselves? And, if they did, would they not want to press charges against those responsible?
7. Is the Upside Down toxic or not?
In the earlier seasons of Stranger Things, scientists and soldiers wear hazmat suits any time they venture into the Upside Down. Apparently, it was because the air was toxic.
That no longer appears to be the case. We’ve seen characters exploring the Upside Down without masks or anything to protect themselves from the spores in the air, and they’re completely fine (until they’re attacked by demogorgons).
So, were the scientists just paranoid about exploring an unfamiliar territory, and they never actually knew it was toxic? This is the most likely answer, but it’s weird that it’s simply never addressed.
6. How did Will communicate with the Christmas lights?
The Upside Down is said to be frozen in time; November 6, 1983, to be exact, the day Will was first taken.
That means it has always remained in the same state. For example, Nancy can’t find her gun in her closet, because it wasn’t in there in 1983.
So, when Joyce hangs up Christmas lights on the wall after Will disappears, they wouldn’t be in the Upside Down. Yet, Will somehow not only communicates using these lights, but spells out words with the letters on the wall.
To be fair, we know that electronic signals bleed into the Upside Down. It’s entirely possible that Will saw and interacted with the particles as they lit up. However, it’s more of a stretch to suggest he worked out that Joyce painted the alphabet on the wall.
5. How did Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Dustin escape the Upside Down?
In season 4, Nancy, Steve, and Robin fight Vecna in the Upside Down while Eddie (RIP) and Dustin distract the demobats.
The fourth season ended with Vecna opening the rifts into Hawkins, and they only closed when Eleven brought Max back to life.
The question is, how on Earth did they make it out of the Upside Down?
The gate in the trailer would have turned into a rift (again, that closed), and it’s unclear how they made it back alive. All we got was a “two days later” time skip, and amazingly, they’re all alive and well.
4. Why wasn’t Will in pain (or dead) after Vecna’s death?
Season 5 made it abundantly clear that Will shared a deep connection with Vecna. He discovered he could tap into the hive mind, controlling not just the demogorgons, but Vecna himself.
However, that sometimes had painful consequences. In volume 1’s final episode, we saw him writhing in pain when the military used flamethrowers on the demogorgons, and he reacted similarly in early seasons.
So, when the crew was lighting up the Mind Flayer with every firearm imaginable, and when Eleven impaled Vecna on a tooth, and when Joyce beheaded him, why was Will… fine? He doesn’t even react.
We saw Will break Vecna’s hand – did this sever their connection and allow him to live, even after the Mind Flayer was destroyed? Perhaps.
3. Where were all the demogorgons in the Abyss?
The Abyss (once known as Dimension X) was the home world of the demogorgons. Yet, when the crew arrived there in the season 5 finale, they didn’t encounter any of them.
Also, what happened to the demobats from season 4? They were a huge threat in the Upside Down, and they presumably originated in the Abyss.
2. Why did the military let everyone go, and what happened to Dr. Kay?
In the season 5 finale, everyone (apart from Kali) safely makes it back to Hawkins. However, they’re greeted by Dr. Kay and all of her soldiers, who (understandably) apprehend them. After all, they killed dozens of people and illegally travelled to another dimension.
However, after Eleven’s sacrifice and the destruction of the Upside Down, we’re meant to believe nobody faced any consequences. Dr. Kay is also never seen or mentioned in the epilogue.
Could it be that taking everyone into custody would have risked exposing what happened, so they just let them go? Also, is Dr. Kay still pursuing her project, or is she no longer active? These are big questions, and the finale doesn’t answer them.
1. What is the importance of November 6?
This is the biggest plot hole of them all. From the beginning of Stranger Things, November 6 has been an incredibly important date… but we still don’t know why.
Will was taken on November 6. This was also the date of Henry’s school play in the ’50s, and Vecna planned to cause a collision between Hawkins and the Abyss on the same day.
It’s also the day on which Eleven opened the first gate into the Upside Down.
Unfortunately, we still don’t know why all of these things happened on November 6. Unless the spin-offs come up with an answer, we may never find out.
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