What they always did that they didn't do
I've mentioned some of this before, but part of what made this season feel so wrong was because none of the characters were doing things they normally did. They were all acting... Not like themselves.
Nancy didn't investigate anything. In 1 she taped photos together, investigating on her own and with Jonathon. In 2 she went into the lab, secretly recorded conversations and drove to Illinois to get help to take the lab down. In 3 she followed up on Mrs. Driscoll and the rats in spite of her horrible treatment at the newspaper. In 4 she worked on the school paper, interviewed Eddie's uncle, went undercover in the asylum and got an exclusive from Vecna himself.
In 5? She didn't investigate anything. It was even Mike's idea to look into Mr. Whatsit with their mom. She certainly didn't show any curiosity about the military occupation.
Joyce didn't discover a small hidden detail. In 1 she paid attention to the lights when everyone thought she was crazy. In 2, she paid attention to Will's art and even watched the video, finding the MF in the static, and ignoring all the doctor's who told her nothing was wrong with Will. In 3, it was the magnets. In 4, she got Murray's help so she didn't discover so much as followed a very unbelievable hunch that Hop was somehow alive and in Russia.
In 5? She found nothing. In fact, her one bright idea was so incredibly wrong that I can only surmise she forgot all the details around Will's last possession. Her decision making skills were seriously suspect.
Hopper didn't investigate either. In 1 it was Will's disappearance and the lab. In 2 it was the pumpkin farms and the lab. In 3 it was Joyce's magnets leading him to the mayor and the Russians and eventually their lab. In 4, he was just trying to escape, but he still figured out why they were feeding the prisoners and what was going on.
In 5? He was missing a piece of the puzzle, and just being a mindless grunt searching for Vecna so he could blow him up. He had to be told or shown everything, he didn't put anything together himself. It was El's idea to look into Aker's mind. El's idea to go to the base. He, as a former soldier, wasn't curious about what they were doing there beyond looking for El.
Jonathon wasn't there for his brother. Now this was a repeat of 3, but in 1 and 2 and 4 Jonathon always observed and made time to talk to Will.
In 5, he was way too busy talking to Steve and Murray.
Mike didn't touch Will's art. Like Jonathon, this was a repeat of 3, but in 1, he caressed those binder drawings. In 2 he touched the map of Hawkins and the MF drawing. In 4, he held Will's painting like it was the Mona Lisa.
In 5, we see the painting on his wall at the end, but he doesn't even look at it.
The people who did the things they always did, but did them wrong.
Dustin is the discoverer and namer of things. In 1 he names the Veil of Shadows and figures out a compass can find the gate. In 2 he names demodog and mind flayer and asks Mr. Clarke how to make a sensory deprivation tank. in 3 he names Cerebro, helps translate a Russian code and uses his connections to get the much needed Planck's Constant. in 4 he names Vecna, brings his compass back to find watergate, figures out how and why Vecna is opening the gates.
In 5, he triangulates the lab as the center of the circular wall and finds the journals and names the wormhole and the Abyss, and because it's him everyone believes it's absolutely true, even though that brings up more questions and doesn't entirely make sense.
Will is always drawing/painting something important. In 1 he draws those cabbage fireballs, because sometimes the bad guy is smarter and you need to blow them up. In 2 he draws the MF and Zombie Boy and the Tunnels. in 3 he draws the MF when talking about another sleeper agent/Billy--he also tears down a few of his drawings. In 4 he paints THE painting.
In 5, he paints on the barn wall and repeats his season 2 possession code "He didn't want me to see there" No one notices.
Lucas is incredibly observant. In 1, he notices El wiping her nose and knows she's leading them astray and follows the compass to the lab, noticing the light company vans. In 2, he notices Dustin's feelings about Max and handles it very well, and he also notices where the demodogs went. In 3, he notices the El olive branch. In 4, he notices his party having fun without him and that Max is more troubled than she lets on.
In 5, he notices everything. The date. The coincidences. The fact that Vecna might be messing with them. UNTIL Robin says Max is coming back to her body. Then he's done noticing anything but her.
El is always self-sacrificing. In 1 she protects the party to defeat the demogorgan, sending them both to the UD. In 2, she comes back home because she sees they need her and risks her life to close the giant gate. In 3, she protects the party from the meat flayer and loses her powers. In 4, she stays at the Nina to get her powers back and save the party, and nearly dies fighting Vecna.
In 5, she easily defeats Vecna once she finds him, then because of one speech from Kali, decides to khs anyway to end the cycle. Even though no one wants her to and it's unclear that it would actually do any good. So...it was the one sacrifice that made absolutely no sense and wasn't for her found family, or out of love.
Robin always solves the puzzle. In 3 when she arrives, she cracks the Russian code. In 4 she finds the Creel info and cracks the music code.
In 5 she figures out Will is an antenna, and the number of kids Vecna wants, and makes a Dick plan to get the kids to safety, and that Holly, Max and Will are all trapped in Vecna's mind, and that Will is gay and in love with Mike... But she doesn't notice the dial or tower changing colors. Or Mike's behavior toward Will. Or that the fight seemed way too easy. (Bonus, she does feel that Hawkins is different and isn't sure why)
Steve is the one guy that did something in 5 he'd never done before. Made a plan everyone followed instead of going along with someone else's.
You see what I mean? Everything, every character, was just a little off. Or a lot off, depending.
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