because i can be delusional one last time, here are all the inconsistencies i’ve gathered so far that makes me believe that either the finale didn’t happen or was a vision or it was a tragic ending:
mike ending up like ted. even the same hairstyle.
robin suddenly dressing in frills and has long hair
rovickie break up out of nowhere when last we saw robin was promising to take her on a date
el saying goodbye to mike in her mind when the sirens were blaring and she shouldn’t have been able to do that
the voltage dial turning from grey to red
the coming out scene dialogue inconsistencies
mike being unable to tell el i love you even though that was his plot for the entirety of st4
el saying mike understands her better than anyone else when el says the opposite in st4 and her love for max is what makes her more powerful than she’s ever been
the mind flayer and vecna defeat being very underwhelming
max at the dnd game crashing out about how the campaign doesn’t make sense the way we’re crashing out.
all the wsqk clues not adding up
duffers said we’ll know who opened the byers door bolt in ep1. the show still hasn’t told us
why was will framed as the exotic matter in the bridge episode drawing with an x over his heart?
why was the painting not addressed when it was wills entire st4 plot?
mike and wills eternal sunshine outfit inspirations when it led to absolutely nothing
max graduating with the boys when she’s missed a year of school
WHAT was vecna’s plan exactly? what would merging worlds do? what would it look like?
where were the demos both in the upside down and the abyss?
what about birthdaygate? why do henry and will share birthdays?
why do joyce and hopper never mention knowing henry?
what was the point of the “snowballs to avalanche” conversation?
why did will go from hopeful to giving mike up in a day?
why do the military let them go? and why is there a memorial with eddie’s name on it (as seen in BTS)?
why wouldn’t mike touch will even before the coming out? and more so after?
is mike grieving el the emotional weight of the finale? because it didn’t move me. in fact it pissed me off that he couldn’t say he loved her even then.
the duffers equating el to her powers in an interview saying she had to die. when millie herself said el’s st5 arc was realising she’s more human and less superhero.
if i’m missing something, feel free to reply and i’ll add it in edits
creelby parallels with byler going unmentioned
“can love defeat fear?” theme in tfs, but the finale was “can weapons defeat the mind flayer?”
where is henry’s backstory? and patty?
does will still have powers?
we never saw Will's Vecna Vision
do the kids have powers now?
is the mindflayer even dead?
the lies and contradictions in Interviews
will standing like henry in shock jock and that not leading up to anything
where’s the turnbow family?
how did steve become a teacher without going to college?
what happens to the pregnant women in the lab?
how did killing the mind flayer and beheading vecna not hurt will?
everyone in the epilogue sitting with their hands like henry:
the whatzit board game in hop’s cabin in the epilogue (and in mike’s basement in the epilogue)
hop moving on from el’s death faster than mike, when all of st5 was spent showing us that mike barely mentions el and hop was ready to die to keep her safe.
why does the epilogue parallel the campaign at the end of season 1: 10 hours long, full of plot holes.
why do nancy and karen, mike and ted have the same hairstyles - which is also coincidentally henry’s hairstyle
AI generated images in the credit rolls or at least drawn to look like AI art.
will is a magic user (illusionist) in the credits. he’s never been that in the show.
the graduation robes in the epilogue being orange when in the ronance book, nancy’s graduation robes are green
the blank yellow poster in the graduation scene
mike’s hand weirdly twitching all the time
volume two suddenly splitting byler and elmax when we know that mike and max have always been two of the most important people to will and el respectively.
even more inconsistencies:
karen’s scar disappears in the final scene where she opens the basement door and calls the party up
the handle on the door in the basement behind the party is on the right (when it’s originally on the left)
the duffers intentionally sounding stupid in interviews (saying the demos aren’t in the final battle because they didn’t anticipate it. when vecna saw through the memories of both el and hop that episode AND can spy through will)
why 12 kids? the duffers said they didn’t really think about it an they like clock imagery, but robin in the narrative specifically asks “why 12 kids?”
will’s vecna vision is basically the ending mike wheeler got
“and me” “and me” / “i believe” “i believe” sounding like cult chants (this is just an observation)
floors, outfits resembling chessboards.
no mention of suzie at all
where’s the 3rd waterfall in mike’s version of el escaping? if it’s his fantasy, why isn’t it right?
dustin says “chaotic good and chaotic bad” but it’s “chaotic good and chaotic evil” (they even put the alignment in the credits) also there are three classes of chaos - chaotic neutral too.
expanding on a point before but melvalds doesn’t sell milkshakes like will said it does
will can’t enjoy getting lost in the woods
they said barb’s body will return. we didn’t see it. they also said no scenes were cut in st5.
five chimes as the abyss starts to descend. last season we were told that each chime represents one victim
why are the “popular kids” suddenly chummy with the party? what led up to that?
why does mike hold el so awkwardly in his last conversation with her?
scene of party playing dnd and will is in his will the wise costume in the finale - not a scene that happened in the show.
credit erasing will behind mileven in the rink o mania scene
