Stranger Things Plot Holes Ranked

The party finds the Mind Flayer in the hospital during Season 3. It sits on an empty, under-construction floor. Mass deaths, bodies, and wrecked stuff fill the area. Fighting sounds and monster screams fill the air. So, asReddit user u/humdingerzingeruser u/humdingerzinger points out how no one at the hospital notices this.

Why don't police show up? Why does Hawkins town keep prepping for the carnival? A massacre like this should be national news.

Will gets stuck in the Upside Down in Season 1. The Hawkins Lab plants a fake body in the quarry, claiming it is Will's. Joyce and Jonathan do not believe it, but the rest of Hawkins did. The town held a funeral for Will.

As Reddit user u/_kachow-user u/_kachow- points out that Max asks Lucas about Will's “Zombie Boy” nickname in Season 2. Lucas tells her the cover story: Will went missing, there was a body, and a fake funeral. Lucas mentions the false remains were “super decomposed,” but why did no one in town try to identify them after Will came back alive? How could no one in Hawkins question who was buried in Will's spot?

When Will is stuck in the Upside Down in Season 1, Joyce puts up Christmas lights to try and reach him. Season 4 shows the Upside Down is frozen in time: November 6, 1983. This moment is seen through objects in Nancy's bedroom. Eleven made contact with the Demogorgon then, which created the Upside Down.

But as Reddit user u/Unplugged_Millennialuser u/Unplugged_Millennial points out that if the Upside Down is stuck in a specific time before Will was taken, how can he talk to Joyce? Joyce put up the lights after his disappearance—after November 6—so they shouldn't exist in the Upside Down.

In Season 4, episode 6, Dr. Martin Brenner tells Eleven the NINA Project aims to boost her psychokinetic powers by forcing her to re-experience memories using video tape. Brenner shows that lab events were taped. Using those videos in a deprivation tank lets Eleven access her powers again.

However, as Reddit user u/maximomo91user u/maximomo91 points out that one memory Brenner uses shows 002 and others attacking Eleven in the Rainbow Room. A key part of the fight shows 002 signals the room's cameras are off. How can Brenner use this memory to trigger Eleven's powers if he has no video of it?

In Season 3, Erica enters the air ducts at Scoops Ahoy!. She emerges and unlocks the door for Steve, Robin, and Dustin. Later, while the group tries to escape the elevator, they cannot open the door.

When the buttons and keypad fail, Robin figures they need a keycard. But asReddit user u/anonneemussErica did not need a keycard to let them in; why do they need one now?

Season 3's main plot centers on the new Hawkins mall, Starcourt. Steve, Robin, Dustin, and Erica find the Russians secretly built an underground lab using Starcourt Mall as a front. Mayor Larry Kline helped facilitate this operation.Reddit user u/ThreadbareAdjustmentThis raises a question: how is this possible, even with Kline's help?

The Soviets located and paid off a small Indiana town's mayor, then started a new building in under a year. Even if we ignore construction timelines, it is hard to accept no one noticed.

If Russian scientists built a secret underground lab with a mall front, armed guards would watch the property constantly. Building such a lab also requires much deeper ground excavation than a standard mall.Reddit user u/plotholefinderThis point also comes up.

After Police Chief Jim Hopper found Will's body was fake in Season 1, he went straight to the lab. Hopper broke in, knocked people out, found the gate to the Upside Down, and woke up in his trailer, only a microphone was in the light fixture.

As Reddit user u/whitie52401Dr. Martin Brenner allows someone with so much information back to Hawkins. Hopper's knowledge of Will's disappearance and his police background make him too valuable to just return home.

Dustin builds a strong ham radio in Season 3, naming it Cerebro. He places it atop a hill the Party calls “Weathertop.” Dustin tries to reach Suzie but picks up a Russian broadcast from the Starcourt Mall instead.Reddit user u/sqplanetariumDustin first heard the transmission at Weathertop without any sound. However, playing the recording for Steve at Scoops Ahoy revealed an obvious jingle underneath the broadcast that was missing the first time.

Steve figured the jingle came from a mall kiddie ride, leading them to the lab under Starcourt. The cut scene from Dustin at Weathertop shows the broadcast comes from a soldier in a bunker in the lab, not near the mall. So, how did the kiddie ride jingle get there later?

The Demogorgon and other species acted differently between Seasons 1 and 4. The way it treats prey in season 1 does not match how it eats them in later seasons. AsReddit user u/ProfessorDWumboThe Season 1 Demogorgon restrains victims before sucking their life force.

Later seasons show the Demogorgon, Demodogs, and Demobats attack prey and draw blood fast. Season 1's Demogorgon travels between worlds freely; no other species can do that. This leaves the question: what makes them different each season?

When Will vanishes in Season 1, the lab puts a fake body in the quarry for the police. This keeps people from searching for Will. But, asReddit user u/loonyshayQuestions arise: how did the lab fake Will's body with moles and birthmarks? Even if they broke into the Byers home and checked Joyce's photos, they could not make a dummy body matching Will in areas covered by clothes in pictures. Whether bloated or water-logged, it looks like Will Byers.

The second question is: how did they make this look-alike body so fast? Will was missing for just a few days then. Does the lab keep a fake body ready? If not, creating a complete, realistic Will Byers corpse in under 72 hours seems farfetched.

When Will went missing in Season 1, Joyce waited by the phone for news. As she and Jonathan chose a photo for the flyer, the phone rang. Joyce answered, hearing only heavy breathing and bad noises, but she knew Will was trying to connect. She screamed for him until the noises became Demogorgon growls and electricity hit the phone.

A former Reddit userAsks: how did Will make that call, and why did he not call again after Joyce used the new phone? Why use Christmas lights if such a connection works?

Season 4 shows Vecna controls the Mind Flayer, the Demogorgon, and all related species. This control lets him see everything the hive mind experiences. He knows past events, what Party factions plan in the Upside Down, and what happens to the Demogorgon in Russia. So, asReddit user u/Long-Turnasks, why couldn't Vecna see what Eleven did through Will?

Will has a connection to the Mind Flayer, and by extension, Vecna. Vecna used Will as his puppet in Season 2. Thus, Vecna abusing this link to watch the only person who can stop him is not unrealistic.

Hawkins is a small Midwestern town. Residents, especially parents, should wonder about a new kid. When the Hargroves arrived in Season 2, the town seemed to know Max and Billy. So, asReddit user u/flintflamezQuestions: Do the Party's parents know about Eleven?

Eleven never interacts with parents except Hopper and Joyce. They know her backstory and her role in the group. After Hopper let her talk to her friends in Season 2, this question became clearer. Eleven was in Dustin's house, but we don't see Claudia or any interaction. Eleven slept at the Hargroves. Since they were new, why would the Hargroves know this girl is a stranger?

The Wheelers are the real issue. Eleven calls Mike on the landline. Karen answers, acting like this happens often. Karen must know who Eleven is and that she is Mike's friend/girlfriend. However, they never hang out at the Wheeler house after Season 1. Hopper tells Joyce that El and Mike hang out at the cabin daily in Season 3.

Who do the Wheelers think Eleven is? Do the other parents actually know about her?

A small Season 3 moment made fans pause. The Party surprised Dustin after camp. He sulked in his room because friends didn't answer his calls, then histoys came to lifetoys lead him out of the bedroom and into the living room. Dustin follows cautiously and gets scared when his friends surprise him.

But asReddit user u/mads23444Dustin wonders: why wouldn't he assume it was Eleven from the start? He has a friend with telekinetic powers he has seen. It should have been his first thought.

In Season 4, Max escapes Vecna and the Upside Down by hearing and following a song. Nancy and Robin learn this life-saving fact after talking to Victor Creel in the asylum. They find out "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" played on the radio the night his family died, which helped him break free from the visions. However, asReddit user u/DungeonStromaenotes, the information about Henry Creel in episode 7 changes things.

Uncovering One/Henry Creel's real identity, Vecna tells Eleven that trying to kill his family drained his power and nearly killed him. This explains why his father, Victor, survived and why he entered a coma. If Henry's inability to kill his father stopped only because he lacked power, then why does the music save Max? Victor heard the radio while leaving Henry's enchantment, so the music did not pull him from the nightmare. The music should not pull Max or anyone from the Upside Down.