A 'Stranger Things' Fan Goes Viral After Pointing Out a Shocking Season 4 Plot Hole

Stranger Things season 4 returned from its pandemic hiatus with a reckoning or Vecna-ing, if you will. But beyond the Easter eggs and paranormal activity, lest we forget, what's a coming-of-age series without the brutal ups and downs of high school and teenage angst? It's no more evident than with Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) riding third wheel to Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) and Eleven (Mille Bobby Brown)'s coupling this season. So much so, that fans noticed a glaring detail.

In season 4, episode 2 titled "Vecna's Curse," Mike reunites with Eleven and Will during spring break. Eleven tries to impress Mike with her new life in California by pretending she befriended school bully Angela and crew. Instead, the group circles Eleven at Rink-O-Mania and throws a milkshake at her while recording the humiliation.

Despite the attention on Eleven, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the video camera's timestamp reads March 22, 1986, which coincidentally is also Will's birthday as established by his mom Joyce (Winona Ryder) in season 2. It would explain why he's upset with Mike and Eleven because no one seems to acknowledge his special day.

One fan on TikTok posted clips of this scene with Joyce — it shows her saying, "Do you know what March 22 is? It's your birthday." Then it cuts to moments of a sad Will at the roller rink. "They forgot about his birthday 😕😕 Happy 15th Birthday Will ❤️," reads the TikTok caption.

Reacting to the clip, Stranger Things fans had a mix of emotions. "I'm gonna cry I didn't even realize this," one person wrote. "Better have a surprise birthday party or [something]," another added. "Honestly, I think the writers forgot," a different fan said.

Turns out, there's truth to that fan theory. During an interview with Variety, the Duffer Brothers, Ross and Matt Duffer, revealed they made a mistake. "The honest response is, clearly like the characters in the show, we also forgot about Will’s birthday," Matt admitted. "So the debate now is whether we adjust Will’s birthday or we just let it be really sad."

Ross told Variety that in his defense the oversight likely happened because he wrote that date six years ago. "It was obviously a mistake, and we’re sorry. We apologize to the fans," he said. "And especially to Will! It’s unfair," Matt added.

Sorry, Will! We can only hope things look up for him in Stranger Things season 4 part 2, which hits Netflix in July.

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