Untitled

EDITED: It's Will's bedroom wallpaper.

So it is also in the original (I checked) which means it's not as cool as the different demogorgan scenes, but you can actually see it with this change in the aspect ratio.

I thought it was Will drawing jousting tourney tents or something, and it made me think about him spending time in this cubby when he was younger.

However, someone rightfully pointed out that this is not art...it's Will's bedroom wallpaper. Which is still kind of weird since this isn't his bedroom and people usually never wallpaper storage closets but...

According to the layout of the house, his bedroom is on the other side of this cubby. His headboard is concealing what might even be an opening on his side of the wall. I wonder if he used to play in there.

Anyway, here are the pics I found with VHS version vs the wallpaper pic below. It is a match.

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.

Most of this showed up after 4 and before or during 5. Some of it is after.

I'm pointing these out because all the games and commercials and promo pointed to an entirely different, and better, story line than the one we actually got in 5 (to date anyway). This is a huge monetary dump/promo push that I'd seriously question if there wasn't more content.

The Games

Hawkin’s Heli Tours commercial-that came with a phone number and promoted:

the helicopter flight simulator game on Microsoft-that was post the gates opening in 4 where Murray has you rescue people near the rifts, get supplies to certain places and even take the helicopter temporarily into the Upside Down.

The Doritos ST telethon-that came with a phone number that connected you to 80s stars and puzzles and sort of a choose your own adventure style thing for escaping UD monsters

The STRANGER THINGS VR game that pointed to Brenner being connected to the MF and being the main bad guy. From Henry/Vecna’s pov

The Immersive Experience game where you go for a sleep study and end up having to rescue Max and El from the Upside Down and Vecna

The Commercials

Karen did laundry and Ted bought golf clubs, and that fit so I won't focus on it.

But then Jancy commercials happened, showing Nancy with the flame thrower (we saw Jonathon with it in show) and Jonathon planning an Enzo's dinner (we saw Hopper propose at Enzo's in show)

Then there was the wonderful party commercial with the core four in the basement, Protective Mike with Will and Dustin building something to help fight Vecna. (which as I've said, was so much better than season 5)

The Netflix What’s Next commercial-that came out the week after Stranger Things that had so many ST references, including posters behind a Joyce look alike, a silver cat etc while promoting other shows.

The Merch

First, of course, The For Will mixtape that never led to anything remotely show related because Jonathon never talked to Will and Mike never gave him anything. (this was the best compilation pic I could find)

They also gave Will and Mike mixed tapes for a Secret Santa exchange in a promo video...all for no reason.

The Care Bears merch, which had Bedtime Bear “Wake up” for Mike and Goodluck Bear “Babe” for Will

Let's not forget the black light flashlight and how many toys and books had hidden words or objects on them that only glowed under black light. Even the flashlight box itself said Vecna Lives which...we knew already?

Google and ST VCR tapes that were sent to 11 people. Yes mostly it was just the most popular searches through the years but there were some clocks, chimes and weird sounds in there too that were suspicious.

The Books

The Nancy book that came out during season 5 before the ending One Way or Another, written by a ST main writer that emphasized the green graduation robes Nancy, Robin, Jonathon were wearing right before we saw a sea of orange robes in epilogue. It also indicated hidden toxic waste in Hawkins via Primrose Pharmaceuticals making people sick as opposed to the UD spores

The Cookbook that indicated Mike along with Holly had been taken to the UD in Karen’s recipe.

And finally this ridiculous thing. The Official Stranger Things book that came out 6 months after the finale and led to a new website with declassified files and puzzles. Inside it we found the wrong painting, a different birth date for Will Byers blown up so we couldn't miss it, some odd references like the dates on Alexei’s work placard, and a map full of strangeness and misinformation. Seriously there are so many "mistakes" in that book that it has to be on purpose.

Summary

I just wanted to put it all together in one place, so we could see the strangeness of it all.

The helicopter rides that never happened. The apocalyptic vibe that never really happened. The toxic truth that Nancy never investigated. The Brenner's true purpose explanation that never really happened-those journals are bs, I don't care. The For Will tape that promised so much but that we never got to hear, along with half the music on that WSQK album.

Speaking of--We also got weeks of a wonderful radio station that dropped so many hints and clues that didn't actually feel connected to season 5 at all in hindsight, other than the fact that it was the same radio station from the show.

In fact, Season 5 doesn't feel connected to most of this promo.

I keep saying I don't understand their marketing for this season and apparently the entire year after it, and this is just one part of it. None of it makes sense to that last story we were told.

Here we are in July, and I am still thinking about everything that feels unfinished in this show and the questions left unanswered. I know I'm missing a lot, but these are the ones that haunt me.

In just the season 5 story line, they didn't answer these questions or close up these story lines:

-The burnout.

-Who unplugged the tower.

-Why high school Joyce was in one of Henry's memories when she never mentioned knowing him and they never put Henry in any of the school moments to confirm he went there. (if you didn't watch the play or search online, it wouldn't make any sense based on Henry's age in the season 4 flashback)

-Dustin and the bullies story. He got beat up and clearly wasn't popular. Then his epilogue had him giving a Breakfast Club speech about nerds and jocks and freaks all coming together that got applause and he got an invite from a girl who turned him down in 2.

(That was one busy time jump btw. Military left, Hopper got his job back, Max healed and caught up on a year and a half of missed schoolwork to graduate, Jonathon got his dream school at NYU-no longer worried about his family, Vickie disappeared, Steve somehow got a coaching job instead of working for his father, and Dustin who was having his girlfriend fudge some of his grades in 4 and was a grieving troublemaker for almost two years after in 5 was suddenly the valedictorian)

-Dr. Kay's real purpose. In 4, Sullivan just wanted to kill El. In 5, Kali said something about her blood and pregnant women. Dr. Kay mentioned the Russians to Akers. No one actually explained wtf was going on and why they needed El. Was it to kill her? To use her blood? And why, like Kali said, was her blood different and the only one like Henry's? How would that be possible?

-The real reason Will was still connected and those 12 kids were chosen, and why it mattered (being weak is really not an answer, or even the truth)

-Why Vecna so dramatically changed his MO between 4 and 5 and decided to make friends with his victims. Was it just the book? Was he drawing power from his victim's imaginations as well as their fears? Maybe, but it was never made remotely clear.

-Why 12 kids question was asked but never answered. Someone once said that 12 kids + 4 deaths in 4 =16 anchors which =16 points/vertices of a tesseract, tesseract is in Wrinkle in Time, and that would explain the Vecna plan/connection. But did anyone get that from the show? No they did not. Not even during the "let's explain what Vecna's doing with the wormhole" conversation at the radio station.

-Why Will had hope at the start of the season and what he saw from Vecna-that we NEVER saw- that killed his hope and brought Tammy into the mix.

-Why Will mentioned milkshakes at Melvald's and getting lost in the woods.

-Why everyone was okay with Joyce's crazy plan for Will and had no questions. Aka why the people in the show who understood D&D never mentioned siphoning Vecna's powers would not only make Will an instant spy again but could actually allow him to take over Will's body and, since Will "took" his left hand in the battle, maybe use Will to co-create an attunement curse or something aka Camazotz....Is that why no one filled Dustin in onscreen about Will's new abilities? I mean, even siphoning was way too dangerous for Will to be doing voluntarily.

-Why no one used music to try and wake Will up.

-Why Mike was suddenly calling Mrs. Byers Joyce and not touching Will.

-Why no one noticed the dial and tower changing colors.

-Why no one appeared to sleep or really eat anything substantial for 3 days, and why some of them occasionally looked like death warmed over but then were fine in the next shot. Will, Robin, and Mike in particular.

-If the gate had never opened until El did it in 79 and didn't stay open until she opened one again in 83, which the show if not the play implied, why was there a room full of journals about exotic matter and wormholes that we're supposed to believe Brenner made in the UD lab for Dustin to conveniently find? *Note: Even if we assumed it had something to do with the little observation tower Owens had going in the UD in 2-the show tells us that UD is frozen in 1983...so it still doesn't make sense.

-If we believe in that stupid meat wormhole, which sure is theoretically possible, then How did Kali, El and everybody in the UD survive the sudden hole into the vacuum of space Steve's car created? I mean seriously? Even with the exotic matter present, the instant decompression and destruction that would happen would be as cataclysmic as Mike's record bomb right? Right? I think I'm right.

-Why we never got Mike's emotional POV. That last talk with Will and Hopper doesn't count. His worst dialogue ever. Both of them felt so off and fake it was jarring.

-Why Will didn't get an epilogue and was erased from a credit pic and called an illusionist.

Bonus question: Where did Argyle, Suzie, the deputies and Owens disappear to? They were never mentioned once.

Overall series questions that still aren't answered:

Who opened Will's door that night? We saw El do that to locks like that at least twice, but demos can't and Vecna couldn't get out of the UD at that point so...

Why did El recognize him from his picture or know his player piece was the wizard and how was she able to guide the party directly to his house? Seriously, how did she know he was hiding there?

Why are there so many time travel references and odd anachronisms throughout the series? Why clocks chiming and ticking? Why Back the Future and Terminator references? Why keep playing that Moby song from 95?

In the Nina, how was El given memories that appeared to occur when Brenner's cameras were off? And why did the drawing of her and Papa on her wall change from what Hopper had seen in 1? Was any of that real?

Why did people stop thinking about hazmat suits after season 2? Things we also stopped thinking about: rotting farms/food, hivemind soil, inhaling spores, Will's brain scan and the effect of bites from UD creatures etc.

Why did the lab stop thinking or caring about Will after season 2? Why did the MF/Vecna stop caring about Will after season 2...until season 5?

Why did Bob, Hopper, Joyce and Karen appear to have no memory of Henry or Brenner if TFS is canon?

What is up with that stink everyone has been smelling through the entire series?

What's up with birthdaygate and paintinggate? They never explained the continuous changing and forgetting of Will's birthday and age-that they are still highlighting to this day with that new book that came out. And they never addressed the painting's Cyrano trope, which they are still highlighting with that book that came out with the WRONG VERSION of the painting in it.

Why did they give bffs Mike and Will every romantic trope out there, tender music, soft lighting, lots of heart to hearts, if it was only supposed to be a one sided gay realization/coming of age story without reciprocation?

Why did Hopper go through all of this--his mourning a lost daughter, thinking he was the curse and a black hole, ready to kill himself with a bomb in 5 right before losing another daughter to a wormhole/bomb situation as he watched-to then just be fine in the epilogue, talking to Mike about acceptance, proposing to Joyce and planning his future like everything was great? Again-that time jump did A LOT of work.

Maybe the people talking about the rewind/loop theory really have something. Because season 2 is season 5.

I admit, I'm a little obsessed with Season 2-it's a great season and since 3 was obviously when things got wonky, I keep coming back to it. So I went through it yet again-this time looking specifically for season 5 comparisons. And holy %#$@

Scenes from other seasons do repeat in 5, the drugged dinner from 3, the coke thing, but most of season 2 is in there. Other than the very important crazy together conversation and seeing Mike at Will's bedside instead of Lucas at Max's...it's insanely connected.

Don't believe me? I made a list. It's pretty extensive, and I'm sorry in advance.

Side note: How they managed to repeat so much from wonderful 2 and get sucky 5 will always be a mystery.

Kali is in 2, and Kali is in (5)

Hop asks Murray if he’s ever heard of Santa Clause in 2, and Murray calls himself Santa multiple times in (5)

Joyce is paranoid and clingy about Will in 2 “every time he’s away from me I can’t function” and even though she was different in 3 and 4, she is the exact same in (5)

Lucas uses Out of Order sign to talk to Max in 2, Derek uses Out of Order sign in bathroom in (5)

The Tunnels in 2 and (5)

Pumpkins-in 2 they’re rotting and a clue, and they’re healthy-looking heads for El to explode in (5)

The lab has a small observational area in in the UD in 2 they have to change batteries for while in hazmat suits, there is an entire lab with power and without suits or worries in the UD in (5)

Terminator at movie theater, Terminator commercial at El’s house, Guy who acts like terminator in (3) plus Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay in (5)

El watches Erica Kane proposal on tv in 2, we watch an unproposal and an actual proposal in (5)

Another stenchgate I don’t think anyone has mentioned. Billy rolls down the window and talks about how it smells like actual shit, cow shit. But Max doesn’t see any cows. Also deputies say it smells like a nursing home at the rotten farms. Owens says “That smell, mother of God” and we also get Robin calling Steve stinky and Derek calling the basement stinky in (5)

Bob is a Halloween vampire in 2, Mike is a D&D vampire in (5)

Nancy gets drunk in season 2, but then never again onscreen, but Jonathon mentions her drinking in (5)

Murray pushes Nancy and Jonathon to have sex and mentions shared trauma in 2, pushes Jonathon to propose and mentions shared trauma in (5)

Hop makes circles on a map leading to the lab in 2 AND Bob finds the X, while Dustin makes a circle on a map that leads them to the X of the lab in (5)

Bob says easy peasy in 2, Dustin says easy peasy in (5)

Joyce trying to wake Will up in 2 and 5

Mike calls Will a Super Spy and Vecna says You’ll be my spy one last time in (5)

El and Hopper dynamics in 2 remind me of their antagonism in (5)

Will’s rapid eye movement building something in 2 Will’s rapid eye movement…building something? in (5)

Joyce wants to run him a warm bath but “he likes it cold” in 2, Joyce wants him to wear his jacket but… in (5)

Hopper and Dustin get sprayed in face with spores in 2,  Dustin throws turpentine/violet prismatic spray at Andy in (5)

Will uses his connection to help Hopper in 2. Uses it to help Hopper and Max and Holly etc in (5)

Dustin and Steve on train tracks call Nancy special in 2. Jonathon and Steve call Nancy special in the Abyss in (5)

Will says “he doesn’t want me to see there” Which El says in 3, Max says in 4 and Will says again in (5)

They build their first demo trap in the junkyard in 2. They built their most ridiculous demo trap at the Turnbows in (5)

Kali’s illusion of Papa says “All this time you haven’t looked for me” in 2 and El apologizes for not looking for Kali in (5)

Kali makes a giant wall in 2, a giant wall appears in the UD in (5)

Hopper runs from demodogs through lab/hospital with an unconscious Will in 2, Lucas runs from demodogs through the hospital with an unconscious Max in (5)

Dustin says metaphor, Lucas corrects him with analogy in 2. Steve says metaphor Dustin corrects him with analogy in (5)

Opposite moment. Mike says you can’t just shoot this with guns in 2. He demands a gun to shoot it in (5)

“He can’t spy if he doesn’t know where he is” in 2, and Will suggests blinding the Turnbows so they won’t know where they are in (5)

Bo-Peep ammonia wakes Will up in 2. “Get your Bo Beeps on” for lost sheep in (4). Lost sheep comments in (5)

Joyce says we just want to talk, we’re not going to hurt you to Will in 2, and to Derek in (5)

Joyce tells the rainbow spaceship story, Jonathon tells the Castle Byers story and Mike tells the swings story in 2, Will sees those exact moments replay in his head in (5)

Hop says “I’m asking you to try to understand” to Mike and he says “I don’t. I don’t understand.” in 2 and then El says the same thing to Mike with the same response in the void in (5)

Hop says “Don’t blame her” in 2 and tells Mike “Don’t blame yourself” in (5)

Karen taking a bath in 2, Karen running a bath and hiding in it with Holly in (5)

As an aside, she is standing in the kitchen, still wet from the bath, giving Billy the address exactly where she got attacked by the demo in (5)

Mike with the whole-if the brain dies the body dies, let's distract it while El does her thing stuff in 2 and (5) Although this time he doesn’t seem that concerned with Will’s life.

Taking unconscious Will to cabin in 2 and (5)

Hopper says he’s a black hole and it got his daughter Sarah and he was afraid it was going to get El. A wormhole and a bomb got her while he watched in (5)

Mike pacing in front of Max and Lucas until Lucas says stop in 2. Holly paces in front of Max until she says stop because “You remind me of your brother” in (5)

Hop laughs as he says “Bitchin” in a car with El in 2, in a car with El and Kali he reminds her of that and says it again in (5)

Steve gives “A coach calls a ball in a game” speech in 2 and he is a baseball coach in (5)

Max says Billy can’t know she’s there. “He’ll kill me. He’ll kill us.” In 2. And she says Vecna will know I’m here. He'll be angry. He’ll come after us (basically) when she wakes up in (5)

Max stabs a needle in Billy’s neck in 2 and Erica stabs a needle in Tina in (5)

El is taken back to the lab for the first time since her escape and remembers flashes in 2, is taken to the UD lab and remembers flashes in (5) (Hop and Kali both even ask if she’s okay when it happens in 2 and 5)

Joyce sees flashes of sweet Bob and turns up the heat to kill the MF in 2. Joyce sees flashes of Bob as she chops off Vecna’s head in (5)

Hop asks an injured Owens to help El have a normal life where she’s not poked and prodded after she saves them in 2. We see a possible scenario where an injured Kali hides her from the military so she won’t be poked and prodded and she can live a normal life in (5)

Jonathon says “Mom, you’re killing him!” about Will in 2 and for some reason this is his memory as Joyce is chopping off Vecna’s head in (5).

Smoke comes out of Will’s mouth in 2, Smoke comes out of Holly and other kids’ mouths (a lot more gently) in (5)

Nancy watches it go up into the air in 2 and Robin, Lucas and Mike watch it go up the radio tower in (5)

Jonathon uses walkie talkie to tell Hop to close the gate in 2, Dustin uses it to tell Hopper to start the music bomb and close the gate in (5)

Even in 2, Dustin doesn’t leave Steve when the demodogs come running. “You die, I die” (3) and (5)

When El's pushing to close the gate you can see the particles fold back on themselves giving her power an almost force field look in 2. She’s basically using her power as a force field holding back outer space as she, Kali and Hop escape in (5) The visuals look very similar.

7-ish second black screen after gate closes in 2, 7-ish second black out when Steve fell off the tower in (5)

Opposite: we actually see MPs and trucks leave and Barb gets a burial after 1 month time jump in 2, we have 18 month time jump and no clue what happened to the military and no actual memorial for El (5)

Hopper goes to a restaurant and gets an adopted daughter in 2, goes to a restaurant and gets a fiancé in (5)

Jonathon is using a video camera before Snowball in 2. Jonathon is filming the graduation ceremony (and a horror movie) in (5)

Jonathon taking pictures of kids for Snowball in 2, taking pictures of Hop, Will and Joyce for graduation in (5)

Mike and Lucas “What happened to you?” with Dustin’s hair and he pushes Lucas’ hand away in 2, and with Dustin’s beat up face, where he pushes Lucas’ hand away in (5)

Lucas and Max kiss at the Snowball in 2, Lucas and Max kiss before graduation in (5)

Mike sends Will away (to dance with a girl) in 2 and sends Will to meet another guy in Vallaki in (5)

Dustin approaches Stacy at the Snowball and she shoots him down in 2. Stacy approaches Dustin at graduation and invites him to a party in (5)

Joyce and Hopper hug outside the dance in 2, are hugging and dancing together at Enzo’s in (5)

We get a basement door closing instead of a flip to the MF, but still, that's a lot of season 2 jam packed into season 5, isn't it? A hell of a lot more than a head nod or some callbacks.

Okay so in The Borough's, Sam's son-in-law shows up with a book about a new version of the stages of grief that's more like a pyramid, with acceptance at the top. (I'll get to that)

Anyway it got me thinking. I immediately knew what 2 of them were, and wondered if I could fit the others into this 5 stages of grief original Kubler- Ross model.

Denial = Episode 8 of Stranger Things. The New Year brought with it a denial of reality. Mike didn't want to face reality and graduate. He turned down a party to return to his basement and D&D. He made up stories for the party and then for El. "I believe" was a denial. They lost, but Mike is in denial and going upstairs to have his Mom's lasagna. We were all in denial that THAT was actually the end. (Still are)

Anger = Something Very Bad is Going to Happen. I wasn't as invested in it so this is iffy. I know there are several aspects of this story, fear, paranoia etc, but after the rehearsal dinner, the altar and what happens next, you can make a strong case for "Directing frustration outwardly at others or inwardly as self-blame and guilt"

Bargaining= Tales from 85. The definition is "Dwelling on "what-if" scenarios to try and reverse or undo the pain" Which when you look at El's perfect story, Mike being a better boyfriend who is appropriately afraid of Hopper instead of obnoxious and disrespectful, Lucas and the aching sweetness with Max "I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you" and Will being a badass who doesn't need no Mike...fits in perfectly with the Bargaining stage of grief. They're trying to rewrite the story. To make it easier. Less painful.

Depression=The Boroughs is all about it. "Experiencing deep sadness, emptiness, and withdrawal as the permanence sets in." We have a man with terminal cancer who'd been trying for a miracle but thinks one isn't coming and a man who just lost his wife and cannot stop reliving that last day on a loop long enough to notice his daughter needs him. It's set in a retirement community where going to a friend's memorial is the norm. By the end however, Sam/Mike agrees to help Mother die. I talk a lot about the similarities of ST and TB in other posts. In the end, Wally does the right thing even if it means he'll die. Sam does the right thing, even though it means Mother will die. After Judy is brought back to life, the trouble between her and Art seems to be resolved and Renee is risking her heart on the younger, incredibly lovable Paz. Which is...

Acceptance. "Time is a gift" Except for that weird glitch at the end which seems to indicate that none of this is over.

The pyramid of grief

It's not a real book apparently. The New Grief: Climb to Solace was created for The Boroughs, and it was a weird aside that sparked two conversations, with Judy scoffing at it in the second. So I wondered why? The emphasis on the shape of it was all I could come up with. The regular grief model is a curve. So what's up with the pyramid?

A Pyramid was even the title of the episode I think.

Anyway, I don't know what this means except that you can see an actual progression in the undercurrents of these stories. The stages are even happening in a linear way.

Who's grief is it? Maybe Mike's? Or maybe we're grieving the peaceful ending that isn't real before we can accept what's coming? I'm not sure.

Okay I made a comment in another post and I've mentioned this before, but this is all about the Moby song, When It's Cold I'd Like to Die.

It's clearly an important song because they played it 3 times. 3 to be exact, in seasons 1, 4 and 5. Once for Will and twice for Max. But I'll get to that later.

First, other than a newer version of Heroes, which was an 80s song that Peter Gabriel revisited in the 2000s, When It's Cold is the ONLY song in the series that isn't from the 80s or earlier.

It released in 1995.

It was the final track on Moby's album Everything is Wrong.

The singer on the track, Mimi Goese, was in a dream-pop band called Hugo Largo in the 80s

"Where were you when I was lonesome? Locked away with freezing cold."

"I don't want to swim forever. When it's cold I'd like to die"

in 2006, the song was played in The Sopranos. The show the Duffers have been talking about recently. And it was played for a dreamlike scene with the main character Tony, who at that time was in a medically induced coma. It's an episode that splits into two different realities and deals with the subconscious. Which sounds familiar.

The song fits but...

Of course it fits. In Stranger Things, we're dealing with depression, comas, and "He likes it cold." All things which fit the vibe and lyrics. Also the first two times it plays, someone actually appears to die on screen. First Will, who is revived by Joyce and Hopper. Than Max, who is revived by El. The third time is Max waking up in the improbable hospital scenario.

But again, this song is from 1995.

Yes, they actually have a lot of interesting anachronisms on ST that point to the timeline potentially being wrong. Cars and game rules and a newer version of Planck's Constant etc.

But the music was pretty steady. And this was the only song from the 1990s.

Music and radio signals are huge on this show. In 4, it was all about music being a lifeline back to reality.

So why choose this song not once but 3 times if it didn't mean anything? There are other haunting melodies that would make us cry while someone is potentially dying. There were other songs to play that would have made us more hopeful when Max finally woke up.

But no. We have "let's exchange the experience" from kate bush 20 million times in 5 and a song from the 1990s about depression and dying popping up again too. It feels like it was done with purpose.

A Part #2 of my post about TB and ST connections. With pictures and possibilities. (I have a part 3 I'm thinking of doing about Mike, Will and the bus stop)

WARNING. Spoilers for The Boroughs ahead.

Sam's conversation with the Duchess ( who had 2 itty bitty silver cats on the headboard behind her) It feels important. And for some reason, even though in parts it could relate to the MF and in parts to Will, I kept thinking about how much it felt like she could be talking about Eleven.

D: She told me all about you S: Who? D: That's the question. She appears different to all of us who see her. Always someone from our past, like a daughter,

or a sister or…

S: Wife?

D's gf: haha. He thought he was seeing a ghost!!

S: What is she then? D: She doesn't know. She doesn't even know her name.

D:But the folks who drink her blood call her Mother.

S: What does she want from me? D: For you to save her. She's running out of time. She's been crying out to you for help, even the damn birds could hear her,

but you're too stubborn to listen.

S: Why me? D: Well you weren't the first choice. But up until now the only people who could hear her were like me. Those of us lost in time.

We're not strong enough to do what needs done. But then you came along. The loss of your wife split your mind. (Will explaining the split in his mind that allows him "true sight" Like being caught between two slides)

You've got one foot stuck with us now and the other, in the day she died.

Mother doesn't experience time in a straight line either, Sam.

S: I don't care. I won't save her. She killed Jack D: That was an accident. She's in pain just like you. You want to help your friends? Save her. The choice is yours. Anger…or forgiveness. Choose.

(2 Choices)

S: crying I just want to get out of here.

D: The 5:15 bus, will take you where you need to go. (5+1+5=11 btw)

I just saw a quick thing on TikTok about the end credits calling Ted a "Steward" and Karen's maiden name being Childress

ie a Steward takes care of something that isn't his and Childress is a name for someone who runs an orphanage and, well, takes care of kids that aren't actually theirs.

Weird right? Putting that together, it kind of implies that at least some of their kids aren't theirs.

Also, it brings back one of my earlier questions of what the heck does Ted do for a living? He is literally ALWAYS in the house with Karen. It doesn't matter what time of day it is, he's right there. He sleeps a lot and always in his living room chair instead of with his wife, since season 1.

He watches a lot of tv, just like the agents did in season 4. Clearly he isn't an agent because he was really bad at dealing with the demogorgan situation-Karen seemed more capable-but maybe he did work for the lab in some capacity? Seriously, why was he always home and always in a suit?

Anyway, it got me thinking back to a couple of things related to Hawkins being a larger lab experiment

The TFS news articles at the end calling for pregnant women volunteers (and all the pregnant women in 5)

Karen telling Nancy she thought she was switched at birth

Lonnie never being in a single scene with Will and only showing up when he thinks he's dead. Lonnie referring to Jonathon as his son but showing zero concern or interest for Will.

Owens calling Joyce and Hopper "Mom. Pop." when coming in to check on Will in 2. It's weird, because why did he say that? No one was ever pretending Hopper was Will's dad and Owens knew the score. But he definitely says Pop not Hop. I checked several times.

Papa and then Hopper both attempting to be a parental figure to El while simultaneously isolating her. Hopper calling her a science experiment in 1 and betraying her location to the lab in exchange for Will, but then keeping her hidden in the cabin while still keeping things quiet for the lab. (Being left with a tv is nicer than being forced to kill cats and spy on Russians, but she is still locked up and isolated in both cases for extended periods of time) .... Bonus, even though he takes care of her and Owens helps him adopt her, the way he tells the story of Sarah in both 2 and 5 feels so upsetting. "Sarah? Well, Sarah's my daughter." and "Sarah, my daughter? She was brave." etc. Not she was my daughter too. The language is always very distancing from El, if that makes sense. "You are like Papa!"

Terry Ives saying "No" in the mindscape when El says "Mama, it's me, Jane. I'm here now. I'm home."

The older teens with no parents. Constantly hearing about but never seeing Steve's parents. Constantly hearing about but never seeing Robin's mother. Both becoming caretakers/mentors for the younger party members.

This is just a family bonus. Everyone talking about an uncle for some reason, even when it seemed superfluous to the story. Holly. Erica. Robin. Steve. And Eddie having one.

I know everyone has moved on, and I've tried to make this post multiple times, but after watching it again, I keep finding similarities and little Easter eggs that are just insane. These two shows should not be THIS similar. The characters, should not have THIS MUCH in common unless it's on purpose. The fact that I can find a comparison to almost every ST character with almost every TB character is... well, let's just say that is one hell of a coincidence.

Edited to add: They keep talking about supporting original stories but it really feels like they keep supporting/telling the same story so that's a little confusing unless cg and the meta theories are real.

Spoilers ahead if you haven't watched The Boroughs

The Characters:

Sam keeps reliving the last moments of his wife’s life where she died surrounded by puzzle pieces with The Boss playing in the background.

Mike keeps reliving the last moments before El died while Prince played in the background, and there were several visual and verbal references to puzzle pieces in season 5.

Judy is an investigative journalist who owns a gun and loves 2 men. After the death of one, she’s all in on finding the monster and killing it.

Nancy wants to be an investigative journalist, is great with guns and stuck between two men. After the death of her bff while sleeping with one, she’s all in on finding the monster and killing it.

Art is smoking weed all the time, talking to a psycho pomp crow like he was his therapist and worried his relationship with Judy might be over. He’s lying about where he goes every day. He talks about playing golf and lives in the desert. He even mentions Brooksy is looking out for his mushrooms.

Jonathon in 4 was smoking all the time, talking to Argyle like he was his therapist and worried about his relationship with Nancy. He’s lying about why he isn’t visiting her and doesn’t want to go to Emerson. There is an actual scene of him hitting golf balls in the desert. At the end Argyle is looking for mushrooms.

They said “Everybody loves/loved Jack” at least 5 times, which tells me that Jack the weatherman is Steve the Hair Harrington. (Steve even mentions or implies Nancy is "special" in every season, which Jack says to Sam about Judy "She's special")

Renee Joyce finds her missing quartz suspicious even though nobody else does, gets in a relationship with a “cop”, has a horrible ex who is sue-happy, finds proof in a video, loves Wally enough to torture an old lady if it will save him.

Joyce finds her missing son/the magnets suspicious even though nobody else does, gets in a relationship with a cop, has a horrible ex who wants to sue Sattlers Quarry, finds proof of the MF on a video, loves Will enough to do anything to save him. Exorcisms, kidnappings, entering the UD etc.

The Mother connects to Sam. She projects herself as his wife to communicate. She’s been used for so long but now it’s time for her to die and she needs his help. She has an ET dress up moment to hide in plain sight. She brings Judy back to life against all odds. Sam is the last person she talks to before she dies.

El connects to Mike and she needs his help. She’s been used by the lab for years. Brings Max back against all odds. Has an ET dress up moment. Mike is the last person she talks to before she dies.

Blaine and his wife run a business that is basically a cult for the employees. It’s centered around Mother and her children and it has to do with her blood. And immortality.

To keep her, they monitor their closed neighborhood of seniors with seraphim and send the children to collect cerebral spinal fluid to feed her.

Brenner runs a lab that is basically a cult centered around El who is a child (and possibly other children) and it has to do with her/their blood. And time?

To keep El they monitor Hawkins with bugs and a faux energy company.

(I would like to say I also saw a lot of potentially Vance Goodman and Mindy Flare (and maybe Henry and Patty?) in that couple. She was desperate to live and violent and he was all about trying to keep her alive.)

Wally is gay and he’s dying of a terminal cancer. He was also a doctor working on a cure for AIDS in the 80s. To save his friends he agrees to help them heal mother while his friends pretend everything is back to normal.

Will is gay in the 80s. To save his friends he might have given in to the MF and given his friends a world in which everything seemed to have gone back to normal.  

Hank had a child and worked as a warden, but he did bad things-and to be fair-enjoyed them. He was given a job opportunity that would let him live forever if he aided and abetted Blaine and his wife and "the children" People thought he died but he didn't.

Hopper had a child and worked as a cop, but his guilt over his past hindered him. He agreed to keep what was going on at the lab quiet in return for helping Joyce save Will. People thought he died but he didn't. (Basically Hank is Evil Hopper)

There are elements of Dustin in Sam-the inventor, tinkerer and all those tvs reminded me of Dustin's creation in that one commercial.

There are elements of Max in both Judy and Renee. Renee is a sassy badass and Judy is brought back to life.

I didn't see Robin or Lucas in anyone necessarily. But Paz was kind of an Eddie/Billy/Bob combo. A musician who was sweet and also into older women. :)

Bonus Easter Eggs:

Sam watching the OG Little Shop of Horrors

The Little Shop of Horrors poster on Will's wall

The "children" being in cages at The Manor

The children being locked up at Hawkins lab

Art calls himself an Eagle Scout and Erica tells Judy that Sam is a Boy Scout.

Henry being a Boy Scout is fairly important to the show.

TB starts with ET mom actress running from a monster and that monster dragging her back inside and carrying her away.

ST starts with a scientist running from a monster and that monster dragging and carrying him away.

Only one monster gets a name "Scar"

Only one monster gets a name "Dart"

The tunnels.

The tunnels.

Golf carts

bicycles

Sneaking into a morgue to do an informal autopsy to find the truth.

Sneaking into a morgue to do an informal autopsy to find the truth.

The microscope in Wally's box

The microscope in Castle Byers

Blood giving immortality

Blood giving super powers

Wally picking out a coffin and laying in a closed one to hide.

Jonathon picking out Will's coffin and them having a funeral for him even though he wasn't dead.

Renee and Paz walking after a car goes off a cliff

Joyce and Hopper walking after the truck explodes

A famous David Bowie song on soundtrack -Golden Years

A famous David Bowie song on soundtrack- Heroes

A reach but...

When the children's blue blood combines with the Mother's gold blood, a cure is created.

"When blue and yellow meet in the West." (the west in that case being New Mexico, considered part of the American West) *also byler*

Edited to add: "Take the deal. Take a class. Play pickle ball." When Wally tells them to take the deal or end up in the bad guy's hands.

"Study for that test, enjoy that tv dinner, go on that date" When Robin is telling her audience to ignore the military quarantine that's kept them all locked up for 18 months.

Edited to add: Someone in the comments just mentioned something I forgot!

The children feed by sending tendrils into people's mouths.

The MF and Vecna put vines in children's mouths (the difference is they're putting something in instead of taking it out)

Boroughs names bonus #2

An old man named Mike is waiting for his best friend at a fake bus stop every day.

A younger woman named Erica helps Judy investigate Sam

Renee's last name is Joyce

Judy and Art's last name is Daniels -Daniel was the name of the bad guy in Tales from 85

Wally's last name is Baker which is synonymous with Baxter, as in Nikki Baxter and Mrs. Baxter who teaches evolution...oh and Sam's middle name is Darwin-a guy who wrote the book on evolution.

Edward (Eddie) says the owl is in the walls. He has Maxwell's disease.

Hank Williams and Jack Willard are both characters in the show with Will-centric last names.

Ella/El is the name of Sam's granddaughter

A blonde named Terri gets up to sing at Jack's funeral because they used to have a thing and its'...not great. Which reminded me of Tammy.

Made a comment about the graduation speech yesterday that I thought was funny, but you can't deny that the comparison has some validity. :)

The Mi(Mic)

Is pretending to be something we all know he isn't.

The Will O' The Wisp

A beautiful light unwittingly leading the party into danger.

The (El)der Brain

Woke up thinking about all the lying on a show with the mantra "Friends don't lie." Also about characters not noticing all the things that were wrong in their environment in season 5. So illusions, lying and blindness. When did it actually start? Why? Were there any hints before it happened?

In season 3

Lucas gets sprayed with hairspray by Dustin in the eyes in the first episode, causing temporary blindness.

Shortly after, a threat from Hopper has Mike lying to El.

Which leads to Lucas spraying Mike directly in his eyes with a purple perfume bottle, causing temporary blindness.

shortly after, Mike projects his own feelings onto Will "It's not my fault you don't like girls"

Looking for a 3rd spray, I realized that in the end of season 2, Dustin got sprayed in the face by a spore sac in the tunnels, so he was the first. Hopper did too but he's not an official party member so I'm not counting that.

*This means Will is the only member of the core four NOT to get sprayed in the eyes by something causing temporary blindness. Huh.

Following a truth serum of some kind which Mike could really use, Steve and Robin look up at the ceiling and see a kaleidoscopic or prismatic like imagery that first wows them and then makes them sick.

Mindsong- Dustin and Suzie sing Neverending Story over Cerebro and every character, including the 3 adults hiding in the Russian lab where anyone could find them if they made too much noise, all listen to the whole thing. At the time this is cute and funny, but a lot of people think this was a hugely important moment and whether it was the song or Planck's Constant, whatever happened there led to season 4 and Vecna's actions.

Lucas and Max sing this song again in a teasing way to Dustin as the Byers pack to leave for California. Will sings a line of the song and Argyle mentions The Nothing before they head to Suzie in Utah.

What if it was something like the Mind song of the False Hydra? A song that lingered in their minds to find false reasons to believe what they're seeing instead of looking for the actual truth? A song they heard after being blinded maybe?

How it changes the Byers and the party in 4 (Reverses Friends Don't Lie)

Jonathon is embracing the oblivion hard. How many times do they mention Purple (violet) Palm Tree Delight in 4, and how often does Jonathon act blind/oblivious before snapping out of it to take care of his brother? His entire arc this season is LYING to Nancy about their future and college and why he didn't come to see her (and she is embracing that lie for her own reasons)

Joyce appears unaware that El is suffering in school. Unworried about Will. Completely clueless that Jonathon is high as a kite. Yes, her distance started in 3 where she was more focused on her Hopper adventure to Illinois, but this feels different. (also a far cry from her helicopter mom strangling with apron strings behavior with Will in 5) She is LYING to her kids about where she's going and why.

El is LYING to everyone about how much she is suffering in school without Hopper or her powers. Even to Will who is seeing the truth first hand. She is so invested in her lying, that her final fight with Angela is her ordering the bully to go to Mike and tell him the lie is true, even after the Carrie milkshake incident he saw with his own eyes. When she refuses, El breaks her nose violently. She then demands the truth "From Mike" and when he doesn't give it, she is taken away by police and then Owens to find her own truth. Maybe. The Nina situation is still sketchy to me.

Will only starts lying when Mike arrives and gives him that stupid, uncomfortable bro hug and barely looks at him. And the lie is about the painting not being for him. Though he reprimands El for lying to Mike, saying he'll be upset and he won't like it, he eventually gives up (Because Mike is oblivious) and lies again with the even bigger Painting Lie. So basically he's only lying about the painting and his feelings for Mike. And to Suzie about the game system.

Mike lies to El about telling her he loves her "I say it" and then he lies in his actual love confession. Sort of. (He does love her and care about her "SO MUCH" but it's not the kind of love she wants from him) Mike lies with his eyes (noticing boys and Will and not realizing El is being bullied right in front of his face until it's too late) Mike only tells half truths to Will as well. He keeps stopping himself from being specific, telling him details about "that one thing" he should have said etc.

Lucas lies about who he is to be popular, because it's clear he doesn't relate to the jocks that much. But he's honest about that with his friends and he never lies to Max. He then helpfully lies to the jocks to save his friends, but again, not that bad an action considering it saved Dustin and Max.

Max is lying all over the place. To her therapist and all her friends about her depression. To Lucas about why they broke up. Even after she realizes she's a target, she lies about her feelings until she escapes her first Vecna attack and music sets her free. Then she's telling the truth again.

Interestingly, Erica is literally calling people liars this whole season. At the town meeting, and to the party when they are talking to the cops and the parents. Until she's given the truth by Dustin and then she joins them in their plans. She was right there for the song, but she seems immune to the lying disease.

Dustin starts season 4 by getting Suzie to help him lie about his grades by changing them. BUT other than that, it's only his growing antipathy toward Steve (he mocks and snaps at him a lot in favor of Eddie in 4) that feels false or forced. Instead, he's telling Eddie the truth. He's figuring out the truth about Vecna and the gates. He's telling Eddie's uncle as much truth as he can about Eddie being a hero. As the singer-he might not be affected?

Steve, Robin, Nancy, Hopper and Murray only tell little normal lies to find the bigger truth or protect the kids/their loved ones.

Eddie does not lie at all. He's basically a metal-loving, occasionally drug-dealing saint.

Yuri lies continuously.

The entire town is revved up into a panicked mob based on the charismatic but incorrect and secretly violent Jason. He believes his own lies: That he's the best, that Chrissy would never do drugs, that they were happy, that Eddie is a Satan worshiper causing the killings and killing him is the right thing to do.

Vecna's victims have all been keeping secrets that shame them. Lying by omission. Max with Billy, Chrissy with her mother's abuse and eating disorder, Fred with that still kind of mysterious car accident, Patrick with his father's abuse.

Anyway, the change from party honesty and "Friends don't lie" being a repeated refrain and season 4, which appears to be ALL about lying to each other, is pretty dramatic.

So something important changed the entire landscape around seasons 2 and 3 that we're all still looking for. Snowball or Cerebro? Mike was lying a lot in 3, even before the song, so I'm not sure.

Whatever it is, it leads us to season 5, the entire season of which feels like a giant lie to the audience, because none of it makes sense or seems real. The characters are wrong and jumbled. The plans feel off or repetitive. The stakes are missing. The conclusions are...inconclusive.