#stranger things scripts

“Pretty stupid, huh?”

THEY’RE HERE !!!!!!!

idk how I got them early I just pre ordered them a few days ago and they dispatched like the next day LMAO??? So confused

Mike suddenly and promptly leans in and ---

KISSES ELEVEN!

There. He did it!

i fear this is the way that i used to feel whenever i would do anything romantic with a man before i came out as a lesbian.

if they wanted to portray that mike was simply nervous to kiss her, they could've simply omitted the "There." that paints a completely different picture:

Mike suddenly and promptly leans in and ---

KISSES ELEVEN!

He did it!

these two have lucas and dustin on the side

…which means that seasons 3-4 will probably have mike and will?? and they pushed the release date back for those scripts until after volume one comes out????? ok

I was reading through the S4 scripts and noticed something odd.

When Nancy/Steve/Robin/Eddie reach the Wheeler house in 4x07, they go to Nancy's room for guns, ....and they don't find any guns. They do find a diary though, with its last entry on a particular date, suggesting that the UD is a snapshot in time.

What's actually inconsistent is the date in the diary!

In both the show and the script versions, what is said is November 6th, 1983, whereas what is read is different. Show also reads November 6th, 1983, but the scripts have it as November 6th, 1986. A difference of three whole years. Why have this?

(Above: Nancy finding her diary. What's written in the diary is consistent with what she says (the audio description corroborates this too. This is a detail to be aware of!)).

(Above: Season 4 Complete Scripts, p. 533. Notice how what is said and what is read is different? It's even underlined! And in all caps!)

Why have an inconsistency like this? This could also in all honestly be genuine typo/misprinting, but there are other, audio and/or visual inconsistencies between the show and the scripts when it comes to smaller details like this. S5 already has had plenty of dissection of inconsistencies and contradictions that happen episode to episode or even scene to scene, but they did not all of a sudden appear here out of the blue. There's always been #birthdaygate and #eightfifteengate to point out timeline inconsistencies or irregularities, so this isn't new! They have always been here, they have just gotten more visible.

I'm not going to put too much emphasis on dialogue, as ad-libbed/improved/paraphrased versions of the original lines can happen. I will only be focusing on logical/factual inconsistencies or contradictions (this can also be dialogue as well). I will only include a few, but there are likely many more.

Exhibit 2: Bears and Dragons

In 3x08, right before Mike and El kiss goodbye, El struggles to reach for a toy atop the top shelf in the closet. In the show, it's a stuffed bear. In the scripts, it's a toy dragon.

(Above: 3x08 shows the bear, and Left/Right: But the scripts (p. 541 and p. 542) refer to the toy dragon. Multiple times. (Also given ST's budget, it wouldn't even be hard to get a toy dragon prop! This wouldn't be an inconsistency for logistical reasons.)

Exhibit 3: Southwest

(All credit to u/edencwel on r/byler for spotting this [x])

In 3x02, the Scoops Troop decodes the Russian message: "The Week is long. The silver sat feeds. When blue meets yellow in the west." In both what is shown visually and through dialogue, this is consistent in the show. It is not consistent in the scripts. In fact it mentions south.

(Above: What is shown on the board and what is read is consistent!)

What I find really strange is that this contradiction does not reoccur when the same phrase is mentioned again when Dustin and Steve scout for the 'Evil Russian' (and Robin does her own thing). It's only mentioned here!

(Top: S3 scripts 3x02 p. 115. The board is not shown/described, but what they say out loud is clearly South and not West. Bottom: p. 163, it suddenly corrects back to West!)

Even with all of these examples (and pleeeenty more from others), the question is why? Why have contradictions between the show and the scripts? It might be related to all of the contradictions present in S5 and #conformitygate (and the numerous inconsistencies people pointed out in TF85), but why these details in particular? Is there anything that makes them stand out? What makes them important? Or are they just there for the sake of having things contradict each other? What would this suggest as to the relationship between the scripts, the show, and the inconsistencies present in S5? Are they all the same thing?

I don't think all of the contradictions as a standalone have any meaning on their own, other than that they are just made to stand out in some way. Though as a collective, they could mean something. One idea is that since these were all released prior or during the release of S5 (S1 and S2 scripts in September, S3 and S4 in December, after the release of Vol 1), these contradictions were intended to be found. A bit like a training round! This is also slightly corroborated with the Q&A the Duffers moderated for Exit 8, a videogame film all about finding contradictions to escape ([1], [2])! (and the way it does it is very much "only show, no tell").

Now if they were to be truly intentional (planted), why? Why have hardcore fans/viewers basically train themselves to spot/identify inconsistencies or contradictions? Why make them increasingly noticeable/visible in the show?

The only conclusion I can only think of right now is the conclusion that others have reached quite a long time ago! This is all planned! This is all intentional! The contradictions are intentional. Everything. Everything has been planned to be like this. These aren't just mistakes or errors, these are active decisions. One could even say everyone is in on it but us, the audience (and the Party).

And if going down this thread of thought some more, and if applying what Exit 8 does for the main character to escape, then that has to be what the Party has to do as well: The characters have to figure it out for themselves. If #conformitygate is very well something planted (at this point likely), then we, the audience, have already found the clues (we've been very vocal about that), but has the Party? Have they noticed the contradictions or inconsistencies? Have they noticed something is off or odd or strange about their world?

I don't think they have.