As 2026 began, the fifth and final season of Stranger Things wrapped up the Duffer Brothers’ popular sci-fi horror story, and fans are still processing the ending. Since New Year’s Day, online discussions have been growing as viewers finish the last episode or rewatch the entire series to join the conversation.
Now that Stranger Things has finished, fans and experts are starting to notice inconsistencies and changes to the show’s established story. We’re focusing on those changes – things that were altered in the show’s history to fit the plot of the final season.
Okay, let’s talk about “retcons.” Basically, it’s when a story changes something that was already established. Think of it like rewriting history within the story itself. The term comes from comic books – they’re always tweaking superhero origins and connecting different characters. But now that these big franchise universes are everywhere, more and more people are using the word to describe these kinds of changes in movies, TV, and other entertainment.
With that understanding, here are the biggest retcons that happened in Stranger Things 5.
Water In Hell
It’s a bit of a continuity question – maybe even a plot hole – but it’s got people wondering: where did the water in the Upside Down come from?
Throughout the first season of Stranger Things, the main goal was to find Will Byers and save him from the terrifying Upside Down before he was killed or starved. Later seasons continued to depict the Upside Down as a desolate place. However, in the final fight against Vecna, Eleven enters a sensory deprivation tank to battle Henry Creel mentally. This tank is located in the Upside Down version of Hawkins Lab, and the fact that it still contains water is either a significant change to the rules of the Upside Down, or a noticeable plot inconsistency.
Will Met Vecna (& Got Superpowers)
The latest season of Stranger Things immediately introduced a surprising change to the story: it showed that Will Byers first encountered Vecna while he was lost in the Upside Down during the first season.
The first three seasons of Stranger Things focused heavily on Will and his friends battling the Mind Flayer, a terrifying villain that many viewers saw as a symbol of the challenges and darkness that come with growing up. Some fans felt a recent story change diminished Will’s important role, turning his complex journey into a simple plot device. However, most agreed that seeing young Will overwhelmed by the Mind Flayer’s dark smoke was far more frightening than listening to Vecna’s long speeches.
I was really surprised by another twist regarding Will! It turns out he’s had the power to essentially counter Vecna all along, thanks to their psychic connection. Honestly, a lot of us fans were expecting this reveal to be connected to something huge – something bigger than just that one brave thing he did at the end of the first part of Season 5. We thought it would be a game-changer, but it felt a little… smaller than anticipated.
That’s Holly?
A major change in Stranger Things Season 5 was the expanded role given to Holly Wheeler! She went from being a minor, almost forgettable character to being central to Vecna’s entire plan. It became even more noticeable when the actresses who played Holly in the earlier seasons (Anniston and Tinsley Price) were replaced by a visibly older actress, Nell Fisher, in Season 5. The shift in Holly’s age and her increased importance to the plot felt quite abrupt and unexpected.
The Upside Down (Wormhole)
From its very beginning, Stranger Things established its terrifying alternate dimension, called the Upside Down, using concepts from the Dungeons & Dragons game. The show’s popularity grew quickly, largely because of how effectively this dark world created a sense of horror. It provided a straightforward, chilling contrast to the more complex science fiction aspects of the story, such as Eleven’s abilities and the experiments happening at Hawkins Lab.
Season 5 of Stranger Things shifted the focus from horror to science fiction by introducing the Abyss, a terrifying dimension beyond the Upside Down. The show revealed that the Upside Down wasn’t the main threat, but rather a bridge—a kind of wormhole—intended to protect Earth from the true danger of the Abyss. While it was an interesting reveal to explain Vecna’s hidden base, it contradicted much of what the show had already established. Previously, the series—particularly the Season 4 finale—centered on preventing a direct invasion of Hell on Earth. This new explanation makes it difficult to understand how everything we saw in the first four seasons fits with Vecna’s plan in Season 5.
Symbiotic Evil (Vecna & The Mind Flayer)
A new stage play, The First Shadow, connected to the Stranger Things universe is generating a lot of discussion – and some frustration, understandably. Many viewers didn’t realize this official prequel was in development. The play reveals the origins of Henry Creel’s powers and how he first accessed the Upside Down long before the events of the show. It shows how he was influenced by the Mind Flayer, leading him to commit terrible acts. Fans who have seen or heard about The First Shadow have noticed details that raise questions about Stranger Things Season 4 and what needs to be explained in Season 5.
The creators of Stranger Things attempted to balance respecting the show’s large audience with staying true to the established story from both the TV series and the stage play, treating them as a single, connected narrative. However, they didn’t quite succeed perfectly. The issue isn’t the show revealing young Henry’s first trip to the Upside Down—the play already covered that. Instead, the problem is Vecna’s explanation of how he and the Mind Flayer became connected, describing them as “symbiotic.” This wasn’t a surprising new reveal about the story; it felt like the showrunners were simply stating what they wished they’d said in online discussions with fans. Ultimately, Stranger Things has moved from having some of the most compelling villain backstories on television to having one of the most confusing.
Who Knew Henry?
The play Stranger Things: The First Shadow showed how Henry Creel’s difficult childhood unfolded in Hawkins, revealing he grew up alongside Joyce Byers (then Joyce Maldonado) and James Hopper Jr. Joyce, Hopper, and their friends encountered Henry as he began to struggle, and their investigation into his early crimes led to his capture and eventual experimentation at Hawkins Lab under Dr. Brenner.
Now that the show has revised its backstory, it felt odd that Joyce and Hopper didn’t mention how events had come full circle in Stranger Things 5. The Duffer Brothers explained they were careful not to confuse viewers who hadn’t seen the stage play. They say the characters likely did discuss it privately, but showing that conversation onscreen would have been confusing for those unfamiliar with the play’s details.
Fine explanation, but doesn’t fix how weird this all looks now.
Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix. Talk about the finale with us on the ComicBook Forum!
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2026-01-07 01:46