Top 10 Things You Missed In Stranger Things Season 5 So Far
#10: Holly Reading “A Wrinkle in Time”
This literary nod is likely way more than just some fun character building. There are numerous times throughout the first two episodes that we see Madeleine L’Engle’s seminal sci-fi novel “A Wrinkle in Time.” For those in the know the book’s plot mirrors the season’s stakes perfectly. L’Engle’s classic book features a young girl traversing time and dimensions to save her father from a dark and spreading evil known as The Black Thing. Perhaps this will mirror a future journey in which Holly embarks to save Ted? Or maybe it’s a reference to her being inside the ‘50s Creel house? But there’s more. With the book containing heavy themes of time travel, the flux capacitor reference, and with Mr. Clark teaching about wormholes in episode three, could we have a bit of foreshadowing on our hands? Time will only tell.
#9: Holly in Wonderland
You may as well call this 1950s thing Wonderland, because Holly sure is Alice. Episodes two and three are chock full of references to the iconic book and 1951 film. Holly is taken through a mysterious hole into another dimension. A very Technicolor dimension with bright hues and a popping, larger-than-life color scheme. She follows Henry Creel, who looks mighty pale and has both a brown vest and a pocket watch. She sits at a long table and has tea with Henry. She gets a handwritten note in the mailbox. She dons a blue and white dress, which is a clear nod to Alice. And just in case you missed all these references, there’s a poster for “Alice in Wonderland” hanging in the bedroom, just to drive the point home.
#8: Will Singing
Get your tissues ready, because this callback hits us right in the nostalgia. In the season opener’s flashback to that fateful night in 1983, we see Will hiding inside Castle Byers and hiding from the Demogorgon. He shakily sings The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” to himself, which fans will remember had a prominent role throughout season one as Will’s “safe song”. It’s not just a callback; it’s a narrative anchor. By returning to the song Jonathan used to bond with him, the show emphasizes that the series is ending where it began: with the Byers brothers’ connection serving as the only light against the dark. It’s a bit of an obvious one, but we had to include it for sheer nostalgia.
#7: Murray’s Engagement Pun
We can’t overlook the cheeky bit of foreshadowing from everyone’s favorite conspiracy theorist, Murray Bauman. If nothing else, Murray loves stirring the pot and digging into everyone’s personal lives. During his drop off in episode one, he gives Jonathan a John Coltrane cassette tape, saying that he’ll find it “quite engaging.” You can immediately tell that something is off, given Murray’s cheeky delivery of the line and Jonathan’s panicked reaction. Indeed, we later see in episode three that Murray has used the cassette to smuggle in an engagement ring. Murray’s pun is easy to miss, but it’s there. Because why would Murray pass up a chance to make a stupid pun? It won’t be the first time he’s made one to Nancy and Jonathan. Remember the iconic pull out line from season two?
#6: The “88 Decibels” Readout
Great Scott! The Duffers love their 80s movie references, and this one is tons of fun. In the first episode, Steve and Jonathan are tuning the new cerebral-radio device in order to track Hopper’s location in The Upside Down. Jonathan lets it build and build before finally telling Steve to drive once it hits 88 decibels. This is a clear and loving tip of the hat to “Back to the Future,” where the DeLorean must hit 88 miles per hour to travel through time. But as we’ve discussed, this season is dealing heavily with references to time travel, so the number isn’t just a random digit. Could it be a visual cue suggesting that this van is going to be the key to traversing through time and space? A new DeLorean for a new generation?
#5: Will’s Coke Classic
The “Cola Wars” were a prominent aspect of ‘80s culture, with New Coke being an enormous flop. In season three, we see Lucas drinking a New Coke and waxing poetic about its qualities (much to the disappointment of his friends). Sorry Lucas, but you’re on the wrong side of history here. Will buys a Coke in the hospital, and we see that it’s a Coca-Cola Classic. This is a subtle way of grounding us in late 1987, as the “Classic” branding was reintroduced after the New Coke backlash. But maybe it goes even deeper than that. Maybe it represents a return to form. Just as the world rejected the “new” formula for the original, this season sees the show rejecting the epic, cross-country dynamic to return to their “classic” season one roots.
#4: Austin Millbarge
Murray Bauman is back with another fake identity, and this one is a bit of a deep cut. When trying to bluff his way through the military quarantine checkpoint, Murray gives the name “Austin Millbarge.” This just so happens to be the name of Dan Aykroyd’s character in the 1985 Cold War comedy “Spies Like Us.” The reference is hilariously appropriate for Murray. In that film, Millbarge is a brilliant but overlooked genius who gets recruited as a “decoy” spy to distract the enemy while the real agents do the work. It hilariously parallels Murray’s role in the group: a conspiracy theorist who is technically a genius, but who constantly finds himself stumbling through high-stakes espionage way above his pay grade. We guess that military guy didn’t see the movie.
#3: Holly’s “An American Tail” Poster
Production design tells a tragic story in Holly’s bedroom, as we see a prominent poster for the 1986 animated film “An American Tail” on her wall. This movie tells the story of Fievel Mousekewitz, a young mouse who gets separated from his family while immigrating to America and spends the film trying to reunite with them. This is a heartbreaking parallel to Holly’s arc throughout much of season five. Just like Fievel, she is a small, innocent character who is separated from her family and becomes lost in a vast and scary new world. It’s a gut-wrenching detail that implies Holly isn’t just a prisoner; she is actively wandering and searching, hoping that “Somewhere Out There,” her family is looking for her too.
#2: The Missing Person Phone Number
Netflix marketing went all out for this one. In episode one, we see a missing person poster for Jane Hopper posted in the school. If you pause the show and look closely, the phone number listed can clearly be seen as 765-303-2020. Unlike the usual fake 555 numbers that you see in movies and TV, this is actually a working number. If you dial it in real life, you get a prerecorded voicemail from the Hawkins Police Department urging citizens to report sightings of the missing girl. It’s a fantastic immersive Easter egg that blurs the line between the show and reality, and it harkens back to the 1980s when cute marketing gimmicks like this were more common. Remember when “Ghostbusters” did the 1-800 thing?
#1: Jonathan’s T-Shirt
Taking the top spot is a potential piece of wardrobe foreshadowing that is both cool and terrifying. During the sequence in which Jonathan and Steve climb the radio tower, Jonathan can be seen wearing a t-shirt for the punk band The Fall. On the surface, this shirt fits his music taste perfectly, as we’ve known for a long time that he likes punk - specifically The Clash. But symbolically? It could be a dark omen. We’re just saying, it probably isn’t a coincidence that Jonathan is wearing a “Fall” t-shirt while climbing a massive radio tower - a climb that is explicitly mentioned as being very dangerous. Maybe it’s just a fun visual gag. Hopefully that’s all it is. But maybe, just maybe, it’s a bit of foreshadowing.
What fun Easter eggs did you find? Let us know in the comments below!
