History Fridge / StrangerThings

* Most of Tom's "facts" are indeed true: Nancy and Jonathan did pose as actual reporters when they were interns, they continued to pursue the story (albeit Jonathan being pressured by Nancy) when they were told to stop, and they broke into an elderly lady's home. However, Nancy's argument that Mrs. Driscoll would have died if they hadn't been there would be valid under normal circumstances, but by then Tom knew she was flayed and that the intervention and restraint by paramedics likely accelerated her medical crisis because she needed to go back to the source. And Tom's claim that Mrs. Driscoll is a paranoid schizophrenic also comes into question, as not only did her behavior seem perfectly sane in her initial scenes with Nancy and Jonathan, but her family wouldn't have allowed her to live alone in that case, especially at that age; her belief that Lyndon B. Johnson killed Kennedy seems to be nothing more than one of the many conspiracy theories about the event. On the other hand, we know that the family threatening litigation is true as Callahan can be heard discussing it as he leaves Tom's office. The facts that we know to be fully true would get anyone fired.

* The kids barely question why Hopper and Joyce are going to Illinois after er they figure it out. Considering that Nancy and Jonathan show up in the following scene, it's more than likely that they figured out where Hopper was going, and knew he'd be out of reach, since Murray doesn't answer his phone.

* The kids barely question why Hopper and Joyce are going to Illinois after they figure it out. Considering that Nancy and Jonathan show up in the following scene, it's more than likely that they figured out where Hopper was going, and knew he'd be out of reach, since Murray doesn't answer his phone.

** The preceding song, "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper, might have been considered too on-the-nose to use for Mike and El's first dance. Much of that song could practically have been ''written'' for them, especially the soprano/tenor duet in the chorus – "If you're lost you can look and you will find me... If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting." Mike's look of longing as the song plays suggests that he recognizes that.

** Adult Demogorgorns are capable of traveling between the real world and the Upside Down at will. This one, however, is kept firmly in captivity. This can either mean that this particularly Demogorgon just can't do it, or more horrifyingly, the Soviet Union has experimented with it long enough to know how to make it stay. The Soviets getting some control over the Upside Down is never a good thing.

*** Possibly the worst news is that the demogorgon was behind the door at all. It seems to know that it only gets fed when it's back there, so the soviets already have a measure of control over it.

* In Terry Ives' backstory, when she was put into forced shock therapy, Dr. Brenner knew ''exactly what voltage to set it to in order to fry her mind''. That fact alone would be mildly unsettling, unti.l considering the possibility that Brenner ''already did forced shock therapy to other people beforehand'', meaning he could've fried the brains of at most ten other people.

* After Billy is possessed by the Mind Flayer in episode 1, he has a vision of attacking Karen under its control and tells her to stay away from him. This very likely spares her from becoming the first of the Flayed. However consider what would have happened had he failed to resist the Mind Flayer's influence in that instance: By taking control of Karen, she likely would have enabled the Mind Flayer to possess ''the entire Wheeler family'', including Mike and Nancy, who had been two of the most important people in fighting it. Even worse, had Mike become one of the Flayed, this in turn would have been a means for the Mind Flayer to gain control of Eleven. [[ForWantOfANail Had Billy not resisted with Karen, the Mind Flayer may very well have won right from the start!]] Billy possibly knew this and [[FightingFromTheInside drove away Karen for this very reason]].

!! FridgeLogic
* A humorous one in season 2 episode 2. We're treated to a flashback to the day Eleven disappeared, but if one listens to Mike's voice while talking to the police officers, compared to season 1 episode 8, Finn Wolfhard obviously has matured some between the seasons, causing his voice to be slightly deeper in the flashback than it originally was that episode.
* In season 2 episode 8, when they try to interrogate Will, while the Mind Flayer is forcing Will to say whatever it wants, the actual Will is tapping out what he wants to say in Morse code. It is unlikely (though not impossible) that Will memorized how to communicate using Morse code, as the only person seen who actually has it memorized is Hopper. Even the kids had to use a decoding sheet in order to translate what he was saying.
* In Season 4, Eddie says that Dustin was wearing a Weird Al Yankovic t-shirt...On a rewatch of Season 3, episode 2, the science teacher was listening to "My Bologna" when Joyce went to talk to him. Did he introduce Dustin to Weird Al's music, or vice versa?
** It's possible that Dustin may have discovered him on his own through the Doctor Demento show, like how many people were introduced to Weird Al, and if I had to guess the song that probably introduced him to Weird Al, it was his song "Yoda" (the cover of the song Lola), which he may have liked due to the fact he's a Star Wars fan.
* When you boil down Vecna's endless MotiveRant, it basically comes down to narcissism: everyone else is stupid and basic, leading a stupid basic life, but he's too good for that and no one appreciates him. And sure, lots of adolescents feel that way, but it's a pretty thin rationale for murdering your mother and sister and then letting your father take the rap.
** Considering Vecna's intense narcissism, that may be the point - He didn’t need a ''reason'', he wanted an ''excuse''.
** Also, Vecna is a psychopath who felt the world is sick and that his family was a part of the "insanity." How do you expect for psychopaths like him to make motives that make sense?

* Alexei at one stage mentions how Russia's greatest soldiers and engineers are guarding the site of the new portal to the Upside Down claiming it impossible for anyone to get in. Except Robin, Erika, Dustin and Steve got in seemingly contradicting this statement. Or it's entirely possible Alexei fell for propaganda a thing the USSR was very well known for.

* Why do Steve, Dustin, Erika and Robin not contact the government immediately when they discover about the Russian base. Well by the time they have evidence of their claim it's too late as they are trapped the Russian facility. Also it makes sense they'd never contact them due to personal reasons:
** Both Dustin and Steve would distrust the government after the events of the last two seasons. After experiencing the cover ups and how corrupt it is first hand they naturally would be reluctant to bring them back to Hawkins and into their life's. Also doing so could risk blowing Eleven's cover.

** In a less personal but more pragmatic example, as the last season showed with Nancy and Jonathan's efforts to expose Hawkins Lab, the Government would never have believed a ''full-scale'' Russian infiltration in the American heartland in time, possibly laughing the kids away as they would have believed no one had the guts to infiltrate America right under the officials' noses. By the time they would have gathered evidence, it would have been too late and the Russians would have succeeded in completely opening the Gate. So stopping the Russians immediately took higher priority.

* After visiting Dr. Owens and hearing about his PTSD assessment for Will, Hopper tells Joyce that "the PTSD thing is real." Hopper would know that PTSD is a real thing, as he's a former Vietnam vet and probably had a few members of his old squad that have had it, or at least, he himself has suffered from it at some point.

* Mike complains about Max not fitting into their party, using D&D classes as analogues for their real world skills, and since she doesn't play she suggests "zoomer", which isn't a thing. But over the season she picks a lock, stealths out of her house, takes down Billy with a sneak attack, and steals a car. She's their rogue.

* Ultimately, Eleven is still wanted by the government. This unfortunately means that she has to stay in hiding for who knows how long.

* The original Demogorgon had pale white skin and never came out during the day as it came from the sunless Upside-Down, Dart and the other demodogs had much darker skin and could handle direct sunlight (at least when they got older) and they were all (presumably) born on earth. This implies the Demogorgons have some kind of low key AdaptiveAbility.

* Alexei at one stage mentions how Russia's greatest soldiers and engineers are guarding the site of the new portal to the Upside-Down claiming it impossible for anyone to get in. Except Robin, Erika, Dustin and Steve got in seemingly contradicting this statement. Or it's entirely possible Alexei fell for propaganda a thing the USSR was very well known for.

** Also, Steve accepting Robin's homosexuality so easily can be see as weird, especially in the 80's. But, just look at what Steve has experienced for the last three years: the Demogorgons, the Mind-Flayer, the Upside-Down, Eleven's powers, etc. Compared to that, Robin being lesbian is the less weird thing Steve has seen in a long time.

* Remember when Steve explained to Eddie that all the creatures in the Upside-Down are "like, all one, or something"? They are, in fact, all One.

* Though subtle, the various characters and situations involved in cornering and overcoming Vecna and the Upside-Down beings under his command correlate to a D&D party. Eleven is the wizard, facing Vecna on a similar playing field and with abilities that match and counter his own. Hopper is a Knight, wielding a sword in battle against the Demogorgon. Eddie, with his guitar and rocking out as a massive distraction to lure Vecna's monsters away from the Creel house, is a Bard, casting a alluring magical song to ease the party's way through Vecna's forces. Steve, with his axe and physical skills, is a barbarian, Robin is a sorcerer, casting fireballs (Molotovs) against Vecna's physical form, whilst Nancy, a ranger, pelts him with ranged attacks with the shotgun. All 3 battlefields interconnected by the HiveMind Vecna controls also make it equivalent to the 3-headed red dragon painting that Will created, and Vecna's downfall starts with [[TheHeart Mike's]] AnguishedDeclarationOfLove to Eleven giving her the positive emotions she can channel to overcome Vecna, just like Will said he was the inspiration for the rest of the party.

* In Chapter 8, one of the scientists mentioned that the Upside-Down's air is toxic. Look at Will's state in Chapter 7. If they'd waited just a little longer...
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I_uRsjCmW4 This interview]] gives us a handy little tidbit about the Upside-Down. Those white particles floating through the air? They're ''spores''.

** This could be averted, considering that the town of Hawkins, including its police force, now have [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt to deal with the pending apocalypse as the Upside-Down enters our world.]] Also, Nancy and Robin didn't give their real names, they gave them fake ones. The chances of them finding them with the combination of the two is slim due to current events.

* The moment when Eleven lost her powers in season 3 was when she used them to remove a small object from her body- in particular, the Mind Flayer's leech tracker. While Brenner’s explanation on it being because of a stroke from the action may be partly correct, there's more to it- the last time El removed a small object from someone else, that individual killed a large number of people. In other words, like with the bullying incident at the Lab repeating at the skating rink, removing the Mind Flayer from her body caused her to relive a pivotal moment leading up to the most traumatic event of her life, which may have caused her body to shut off her powers.

** However, it also works on another level. A part of the infamy of "Every Breath You Take" is that if you're unfamiliar with the song, it certainly ''sounds'' like a romantic ballad, and it's only upon paying closer attention to the lyrics that one notices the darker meaning. Now, look at how the song is used in the episode: It begins at the Snow Ball, as Mike and Eleven finally have their dance and cement their RelationshipUpgrade, before the scene shifts to the Upside-Down and ends with the Mind Flayer watching over the ball. Just as in the song, the final moments of the season appear to be sweet and romantic on the surface, only to reveal something much more sinister when one looks deeper.

* Due to the success of MK-Ultra and the opening of a portal to another dimension, it makes perfect sense why the Soviet Union would be so bold as to directly infiltrate an American town; they are growing very desperate to catch up with America.

* Why did Eleven have to go with Joyce and not live with any of the other parents to stay with her friends? She had no choice as no one else is aware of the events going on in Hawkins meaning Dr Owens could only send her to live with Joyce.

* Alexei at one stage mentions how Russia's greatest soldiers and engineers are guarding the site of the new portal to the Upsidedown claiming it impossible for anyone to get in. Except Robin, Erika, Dustin and Steve got in seemingly contradicting this statement. Or it's entirely possible Alexei fell for propaganda a thing the USSR was very well known for.

* The Mind Flayer focuses on killing Eleven and her friends coming up with an impressive plan to do so, yet it completely ignores Joyce, Hopper and the other adults. Of course it would though as the only people who outright hurt it last season was the kids and teenagers. Hopper and Joyce never actually dealt any significant damage to it and only helped the kids and El to close the portal. It wouldn't see them as a threat at all.

* In Season 3, we see Joyce noticing that magnets are losing their magnetism. This seems like an out of character thing for Joyce, as any adult would have not put much thought into magnets losing their grip. However, this is fridge brilliance because of the fact that last season, Joyce acknowledged her lack of being observant when it came to Will and what he was going through, mostly being dragged along in the situation. This season, she's more observant of the smallest thing and is being proactive, most likely out of concern that either Hawkin Labs was back up and running without the town knowing or that somehow, the gate to the Upside Down was open again. Joyce learned from last season, and as a result, led to her and Hopper discovering that Russians were in Hawkins trying to open the gate again. All this simply being observant and proactive, even more so in comparison to the last two seasons.

* Why do Steve, Dustin, Erika and Robin not contact the government immediately when they discover about the Russian base. Well by the time they have evidence their claim it's to late as they are trapped the Russian facility. Also it makes sense they'd never contact them due to personal reasons:

* El getting powers from the MKULTRA experiments when Terry didn't seem to, or at least didn't as strongly makes sense if we assume her powers originate in some for of genetic mutation induced by the experiments. In a fully formed adult body this mutation would have to individually affect every cell (and an adult's body has millions of cells within it), not to mention any physical mutation that plays a role in El's powers, but in early development, a zygote is only a small bundle of cells, a mutation could fully take hold, and the subsequent fetus would develop based on that mutation, making it more likely for the mutation to blossom.

* Due to the success of MKUltra and the opening of a portal to another dimension, it makes perfect sense why the Soviet Union would be so bold as to directly infiltrate an American town; they are growing very desperate to catch up with America.

* One has to wonder if any other MKULTRA subjects had children, and whether they could develop psychic powers if they're put through enough stress.

* It is ironic that the darkly clothed super powered Indian girl on a quest of vengeance to kill the evil people who wronged her, and who has been separated from her "sister" El for years, is named Kali, considering in Hinduism Kali is a god associated with darkness and time who destroys evil forces.

* Victor Creel being played by Creator/RobertEnglund, even if it's a CastingGag to how ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' influenced Season 4, leaves a pretty blatant CelebrityParadox, since Dustin namedrops Freddy Krueger in the episode after Nancy talks to Victor. But it makes sense from a meta perspective. Vecna is a clear {{Expy}} of Freddy, though he lacks the latter's dark quips. Henry, Vecna's true identity, is the son of the character played by Freddy's actor. Thus, Vecna is in a sense his son.

* When Robin asks how they should refer to Vecna, Nancy refers to him as Henry, Dustin and Lucas call him 001, and Erica refers to his as Vecna, just as they have the whole time while Robin refers to him by all three names. As one YouTuber noted, there are reasons for this: Nancy calls him Henry because she investigated and saw his story herself and understands him the most. Dustin and Lucas refer to him as 001, because they are closer to Eleven and her history with Hawkins Laboratory, and Erica refers to him as Vecna simply because she enjoys D&D and lacks the experiences that Nancy, Dustin, or Lucas have. Robin meanwhile refers to him by all three names due to her MotorMouth and rapid-panicking and thinking behavior.

* When Robin asks how they should refer to Vecna, Nancy refers to him as Henry, Dustin and Lucas call him 001, and Erica refers to his as Vecna, just as they have the whole time while Robin refers to him by all three names. As noted by a YouTuber seen by this troper, there are reasons for this: Nancy calls him Henry because she investigated and saw his story herself and understands him the most. Dustin and Lucas refer to him as 001, because they are closer to Eleven and her history with Hawkins Laboratory, and Erica refers to him as Vecna simply because she enjoys D&D and lacks the experiences that Nancy, Dustin, or Lucas have. Robin meanwhile refers to him by all three names due to her MotorMouth and rapid-panicking and thinking behavior.

* Many see Joyce getting Will an Atari game system as a CriticalResearchFailure, due to the fact that the Video Game Crash of 1983 would have occurred just before the Christmas scenes in the show's first season. However, it counts as Fridge Brilliance when you take into account both that Joyce, who is a single mother who works at a small town store, getting the game system and the Video Game Crash of 1983 occurring allowing her to get the game system. Joyce, like many single parents in that time, wouldn't have been able to afford a lot of popular toys for her kid. With the VGC occurring, and Atari having so much stock left over, there's a good chance that Joyce got the Atari at a heavy discount to the point where she could buy it and some games for Will and not have to worry about it affecting other finances.