Stranger Things Spinoff Reveals Huge Missed Opportunity In Main Show

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Warning: spoilers for Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85.

The new animated series, Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, is the first spin-off from Stranger Things, and it reveals something Dustin regrets from the original show. Set between seasons 2 and 3, the series expands the Stranger Things universe by showing what else was happening during that time. Because it’s considered official canon, Tales From ‘85 adds to the established storyline and fills in gaps between seasons.

As a huge Stranger Things fan, I just finished reading Tales From ‘85, and it’s a really enjoyable story that fills in the gap between Eleven closing the gate and the whole Russian base thing at the mall. It follows Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max as they face off against some new monsters, and they get help from this cool new character, Nikki, who quickly becomes one of the group. While it’s a lot of fun being back in that world, honestly, it made me realize the show could have done so much more with this period! It feels like a missed opportunity, even though the story itself is good.

The story remains faithful to its characters, especially Dustin, who plays a crucial role in understanding the new monsters from the Upside Down. Dustin figures out these creatures do well in the cold, and in doing so, the story unintentionally reveals a significant detail that the original show overlooked.

A Real Stranger Things Season Set During Winter Would Have Made A Lot Of Sense

Each member of the young Hawkins group has an important job, and Dustin is the brains of the operation, frequently figuring out how to solve their problems. He’s also inventive, creating gadgets that prove useful in tough situations. In Tales From ‘85, Dustin continues this pattern by making a crucial discovery about the new monsters.

The monsters in Tales From ‘85 are related to the Demogorgon, originally created in a failed experiment at Hawkins Lab. While new, they share the same core traits and vulnerabilities as Demogorgons and Demodogs. Dustin cleverly figured out that these creatures from the Upside Down actually prefer cold temperatures – a curious detail considering Stranger Things has never taken place during winter.

The first season of Stranger Things took place in early November, before winter officially began. Season two was set a year later, in the fall of 1984, followed by season three in the summer of 1985 and season four in March 1986. Season five is set in November 1987. Although we’ve seen brief winter scenes, like Hopper leaving food for Eleven in the snow at the end of season one, none of the seasons have been fully set during winter.

Setting a season of Stranger Things in winter would have made fighting creatures like the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer even more challenging and thrilling, as cold weather is exactly what those monsters prefer. Realizing this changes how we look at every season of the show – the weather could have played a bigger role in helping Eleven and her friends.

Tales From ’85 Proves How A Winter Season Would Have Been Tricky For Stranger Things

A winter setting would have fit well with the story of Stranger Things and could have enhanced it, but filming it would have been challenging. Because Tales From ‘85 is animated, creating a winter atmosphere would have been much easier, as animation offers more flexibility than live-action filming.

Filming a winter season of Stranger Things would have been a significantly larger undertaking than any other time of year. Even with the complex storyline involving Hopper in Russia during season 4, the show avoided depicting harsh winter weather, as doing so would have greatly increased production costs and complexity. Considering this, it makes sense that the show never took place during the winter months.

Despite being enjoyable, Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 brings up some interesting points about the original series. Specifically, the revelation that the monsters do well in cold weather creates some inconsistencies with what happens in Stranger Things. It also highlights a missed opportunity for the main show – a winter-themed season could have been really exciting.

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2026-04-25 17:38