Will Stranger Things Ever Solve The Problem Of Will's Forgotten Birthday?
Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) has been through hell. Or the Upside Down, at least. He's been drawn into a nether region, tortured, possessed, and cannot understand why his friends are leaving him behind. It appears that he has unrequited romantic feelings for Mike (Finn Wolfhard). (If this isn't true, I'll eat my hat.) Not only that, but the creators of "Stranger Things," Matt and Ross Duffer, forgot his birthday. Dude cannot catch a break!
If you missed it, many fans picked up how, on the video camera in season 4, episode 2, the date is March 22, which is Will's birthday. No one is paying attention to him, as he, Mike, and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) are skating at a roller rink. To be fair, I don't think he's sad about his birthday being missed, because the Duffer brothers themselves forgot about it, meaning it wasn't in the script. They told Variety when the news appeared:
"Clearly like the characters in the show, we also forgot about Will's birthday. So the debate now is whether we adjust Will's birthday or we just let it be really sad."
Early on in season 2, his mom, Joyce (Winona Ryder), mentions his birthday as March 22, and while I definitely didn't catch it, other people did. The Duffer brothers may have found a solution to the whole situation, though.
Mar ... May?
Matt and Ross Duffer spoke to Variety and said they will likely "George Lucas" things, in reference to Lucas changing things in the original "Star Wars" trilogy. (Han shot first, dammit!) Of course, the thing they're likely to change would be a less upsetting thing than adding a Jabba of a different size to a "Star Wars" scene (though maybe not for Will). They are thinking about changing his birthday in season 2. They told Variety:
"We're thinking his new birthday is going to be May 22, because 'May' can fit in Winona [Ryder]'s mouth [in the season 2 scene where Joyce says the date of Will's birthday]. So that would be us George Lucas-ing the situation."
Although I'm not a fan of going in to change things after the fact, in this instance (or for the coffee cup in "Game of Thrones"), I'm cool with it. Will has been through enough, and either his mom got his birthday wrong or his friends forgot, and it's just too sad for words either way.
"Stranger Things" season 4, volume 2, which is episodes 8 and 9 (both very long ones, by the way), will premiere on July 1, 2022 on Netflix.