Diksha Sundriyal
A new story unfolds from the world of ‘Stranger Things’ in Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85.’ Taking place between the second and third seasons, the animated series follows Eleven and her friends as they battle new creatures hailing from the Upside Down and terrorizing the town of Hawkins. The ten-episode series brings back almost all the main characters, truly immersing the audience back into the world. There is, however, one major omission. While all the other major characters appear in some capacity, Joyce Byers is completely missing from the show. Why did the spin-off series skip one of the most important characters from the original show? The answer lies in a defining plot point. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Joyce’s Absence is Explained by the Show’s Focus on the Kids
When ‘Stranger Things’ began, it was the core group of Mike and his friends who became aware of the supernatural aspects of the weird things happening around them. While the others eventually caught up with them, the kids were the ones who secretly fought battles with the Demogorgons on their own. The animated series aims to maintain this spirit, focusing entirely on the kids. The complete squad from Season 2 becomes the center of the story, with the adults being almost entirely sidelined. This decision to keep the adults unaware of the resurfacing monsters also works well with the story’s and the episodes’ shortened time frame. Because almost the entire season takes place over the course of several days, it makes sense that the kids are able to keep it a secret, even if they come close enough to involve the adults at one point.
Moreover, the half-hour time frame of the episodes, as opposed to hour-long episodes in the parent series, means that there is no time to focus on the storylines that are not related to the main plot. So, keeping the adults away, unless they serve a purpose, became a major cornerstone, at least for the first season of the animated series. And this is most likely why we don’t see Joyce Byers. While Will remains a key figure, his family remains in the dark about the things happening in Hawkins. We see Jonathan in the first episode, but it’s just to give Will a mixtape. After this, he, too, remains absent while the monsters go to town on the unsuspecting civilians.
We do get to see Hopper, but that’s because, at the time, Eleven is living with him and is under a strict curfew that she repeatedly breaks. His presence is also limited to the scenes in the cabin, and he has no involvement in fighting the monsters. In the same vein, because Mike’s house is the main hangout point for the gang, we see Mike’s mom, but reminding her son to take his lunch is the extent of her presence. Steve and Nancy’s presence is justified by their roles in helping the gang fight the monsters. Joyce, on the other hand, most likely stays at work, and because we never get around to Will’s house, she never comes into the picture. All in all, the focus remains entirely on the core gang, which explains Joyce’s absence, even though she is a key character in the original show.
Read More: Stranger Things Season 5 Finale: Is Eleven Dead or Alive? Do Mike and the Others Know?
You must be logged in to post a comment.