Some Stranger Things Fans Are Confused About The Swearing In Season 5

Warning: spoilers are ahead for Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 5, consisting of four episodes and available streaming now with a Netflix subscription.

Stranger Things has always included some colorful language, going back to when even the youngsters were dropping some choice words in the very first season. The show is rated TV-14 for "disturbing images, fear, gore, language, and smoking," after all, so it's part of the package of stories told in Hawkins. That said, fans have noticed an uptick in one particular word for no clear reason in the 2025 TV schedule: characters are saying "goddamn" all the damn time in Volume 1.

That's not to say that events like kids being kidnapped to the Upside Down and Demogorgons attacking and Vecna invading the Rightside Up aren't worthy of inspiring a "goddamn" or two. None of these are situations that are calling for a "gosh dang," but the frequency is hard to ignore once you start noticing it, and "shit" used to be the go-to. Check out some of the comments from viewers on X (formerly known as Twitter), edited for clarity:

• @joharisofia: "So… was 'Goddamn' the only word they allowed the Stranger Things cast to use this season?"
• @Mutz44Life: "Anyone else notice the use of 'Goddamn' being said over and over and over throughout the latest Stranger Things chapter(5)?"
• @ExParteAnimal: "The amount of times they say 'goddamnit' in this new season of Stranger Things is... odd. Almost like they’re trying to make a point of it."
• @ LivinAsMercedes: "I am genuinely perplexed as to why they are saying 'god-damn' so much in this season of Stranger Things. It’s overkill."
• @mingiisoutlaw: "Stranger Things new game: everyone take a shot every time a character said 'goddamn' in the new season."
• @TaeKwonzy: "The new season of Stranger Things is solid. But the amount of times they say 'Jesus Christ' or 'Goddamn' is just absurd. What are we doing, folks, taking the lord’s name in vain so much?!"
• @ExParteAnimal: "Gonna use this to keep a running tally of all 'goddamnit' and “jesus christs” used in Stranger Things 5 . So far, I’m gonna estimate we’re at 6... And now 7 less than two minutes in to Episode 3."
• @starryneteyam: "Fully believe the cast had some sort of bet on how many times they could sneak in the word 'goddamn' because the amount of times they said it was crazy."

Robin seems to be the one most prone to dropping a "goddamn" (or two or three or four) in Season 5 so far, but she's certainly not the only one. In fact, even Netflix's official X account went for it:

Sure, that was just the X account quoting one of Robin's funnier lines of Volume 1 (followed in the episode by one of Will's funnier lines about bowl cuts not being as popular anymore after Noah Schnapp sported one for four seasons), but there were plenty of lines that could have been posted without a "goddamn." While I'm not sure if a tweet from the show's social media counts for the drinking game suggested by one commenter, if that's the case... take a sip!

Admittedly, I'm intrigued by another commenter suggesting that it's "almost like" the show is "trying to make a point of it." I have no idea what that point would be, but considering how much stock I've put into what were either Stranger Things continuity errors or important clues, I'm open to waiting to see if Volume 2 provides a reason for it and/or characters stop saying it as much.

Considering that fans have several weeks to wait for the next volume (and then almost another full week to wait for the series finale), there's no harm in theorizing for now. With half of the main characters – Eleven, Hopper, Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Dustin – currently in the Upside Down, and the other half – Will, Joyce, Mike, Erica, Robin, and Murray – still Rightside Up in the wake of Vecna's massacre, I would be surprised if everybody suddenly stops swearing in Volume 2.

Volume 2 will arrive on Netflix on Christmas Day at 8 p.m. ET, so viewers might want to get all of their holiday holly-jolliness out of their systems before going back into the world of Upside Down monsters. The series finale will then release on New Year's Eve at 8 p.m. ET, as well as be available in select theaters in the U.S. and Canada.