Stranger Things fans are wondering why a central character from season 4 is absent from season 5: "Bro went to pick some mushrooms and never came back"

Eduardo Franco as Argyle in Stranger Things season 4 — (Image credit: Netflix)

After joining the California Crew in Stranger Things season 4, fans are wondering why Argyle is absent from Stranger Things season 5.

As one fan put it: "Bro went to pick some mushrooms and never came back." In Stranger Things season 4, Argyle (played by Eduardo Franco) is introduced as Jonathan's stoner friend who he works with at a pizza place. In season 4 episode 4, Argyle pulls his van around to rescue Will, Jonathan, and Mike, and effectively becomes part of the "California Crew" aka the part of the main cast that is out west while the rest are stuck back in Hawkins. In the season 4 finale, Argyle does drive back to Hawkins with the gang, and starts foraging for mushrooms outside of Hopper's cabin...and that's the last we see of him.

Some fans assumed he must have headed back to California, but how would he have made it out when Hawkins is under military quarantine? It's possible that he made it out of Hawkins beforehand, but it seems a bit more likely that the Duffer brothers sort of forgot about his character. The latter theory has legs, mainly because Franco revealed on a podcast last year that he never got a call about season 5. Whether the absence of his character will be explained away at some point in the new season remains to be seen.