The Byers family have moved house again in Stranger Things 5, this time living with the Wheelers. After Jim Hopper's disappearance to Russia in the Stranger Things 3 finale, the Byers (Joyce, Will, and Jonathan) moved with Eleven to Lenora Hills, California, to escape the constant Upside Down dangers faced in Hawkins. In doing so, Joyce sold the house that she had bought or inherited with her ex-husband, Lonnie, almost two decades prior. Unfortunately, this raised major problems for the Byers upon returning to Hawkins full-time in Season 5.
Why Are The Byers Now Living In The Wheeler House?
As Hawkins is now under strict military quarantine, the Byers were left displaced with no option to leave nor a home to go to. Fortunately, the Wheeler family kindly stepped in to offer the whole family a place to stay.
This new arrangement has Will and Jonathan bunking on the Wheeler basement couches, where The Party have iconically played Dungeons & Dragons in the past, while Joyce is placed elsewhere in the house.
Typically, the Wheeler household consists of a five-person residence, comprising mother and father, Karen and Ted, and their three children: Mike, Holly, and Nancy. Nowadays, the household has moved up to eight, with Joyce, Will, and Jonathan joining them at the dinner table for the foreseeable future.
Those keeping a close eye may have noticed that one person at the table looks especially different this season, as Holly Wheeler was recast for Stranger Things 5.
The Wheelers-Byers cohabitation looks to be putting particular strain on Ted and Karen, with the former even eager to "kick 'em to the street:"
TED: "How much longer?"
KAREN: "What do you want me to do, Ted? Kick 'em to the street?"
TED: "Is that an option?"
Of course, a packed house is now the least of the Stranger Things 5 gang's worries, with chaos already ensuing across Volume 1, which is streaming now on Netflix, with Volumes 2 and 3 to follow on December 25 and 31.
Stranger Things 5: Was There a Better Living Situation for the Wheelers & Byers?
The Wheeler and Byers families living together makes for an upbeat, high-energy reintroduction to eight of Stranger Things' stars before the chaos begins, but not one that seems awfully practical for either side.
It is estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 people live in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, and one would have to imagine there is spare housing somewhere. It stands to reason that the government would have offered temporary housing to the Byers and any others who were impacted by the Upside Down's destruction.
That said, the Wheeler parents' joke about "[kicking] 'em to the street" makes it apparent that wasn't the case, and they would be homeless without their help.
Another bunk-up solution for the Byers could have been Jim Hopper's cabin, given that he and Joyce are a couple. That said, the woodland cabin is barely enough for Hopper and Eleven to share, never mind throwing three Byers into the mix.
