The kids in the hit Netflix show Stranger Things seem to go on these wild adventures all without much interference from their parents. It's set in the mid-80s, so maybe parents were a lot more chilled about their children getting to and from school as well as hanging out after dark.
But there are snippets in both season one and two, where the mum or dad pipe up and you get a reminder that they aren't all parentless. That applies to virtually every main character bar the curly haired, baseball cap wearing Dustin. He seems to be the only person who doesn't have a dad or at least any mention of a dad.
Will and Johnathan Beyers' dad, and Joyce's ex-husband was seen very briefly, but there was a reason for that: he's a straight-up asshole.
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Nancy and Mike's dad is horrifically patriotic and stern, and seems to play the father figure who is hard-working, present, but doesn't really know his kids, what they like or what they're up to. Lucas' dad seems like a straight up gentleman and pretty normal, and even season two character Max references her dad every now and then.
But there's been virtually no reference or mention of Dustin's dad. He hasn't appeared in the background or in a big group shot or anywhere. And don't think viewers haven't noticed.
But Reddit user deadpoetshonour99 has posted a theory on the social networking site, saying: "While I was watching season 2, I couldn't help but think about Dustin's parents. More specifically, I've been thinking about Dustin's dad, and I've come to the conclusion that he's dead. I'm not sure how, I'm not sure when, but I'm pretty sure Papa Henderson isn't around anymore.
"We've seen all of the boys' dads except for Dustin's. Hell, even Will and Jonathan's abusive, deadbeat dickhead of a father showed up last season. But not only do we not meet Dustin's dad, there's not even a mention of him.
"One of the only fictional dad tropes that hasn't been shown is the dead dad, and I think that's where Mr Henderson comes in. I think it might have happened when Dustin was pretty young. He's not openly grieving in either season and again he's not mentioned, which I think rules out a recent death.
The theory goes even deeper when the poster highlights how Dustin looks up to male role models like his teacher Mr Clarke, or Nancy's boyfriend Steve Harrington, who is the one to take him to the Snow Ball.
No one from the show has directly spoken about the absence of Dustin's dad, but considering there are plans for a few more series, maybe we can expect to see or hear him mentioned there.
Featured Image Credit: Netflix/Stranger ThingsTopics: Television, fan theory, Film and TV, Netflix Original, Dad, Interesting, Reddit, Netflix
