"Jersey Shore" fans were shaking with excitement when their favorite cast of "hot messes" returned to MTV after a five-year hiatus. But the return of one infamous object during the "Jersey Shore Family Vacation" season premiere had "Shore" supporters scratching their heads.
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi paid a visit to the original Shore House in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, in the first episode to retrieve a beloved -- and, at times, despised -- item from "Jersey Shore" history: the duck phone.
"Let's be real, there is no Jersey Shore without the duck phone. đ¤ˇââď¸#JSFamilyVacation," MTV's official "Jersey Shore" account live-tweeted as the first episode aired on April 5.
"Do you remember our times together?" Snooki whispered to the duck phone as she picked it up off the table and packed it in her bag.
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"Jersey Shore" fanatics were thrilled that the phone Snooki could never figure out was back, though some had to admit they were confused.
"Didn't the duck phone break in the last ep of Jersey Shore? How is it still there? #JerseyShoreFamilyVacation," one Twitter user asked, referring to the finale of season 6.
Life and Style Magazine was first to point out the show's "blatantly obvious continuity error," recalling that Sorrentino smashed the phone "to pieces" in 2012 after a fight with now ex-girlfriend Paula Pickard.
"The brunette beauty made a cake for her on-again, off-again lover during Season 6, only to later reveal a photo of someone's ... er ... private area sitting right on top of it," the magazine explained. "When Sitch called Paula to confront her, she pretended she couldn't hear him on the phone â hence chucking the poor duckling across the room and smashing it to pieces."
Entertainment site Uproxx memorialized the duck phone in a 2012 post, "saluting the duck and its years on the show â 2009-2012. R.I.P., duck phone, R.I.P."
"Itâs an impostor! Mike killed the old one..."
But somehow, the phone reappared for the 2018 show like nothing happened.
"And just like that the duck phone returns #jsfamilyvacation," Jenni âJWowwâ Farley posted without explanation.
"But was he revived?! Didn't Mike bust him to pieces! Lol," one Twitter user replied.
"Itâs an impostor! Mike killed the old one after the ball cake!" another added.
So far, the mystery continues -- but in the mean time, fans will continue celebrating the famous bird's "quacktastic" return.
"Jersey Shore Family Vacation" returned to MTV on April 5 and airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET.