Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5Stranger Things has given audiences a lot of exciting and memorable characters over the years, and when a character is introduced, they are often integrated into the core cast and create a presence in subsequent seasons. This isn’t always the case, though, as Season 2 introduced a number of ancillary characters who had powers similar to Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven, showing her that a world outside of Hawkins, Indiana existed. While these characters have almost entirely been abandoned since 2017, Season 5’s “Chapter Four: Sorcerer” changed all of that.
In the episode, Eleven is exploring a military base in the Upside Down, only to discover that Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) has been imprisoned by the military so they can exploit her telekinetic abilities. Back in Season 2, Kali revealed to Eleven that she had a tattoo like hers, designating her Eight, and that she, too, had been a victim of Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine). With Kali only appearing in the final minutes of this batch of episodes, how she became imprisoned is yet to be seen, though we’ll likely learn more when the next episodes premieres on December 25.
Regardless of what fans thought of Kali in her first appearance, they’re excited to see her back, as @catmileven shared on Twitter, “Kali being back was the best part of this episode.” Also sharing in that enthusiasm was @RelayTS, who confirmed, “Kali returning makes Stranger Things a show with no plot holes. With no pointless episodes. An Absolute Masterpiece. The Duffers knew what they had to do and they did it.”
With how much attention has been paid to the series over the years, some viewers were surprised that creators the Duffer brothers were able to keep so many reveals a secret, like @BylerChronicles explaining, “The stranger things team is so good this season because they managed to keep will’s powers, kali’s return and Max’s storyline locked without any leaks.” By introducing a new character, however, some fans are concerned that major characters could get sidelined, like @korysverse sharing, “all i know is that kali coming back and will getting powers better not lead to el getting sidelined for the rest of the season.”
What Can We Expect in the Rest of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5?
We’re only halfway through this final season so with Kali only appearing in these final minutes, it’s unclear at this point if she’ll take a prominent role in the back half of this storyline, but some fans are definitely hoping that happens, with @trevordecker positing, “I have always defended this character and this storyline, so glad to see her back in Stranger Things 5. It’s great to see Kali/008 return; her presence adds a new dynamic and exciting possibilities to the final season.”
The return of Kali makes some fans think Vecna’s days are numbered, such as @themindflayer speculating, “i don’t think you guys understand how INSANE their powers are combined, el with her usual powers but stronger than ever, kali being able to control minds and will being connected with vecna, giving him the exact same powers he has, being able to control them from distance”
Why Bring Kali Back to ‘Stranger Things’?
Season 2’s episode “Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister” has the lowest user rating on IMDb out of the whole series and is often identified as the one fans like least, as it took Brown’s Eleven away from the rest of the group. The Duffers themselves accept responsiblity for that episode falling short of expectations, with Matt Duffer recalling to Variety:
We were shooting Season 2 really, really fast, because we were trying to hit this Halloween deadline. And the first script we wrote just flat out didn’t work, and then we had one week left to rewrite. I just don’t think we ever nailed it, obviously. I always felt bad that we didn’t figure that out for Linnea. But we felt we had something special with Linnea, so we wanted to bring her back. I think she’s awesome in the season, so I’m pretty excited about that.
By bringing back Kali, it opened up a lot of doors, with Ross Duffer clarifying, “So part of it was to put her back in and give her a moment. But we didn’t want to just do it to do it. As we were breaking the season, we realized that bringing her back really helped us with the Eleven storyline and how we wanted to wrap her story up. So there was a real reason to do it beyond just to not leave this dangling plot thread.”
The next three episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 premiere on December 25 and the series finale debuts on December 31.
Stranger Things
- Release Date
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2016 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Netflix
- Writers
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Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock