MOVIE NEWS – Stranger Things has introduced plenty of beloved and unforgettable characters over the years, and in most cases, new faces are folded into the core ensemble and stick around in future seasons. There are exceptions, though: Season 2 brought in a group of supporting players with powers similar to Eleven’s, hinting at a wider, stranger world beyond Hawkins, Indiana. After 2017, however, those characters were effectively left on the shelf, and Season 5 has left them untouched until now.

All of that changes in the episode “Chapter Four: Sorcerer.” While exploring a military installation in the Upside Down, Eleven stumbles onto Kali (Linnea Berthelsen), who is being held prisoner by the army so they can weaponize her abilities. Back in Season 2, Kali revealed that she shared Eleven’s tattoo, marking her as Eight, and that she had also suffered under Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine). Because Kali only appears in the closing minutes of the episode, we still do not know how she was captured, but it is a safe bet that the next batch of episodes, arriving on December 25, will fill in those blanks.

Regardless of how divisive she was when she first appeared, a lot of viewers are thrilled to see her again. User @catmileven summed up that excitement by saying, “Kali being back was the best part of this episode.” Echoing that sentiment, @RelayTS declared, “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.”

Given how closely fans have scrutinized the series over the years, some are impressed that the Duffer brothers still managed to keep so many twists under wraps. As @BylerChronicles put it: “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.”

At the same time, adding fresh elements to the story has some people worried about their favorites being pushed to the sidelines. @korysverse voiced that concern very directly: “All I know is that Kali coming back and will get powers better not lead to El getting sidelined for the rest of the season.”

What Can We Expect From The Rest Of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5?

We are only halfway through the final season, so it is impossible to say yet whether Kali will become a major player in the back half of the story or remain a powerful cameo. Some fans are definitely rooting for the former. As @trevordecker wrote, “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.”

For others, Kali’s return feels like a sign that Vecna may not have much time left. @themindflayer tried to capture just how formidable this group could be when they stand together: “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’ At All?

Season 2’s “Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister” is the lowest-rated episode of the entire show on IMDb and is often singled out as fans’ least favorite chapter, largely because it pulled Eleven away from the group dynamic that anchored the series. The Duffer brothers have openly acknowledged that the episode did not live up to expectations and that the creative process behind it was far from ideal.

Looking back on that hectic stretch of production, Matt Duffer told 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.”

Bringing Kali back was not just about making amends, though; it also turned out to be a valuable storytelling tool. As Ross Duffer explained: “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.”

While fans debate what all of this means for Eleven, Vecna, and the rest of the cast, the roadmap is already set: the next three episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 drop on December 25, with the series finale arriving on December 31.

Source: MovieWeb