Stranger Things Season 5 brings back a major character — but not the one you think
**Stranger Things Season 5: The Surprising Return of Kali Prasad (Eight)**
As *Stranger Things* gears up for its thrilling fifth season, fans are treated to an intriguing mix of new characters and familiar faces. Among the newcomers, including the villainous Dr. Kay, portrayed by Linda Hamilton, and the foul-mouthed Derek Turnbow, played by Jake Connelly, the most unexpected return comes from Kali Prasad, also known as Eight, played by Linnea Berthelsen. Kali, who first appeared in the much-debated Season 2 episode “The Lost Sister,” has been largely absent from the series since. This surprising comeback raises questions about how her storyline will intertwine with the main cast, particularly Eleven, as they navigate the dangers of the Upside Down.
Kali’s reappearance in Season 5 is particularly noteworthy given her mixed reception during her initial introduction. In “The Lost Sister,” Eleven embarks on a journey to Chicago, where she meets Kali and a gang of outcasts, who push her towards vengeance against Hawkins Lab. While the episode aimed to expand the *Stranger Things* universe beyond Hawkins, it faced criticism for its tonal shift and deviation from the show’s established formula. With Kali’s return in the first volume of Season 5, trapped once again in military experiments, the series seems poised to address the unresolved threads from “The Lost Sister,” potentially redeeming the episode that many fans consider the weakest of the series.
As Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown, and Hopper, portrayed by David Harbour, delve deeper into the Upside Down, the stakes rise with Kali’s presence. The series has a history of resurrecting seemingly dead characters, and Kali’s return could provide an opportunity for a deeper exploration of her relationship with Eleven, especially considering the familial dynamics at play. However, there’s also the looming concern that Kali could meet a tragic end, following the pattern of past side characters who have been used to heighten tension and drama. With the final episodes of *Stranger Things* set to premiere soon, fans are left wondering whether this return will lead to a satisfying conclusion for Kali and a chance to appreciate her character in a new light. Volume 1 of *Stranger Things* Season 5 is currently streaming on Netflix, with Volume 2 set to release on December 25, and the series finale on December 31.
Stranger Things
Season 5 is full of new characters, from the villainous Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) to foul-mouthed Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly). But there’s also an unexpected familiar face in the mix — and not one you might expect.
SEE ALSO:
‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 review: I’m already exhausted, but can’t wait for more
See,
Stranger Things
has a consistent habit of bringing back seemingly dead characters.
Hopper (David Harbour)
could
have died
in the Starcourt Mall explosion in Season 3, but he wound up in the Soviet Union instead. Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) seemed like a goner following his Season 1 encounter with the Demogorgon, but somehow he returned in Season 4. So if
Stranger Things
Season 5
was
going to bring back a character from prior seasons, chances are it would have been someone we lost. Maybe even a fan favorite like
Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn)
.
Instead,
Stranger Things
goes the exact opposite route. Season 5 brings back a character who didn’t resonate with fans, who’s only been in one episode, and who’s barely been mentioned since. That character is none other than Kali Prasad (Linnea Berthelsen), aka Eight.
Wait, who’s Eight/Kali again?
Linnea Berthelsen in “Stranger Things.”
Credit: Netflix
If you haven’t done a full rewatch of
Stranger Things
in a while, chances are you might not remember Kali. She plays a major role in the controversial Season 2 episode “The Lost Sister,” in which Eleven (Mille Bobby Brown) journeys to Chicago and teams up with a gang of outcasts to get revenge on the Hawkins Lab employees.
Kali, like Eleven, was one of Dr. Brenner’s test subjects. Her psychic powers manifest differently from Eleven’s, as she can create hyperreal illusions. She managed to escape from Hawkins Lab by herself, meaning she wasn’t around for Eleven’s showdown with Henry Creel/Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) seen in the Season 4 flashbacks.
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When Eleven meets Kali in “The Lost Sister,” the pair thinks of themselves as family. With Kali, Eleven hopes to build a new home. After all, Kali encourages Eleven to hone her powers, and she also gives her her “bitchin'” makeover. However, her vengeful quest is at odds with Eleven’s desire to help her friends, and by the episode’s end, Eleven chooses to return to her real “home” in Hawkins. The last viewers see of Kali is her and her crew driving away from the police during a massive shootout.
How does Eight/Kali wind up in
Stranger Things
Season 5?
Linnea Berthelsen in “Stranger Things.”
Credit: Netflix
Kali shows up at the very end of
Stranger Things
Season 5, Volume 1. For much of the seasons’s first four episodes, Eleven and Hopper navigate the Upside Down in the hopes of finding and killing Vecna. They believe he’s in Dr. Kay’s Upside Down lab, as they learn that the military is keeping someone with psychic powers down there.
Turns out that person isn’t Vecna, though. It’s Kali, once again trapped in the experiments she fought so hard to escape as a child.
That’s all we get of Kali in Volume 1, but of course, her arrival raises boatloads of questions. What is the military doing to her, and what is the contraption they’ve stuck her in? How did Kali wind up here in the first place? Did the police catch her after the chase scene at the end of “The Lost Sister”?
Can
Stranger Things
Season 5 redeem the show’s most-hated episode?
Linnea Berthelsen and Millie Bobby Brown in “Stranger Things.”
Credit: Netflix
Stranger Things’
writers have been hinting at Kali’s return since 2023. On July 7, 2023, the writers’ room Twitter account posted, “I do think season 2 is consistently underrated. Highly recommend a rewatch before season 5…”
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Meanwhile, in a 2025 interview with
Variety
, series co-creator Ross Duffer said that when viewers watch all five seasons straight through, “It doesn’t feel like we dropped a storyline — it all connects.”
The mention of “dropped” storylines strongly implied the return of Kali, as she and her gang haven’t returned since Season 2. However, there’s a simple reason why
Stranger Things
abandoned that storyline in the first place. People just didn’t like it.
“The Lost Sister” has the lowest IMDb rating of every
Stranger Things
episode, currently sitting at 6.1 out of 10, with 35,000 reviews. (For reference, the second-lowest rated episode, Season 3 premiere “Suzie, Do You Copy?,” has a 7.8, with 27,000 reviews.) That dislike makes sense: The episode represents a huge deviation from the
Stranger Things
formula. “The Lost Sister” removes viewers from Hawkins for the first time, introduces an entirely new cast of characters, and takes on a much grittier tone. For viewers binge-watching Season 2, it’s a shock to the system and a break in the season’s momentum, even if it does give them more time with Eleven.
SEE ALSO:
11 burning questions we have for ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5, Volume 2
That’s not to say “The Lost Sister” is a complete failure. It’s a big stylistic swing and although it didn’t quite pay off, it’s still at least interesting to watch a show try something bold and new. Plus, it was the first example of
Stranger Things
scaling up beyond Hawkins, laying the groundwork for the Soviet Union and California plotlines of Season 4. As maligned as it is, the episode is still a key part of
Stranger Things
‘ growing pains, even as the show has psychically shoved it under the rug since Season 2.
However, the return of Kali in Season 5 could give
Stranger Things
the chance to redeem its most infamous episode, offering up further sisterhood and closure between Kali and Eleven. That Hopper — one of the people Eleven left Chicago to save — is with the two of them creates an extra layer of tension. Will Kali see him as just another person trying to use Eleven for her powers? Or will she recognize the caring family dynamic between the two?
There is another worrying option here, though.
Stranger Things
loves nothing more than to craft interesting side characters, then use them as cannon fodder to up the stakes and body counts of each season without sacrificing members of the main party. We’ve seen it with Eddie, Bob (Sean Astin), and Barb (Shannon Purser), to name a few. Could Kali be the next in a long line of dead
Stranger Things
side characters?
Ideally not, since the idea of death equalling solid closure for a storyline is a lazy one. Instead, let’s hope that
Stranger Things
can pull off an impressive magic trick in its last four episodes and turn a much-hated entry in its canon into one that viewers could revisit and appreciate in the coming years.
Volume 1 of
Stranger Things
Season
5
is now streaming on Netflix. Volume 2 premieres Dec. 25, and the series finale premieres Dec. 31, both at 8 p.m. ET.
