For individuals who don’t keep in mind — which I have to imagine might be most viewers at this level, thank god for the short flashback that reminded us all who this child even is – Kali was launched again in season 2 episode “The Misplaced Sister.” Like Eleven, she was one of many many psychic youngsters taken by Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine), with the distinctive capacity to venture illusions and trigger folks to see what’s not there. She finally broke out of the Hawkins lab, ending up because the chief of a gang of sweet sixteen misfits and desperate to take revenge on those that wronged her. Although she helped her adopted sister be taught to make use of her personal rage and trauma to faucet into her powers — and her introduction foreshadowed many points of Vecna’s origins — Kali wasn’t enthusiastic about serving to Eleven save her associates again in Hawkins, and the 2 parted methods. We haven’t heard from (or about) her since.
How she matches into the sequence’ endgame is… nicely, let’s simply name it an open query. On some degree, Eight’s return is smart. The Duffer brothers have been insistent that this closing installment of the sequence is all about going again to the start — closing loops, answering lingering questions, filling in all of the gaps they’ve left for viewers to take a position over alongside the best way. However whereas nearly everyone seems to be actually keen to search out out the solutions to issues like “why Will Byers was taken within the first place,” or “is Max ever going to get up,” it’s arduous to think about that anybody was all that desperate to see Kali once more, on condition that the episode wherein she initially appeared is sort of universally thought-about to be one of many sequence’ worst.
It additionally doesn’t assist that the entire “kryptonite” angle actually doesn’t make any sense. Certain, Kay and her goons seem to have some type of… one thing that may neutralize Eleven’s powers, nevertheless it’s not completely clear what it truly is. Is it Kali herself? Is Kay utilizing the woman’s skills to by some means suppress Eleven’s? Or was Eight merely experimented on a lot that the army lastly hit on some sort of common psychic suppressant? And why does any of this require Kali to be strung up in a sealed room ready that so intentionally mirrors Vecna’s pose within the Upside Down final season?
It appears seemingly that Eight goes to have a reasonably key function to play within the sequence’ closing episodes — whether or not we wish her to or not. Is she the kryptonite that may cease Vecna? Who will by some means neutralize Will’s newfound, vaguely darkish skills after they go too far? Must look ahead to Christmas to search out out.
