#stranger things 2 theories

[eeriesilkworm]

Season 2 Mike definitely saw Max as a love rival for Will

Another Byler from Mike Wheeler's POV analysis—(Unrequited love trope edition).

Walk with me.

Sometimes I think about how when the party went trick-or-treating Mike specifically told Will that he, "should have checked with him" first before letting Max join them.

It's just a very peculiar moment. Why Will?

Even Will was confused by this, lol.

We know that Mike doesn't like Max in season 2 (for reasons we'll look into more), but why did he make this Will's problem/ responsibility? Especially after only knowing of her existence for 2 days at this point.

He wasn't angry at Lucas or Dustin—or at least, he didn't expect them to come to him for permission—otherwise he would have said something to them, too.

It was Will who he felt betrayed by and upset with.

Heck, go ahead and take a second look at the first screenshot provided above.

Does Mike look angry to you?

No—he looks forlorn.

Let me break it down for you:

I'll start by saying when the party learned of MADMAX the screename, they were all equally interested in knowing who it was.

But when Max is introduced to us as a character (and revealed to be a girl), we get markedly different reactions between the boys.

In the first frame, they have no idea who she is or what her name is. All they see is a new girl. (Played by Sadie Sink mind you, who is very pretty).

Look at Mike's face: he already looks sulky.

The second frame is after they learn her name is Max. Once again, all four boys show some level of interest, but Mike remains sulky.

Then we have the recess scene in which the boys are watching Max, which is very interesting.

Consider the blocking and body language in this frame:

Look at Will here: he's just as interested in Max as Lucas and Dustin are (even if his interest is not based on attraction). In fact, he's the main focus of this frame for some reason.

Mike is the only one who hangs back, and his body language is completely different from the other three (hands in pockets, meaning he is distanced). He has no interest whatsoever and his facial expression appears agitated.

Mike feels like the odd one out here.

Will fits in.

When they "lose the target" Will is the one who spots her and reinitiates the "watching." Once again, Will is the main focus of this shot and even seems to be showing the most interest; his expression is bright and engaged.

He runs with Lucas and Dustin to the wastebin while Mike trails behind begrudgingly, not wanting to be left behind.

It begs the question: why is Will the focal point among the four boys in a scene about looking at a girl, if he was never intended to be a love interest?

I argue it's because we're seeing this interaction from a very specific perspective—the perspective of Mike Wheeler, who is standing back and observing.

It's also worth noting that Will's change in demeanor and energy here is extremely apparent.

He is noticeably withdrawn and low in spirits this season due to his PTSD (both literal and metaphorical if you count the MF as a metaphor for trauma).

And Mike notices. He’s the one who points out that Will had been "quiet today"—a detail the others miss because they don’t watch Will the way he does.

Notice that Will is disengaged during the science lesson (before Max arrives), while the other three are nerding out. Will previously participated in the science fair—it typically interests him—but his mood is very low.

Then compare that with his immediate engagement when Max walks into the classroom, and the level of interest he showed during recess. Mike would certainly observe this shift, paying as much attention to Will as he does.

In fact, once the distraction of Max has passed and the principal comes to collect him, Will's body language retreats again; shoulders hunched, eyes downcast.

What conclusion do you think Mike would come to based off these few short interactions?

(And these are the only interactions Mike sees between Will and Max before trick-or-treating together the next day. Mike hasn't even spoken to her yet).

From Will's perspective, this girl is just a novelty: a light-hearted distraction from everything else going on, offering a spot of normalcy.

But from Mike's perspective, this is a pretty new girl showing up out of nowhere and immediately raising Will's spirits: something he felt like he failed to do.

And so it brings us to the trick-or-treating scene, in which Will (apparently) joins Dustin and Lucas in their enthusiasm for Max joining the party, while Mike hangs back and then begrudgingly follows, not wanting to be left behind.

Are we noticing the pattern?

Then we have Mike's confrontation with Will (this happens after Will is seen filming Max, btw). He tells Will he should have checked with him about Max joining them and that Max is, "ruining the best night of the year."

Uh... what? What did she do?

He then storms off: inentionally leaving Will behind this time.

(He wants him to know how that feels).

Following this interaction, Will has a big scare with the MF—and of course, it’s Mike who finds him first. Despite his mood, Mike is still attentive and protective.

Mike behaves possessively when he finds Will, not wanting the others to get involved. He takes Will “home” (his home) so they can be alone.

What follows is a scene that, put simply, is about reciprocation.

Interestingly, Mike’s attitude toward Max shifts after this scene with Will—he doesn’t have anything to say about Max joining the party in the AV room to look at Dustin’s pollywog.

This is the girl who apparently ruined Halloween.

You’d think he’d still be unhappy to see her.

But after that conversation with Will in his basement, Mike feels more secure and reassured about the state of their relationship.

He's no longer jealous.

So now, it's apparently fine for Max to be in the party.

Well, that changes again.

The next notable interaction is after Mike realises the pollywog is from the UD. Mike immediately goes into protective mode. It’s not Will who storms into the classroom to grab the trap—it’s Mike.

It’s also (presumably) Mike who locks Max outside of the AV room when they discuss this, yelling at her that she can’t come inside.

When she opens the door anyway, the pollywog escapes—and (of course) Mike blames her. No one else points fingers.

Now, the boys were hesitant to reveal any information about the UD for obvious reasons, but here we see the recurring theme in the Mike/Will/Max triangle: Mike’s protectiveness (and slight possessiveness) of Will.

So, a recap of Mike’s perspective so far:

First gripe: You’re hogging Will’s attention (possessive) Second gripe: You’ve compromised Will’s safety (protective)

Then we finally have the confrontation between Mike and Max:

It literally starts with Mike telling Max to leave because she's in the boys' room. (Similar to his "boys only" comment in season 3).

Let's not get it twisted: When Max finally asks Mike why he's been treating her the way he has been, he deflects.

Mike, who always has a ready opinion and is not afraid of confrontation, is not comfortable sharing the real reason why.

It’s commonly believed that Mike simply didn’t like Max because her presence reminded him of El’s absence—and I see it—but after a closer look, I no longer agree.

Firstly, I don’t think it’s fair to assume that Max would remind Mike of El (or rub salt in the wound of her absence) just because they’re both girls. Max and El couldn’t be more different—physically or otherwise—and that distinction feels intentional.

Mike would never compare Max to El, because to him, El is incomparable—a superhero who saved his (and Will’s) life.

Also, in Mike’s mind, El is still in the party—he lists her name off with the other members.

Max wouldn’t be a replacement.

He literally just stated that she would be an addition.

Secondly, Mike never actually makes this connection himself. He simply offhandedly mentions El when he’s trying to convince Max she’s not needed.

So why does he want her to stay away?

And when El is finally introduced (both through conversation and literally) to this dynamic, what happens?

Mike and Max begin to get along.

They share a smile.

If Mike’s issue with Max had anything to do with El, the scene wouldn’t have played out this way.

It’s classic misdirection.

The misdirection is so obvious they lean into it—even having El herself misinterpret Mike and Max’s relationship, becoming jealous.

She mistakenly assumes Mike is interested in Max, just like Mike mistakenly assumed Will was interested in her, too.

They’re giving the audience a warped perspective, urging us to look behind the curtain.

Mike’s behaviour towards Max fits perfectly into Byler’s shared arc in Season 2: Mike is attentive, protective, and possessive over Will, while Will—consumed by the MF—can’t fully reciprocate that attention.

The “crazy together” scene is the only time Mike receives the same energy back from Will the entire season.

I feel like people forget that when they talk about how cute Season 2 was for Byler. Cute from Will’s perspective, maybe (supernatural plot aside)—but for Mike?

We get multiple shots of Mike staring at Will or noticing his absence (Mike staring at Will’s empty desk being the most obvious example).

That’s called pining.

Will does not invite Mike to his house or show up uninvited—Mike does that. Will does not hold Mike’s hand—Mike does that. Will does not watch Mike closely or check in on him constantly—Mike does that. Will does not become possessive of Mike’s attention—Mike does that.

In fact, they play into this unreciprocated affection trope pretty blatantly—when Mike bares his heart to Will, tearfully recounting their first meeting, Will quite literally cannot respond because he’s possessed—even if he wants to.

Not to mention—Mike’s recount of their first meeting is also (thematically) about reciprocation:

“I asked if you wanted to be my friend. And you said yes. You said yes.”

Mike puts emphasis on the fact that Will said yes: the fact that Will reciprocated his feelings.

That is what he wants.

He wants validation that Will feels the same.

That Will won't leave him behind.

And what happens at the end of Season 2?

From a Byler perspective, this season is about Mike’s (seemingly) unrequited love for Will—and it directly influences Mike’s (very different) behaviour in Season 3.

So yeah.

Mike didn’t like Max because he was jealous, and coping with feelings for Will he feared were one-sided—and in his mind that was confirmed as true.

Why wouldn’t he be relieved to see El at the snowball dance?

Why wouldn’t he kiss her?

Why wouldn’t he immediately start dating her and pushing Will away?

[sirfrogthe3rd]

WAIT did the military shoot him with a tranquilizer or something??!???

It parallels to season 2 when they had to sedate him but still :((((((

<3

[bkdk-bylerthings]

Why I think we’ll get a Byler dance scene in season 5

While getting ready for the snowball..we have a montage of the kids getting ready for it starting with Will. Johnathan records his brother and his mom teaching Will how to dance right as Joyce spins it’s focused on her then flashes to Mike.

In film it’s always important to have details like this for example someone in a scene could be talking about ‘I need to take a shower’ the next clip is a completely different character turning on the shower, I’m pretty sure this called momentum and to have a flow in said show.

So for it to switch to Mike it’s almost like Will was/is supposed to dance with Mike. I’d also like to point out this is all from a camera pov, 1st Jonathan ‘s video recorder to Karen’s camera

These clues are all over the place, you just have to pay close attention to notice them and realized they were done on purpose.

So this scene is just waiting to be finished just like many others in this show, season 5 will resolve everything.

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

That fucking bike. It’s haunting him, isn’t it.

The bike is a symbol of his disappearance, he was riding it when he went missing.

What other times do we see him riding the bike? In s2 none, yet it’s still on the poster. In s3 after the rain fight, once, also in the poster, and in s4 none, yet it’s still in the poster. That means it’s important, that means it means something. Oh and also we see a bike in Lonnie’s house, child-sized, not suspicious at all.

The bike is, to him, a representation of the trauma the upside down left on him, and to others, the symbol of his absence, his disappearance.

When hopper finds his bike he realizes something wrong is going on, his disappearance is not longer Joyce worrying to much but something serious, “a bike like this is like a Cadillac to these kids. Doesn't make sense he'd leave it out here. He'd walk it home. He was in hurry.” At Lonnie’s house, there’s a bike, a bike in between Jonathan and Lonnie. Why is Jonathan there in the first place? Why is Jonathan talking to Lonnie, who is the (unknowing) creator of that situation? Will’s disappearance. That’s the whole reason Jonathan is there, and Jonathan feels Will’s absence so that’s why he goes looking.

In s2 he never rides it, not even when the rest of the party does, the show makes it clear. Unless the bike in the background is his, but even then, he’s not shown riding it.

In s3, the only moment I remember with Will riding his bike, is after the rain fight. So a scene where he’s sad. But also he lost so much of his childhood, he wants to continue it, make up for it, and his friends refuse, they insist on growing up and Will can’t keep up, he grabs his bike and destroys castle byers, destroys his childhood. Part of the reason he’s sad is definitely mike’s “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” (although Mike didn’t mean it in a homophobic way), but I think it’s more the fact that Mike made it very clear, they’re not kids anymore, they have to grow up and get girlfriends and let dnd aside. Their friendship is no longer their priority, they’re not children. And yet will still feels like one, their friendship do is his priority and he does wanna spend time with them having fun. He lost his childhood, he wants to enjoy the rest of it while he can, but it’s over, apparently. Another thing the upside down took from him.

However here’s the interesting part, we’ve seen him riding it in s5. In a (as it seems to us rn, without context) happy moment. Will healing from his trauma?

[willthewiz]

The Miwi Flashback in S5 is Will's 8th Birthday when he drew his Rainbow Ship

Will is 8 years old in the miwi flashback.

Joyce in season 2:

"When you turned eight, I gave you that huge box of crayons. Do you remember that? It was 120 colors. And all your friends, they got you Star Wars toys, but all you wanted to do was draw with all your new colors. And you drew this big spaceship, but it wasn't from a movie. It was your spaceship. A rainbow ship is what you called it. And you must have used every color in the box. I took that with me to Melvald's and I put it up and I told everyone who came in, "My son drew this." And you were so embarrassed. But I was so proud. I was so, so proud."

_______________

Because everyone forgot Will's birthday in season 4 due to Vecna possibly manipulating memories, Will has a flashback to when he drew his rainbow ship on his 8th birthday. And Mike and Jonathan are there. (Byler moment with the rainbow ship drawing??)

It would be cool if Will has the power of creation and his rainbow ship comes to life and becomes real once everyone's memories are restored.

Maybe this flashback helps to save Will from Vecna and sets up/foreshadows Byler becoming canon 2 episodes later, "Escape from Camazotz" (5x06.)

[lune-moon-nuit]

"...cause I love her and I CAN'T LOSE her AGAIN"

“I'm just trying to demonstrate how careless Max is with Eleven's powers. In fact, how careless all of you are. You're treating her like some kind of machine when she's not a machine, and I don't want her to die looking for the flayed when they've obviously vanished off the face of the Earth. So can we please just come up with a new plan because I love her and I can't lose her again.”

Mike’s most quoted line in Season 3 — “Because I love her and I can’t lose her again” — is often cited as definitive proof of his love for Eleven. But this statement, when viewed in full context, is a trauma response rather than a heartfelt romantic confession.

What’s hilarious is that the reason why he said that is literally in the sentence itself: the trauma. It’s ironic that this scene is being used as the ultimate proof, when in reality, it perfectly illustrates Mike’s core issue. The trauma of having watched her sacrifice herself to protect him, after he’d spent the entire first season urging her to use her powers (he literally said it in season 1 that she was a weapon). What pushed him to say this was the accumulation of all the unresolved trauma he experienced throughout Seasons 1 and 2—and that doesn’t exactly strengthen your argument, because…

The trauma begins in Season 1. Mike forms a fast, intense bond with Eleven while Will is missing. He projects his grief, fear, and protective instincts onto her.

Expanding upon the notion that trauma lies at the heart of Mike and Eleven's relationship, it's significant to note that the moment Mike kisses Eleven in Season 1 occurs on the very same day he effectively attempted suicide by leaping into the quarry—an act from which she rescued him. From that point forward, he perceives himself as entirely indebted to her. Not only had he already idealized her as his only hope of finding Will, but she now embodied the literal reason he was still alive. Layered atop this is the influence of those around him—Lucas, Dustin, and even Nancy—who had begun to suggest he harbored romantic feelings toward her. Combined with his own confused emotions, the pedestal upon which he placed her from the very beginning due to the almost mythic timing of her arrival in his life, it constructs what appears to be a perfect narrative. And as a Dungeon Master and an aspiring storyteller, Mike is especially susceptible to such emotionally charged, almost archetypal storylines. Within this context, it becomes entirely plausible that he would interpret his overwhelming emotions—rooted in trauma, gratitude, and projection—as romantic love. That this kiss occurred on the very day of a near-death experience he never references again (and may never have shared with anyone besides those present) underscores the depth of repression and denial involved. Fundamentally, their relationship is born out of mutual trauma and survivor’s guilt. It is a structure of codependency rather than genuine romantic affection. Personally, I believe that had Mike not jumped into the quarry, and had Eleven not saved him, he would not have kissed her that night.

From the moment Eleven disappears at the end of Season 1 after using her powers to save him and their friends, Mike internalizes guilt and blame. He had encouraged her to keep using her powers, to push herself, and to fight — and she seemingly died because of it. He urges her to use her powers repeatedly, culminating in her presumed death. For nearly a year, Mike believes she died because he pushed her too far, he grieved her, believing it was his fault. This established a psychological pattern of guilt and a compulsive need to protect her, not because of romantic love, but as a trauma response.

If he truly loved her romantically, he would’ve reacted with joy and emotional fulfillment at the end of Season 3, when El told him she heard what he said and that she loves him too. He would’ve kissed her back, smiled, said something, even if he was surprised. The truth of that scene is, ironically, a perfect summary of how Mike—his point of view and his emotions—is misunderstood by the other characters and also by the audience. Because he is incapable of truly communicating or expressing his emotions.

That scene is literally Mike breaking down in a full-blown panic, triggered by his unresolved trauma: the fear of loss and abandonment caused by Will’s disappearance in Season 1, El’s absence and presumed death in Season 2, the helplessness of watching Will be possessed and nearly die, the massacre at the lab (gosh let’s be honest, Michael Wheeler urgently needs therapy, I did a post cut in two part : here and here who develop more and where I was already mentioning how this scene says a lot about Mike mental health), and finally, his survivor’s guilt for having encouraged El to use her powers to the point where she “died” right before his powerless eyes. This scenario is a mirror of Season 1's climax, and Mike’s panic reveals a deep-rooted fear of repeating past events.

For a whole year, he believed he was the reason El was dead. And the very argument that triggered that line was literally about whether or not El should keep pushing herself and her powers to the limit to stop Billy—when she had already nearly died doing exactly that. So yes, when Mike says, "Because I love her and I CAN’T LOSE HER AGAIN," it's true. Because, breaking news: Mike does love El. He deeply cares about her. He feels the need to protect her. He carries immense guilt over what happened to her, which only amplifies his desperate need to protect her now and avoid repeating the same mistake that, in his eyes, led to her "death"—a death that felt absolutely real to him.

When faced with the possibility of losing El again in Season 3, Mike's fear resurfaces—not because he is madly in love, but because he cannot emotionally survive another loss for which he feels responsible (he is just 14 here remember). The panic in his voice, the overwhelming urgency of “I can’t lose her again,” reveals that it is not romantic love driving him—it is fear, shame, and unresolved grief. This is compounded by his lack of romantic follow-through when she returns. There is no joy, no emotional intimacy, no physical warmth. Instead, there is distance, awkwardness, and emotional shutdown.

But the real truth in that line isn’t even the “because I love her” part—because nothing in that moment confirms he's saying it romantically (especially since he can’t even say it to her face, can’t write it to her, and still can’t say it even after she confirmed that she loves him and heard him say it). So yes, he loves her, just like he loves Lucas, just like he loves Nancy, just like he loves Dustin.

What truly matters in that sentence is: “and I CAN’T lose her AGAIN.” And those are the words he emphasizes. Not “because I love her”—that part is rushed, buried in the flood of words he’s pouring out mid-panic. But he clearly articulates and stresses “and I CAN’T lose her AGAIN.”

Everything is shown here—not told—through his words, his body language, his tone, the context. His trauma is triggered. He’s terrified. He’s trying to prevent history from repeating itself, because the current situation feels too much like the Season 1 finale from his perspective.

So no, it wasn’t romantic love that drove him to say that. It was unresolved, ignored trauma being violently reactivated. The only difference lies in how people interpret that line—be it other characters or the audience—through the lens of heteronormativity, completely ignoring the full context and everything that follows in Mike’s behavior and attitude toward El.

It could’ve been cute, and could’ve worked in your favor—if the show had ended with that episode. But unfortunately, the Season 3 finale and the entirety of Season 4 only go on to confirm that yes, he loves her and he can’t lose her again, but he doesn’t love her romantically, and he is deeply traumatized and in need of healing from his abandonment and loss issues—or else Vecna’s going to have an easy time with him.

If Mike were truly in love with Eleven, one would expect expressions of that love to come naturally, especially in moments of emotional vulnerability. Yet, at the end of Season 3, when Eleven tells him she heard what he said and that she loves him too, Mike gives no response. He looks stunned, confused, almost empty. He does not affirm her words, kiss her back, or show any sign of romantic fulfillment. Mike’s behavior in these scenes doesn’t resemble a boy in love. It resembles a boy in distress, one who is playing a role he feels obligated to fulfill, but who cannot emotionally connect with that role.

This pattern continues in Season 4. He avoids writing “Love, Mike” (and write every time "From Mike" instead) in letters, despite knowing it’s what Eleven needs to hear. When confronted, he dodges and manipulates: “I say it”. But we, the audience (and El too), know that he doesn’t. His behavior is not that of a loving boyfriend, but of someone trapped in a role he doesn’t know how to escape from. His “I love you” speech in Volume 2 is prompted not by genuine passion, but by external pressure, specifically by Will’s emotionally charged metaphorical painting (that channels Will’s own feelings for him) and pep talk and his finally staged encouragement ("don't stop, remember, you are the heart ! You're the heart"). The words are performative, desperate, idealized—not grounded in emotional truth. He praises a version of Eleven that no really exists, emphasizing her strength and powers, not her vulnerability, her personality, or her heart. This suggests he is in love with the idea of her—an idea shaped by admiration, yes, but especially guilt and obligation, not affection (further alienating her and reinforcing that his attachment is conditional and performative).

So yes, if the only two times your boyfriend tells you he loves you are:

– once, when you're not physically present, and he says it in a panicked trauma response, then refuses to take ownership of those words afterwards,

– and the second time is only after you told him that never hearing it from him is hurting you, and you need to hear it—and instead of reassuring you, he gaslights you into thinking he says it when he clearly doesn’t, dodges the subject by idealizing you as a superhero…

…and this “I love you” only comes when you’re on the brink of death, and only because his best friend handed him a painting with a disguised declaration of love in it?

Then I’m sorry, but that’s not romance. That’s codependency, guilt, trauma, emotional repression, and societal expectations. Not romantic love.

The relationship between Mike and El has long been framed through a heteronormative lens, one that presumes emotional closeness between a boy and a girl must equate to romantic attraction. The show’s framing and marketing often push this narrative, but Mike’s behavior consistently subverts it. His discomfort with physical affection, his emotional volatility, and his failure to express romantic feelings — even when prompted — all suggest that this narrative is externally imposed, not internally felt.

The audience’s insistence on seeing “Because I love her and I can't lose her again” as a definitive romantic confession overlooks the complexity of Mike’s trauma, his guilt, and his emotional repression. It ignores the fact that he never says it to Eleven directly until forced to, and even then, it is with inauthentic language and shaky motivation. The tragedy is that Mike’s real love story — one rooted in slow-burn intimacy, shared vulnerability, and mutual understanding — is with Will. But because it doesn’t fit the traditional mold, it goes unacknowledged by both the characters and the audience.

Mike Wheeler is not a romantic lead blindly in love with Eleven. He is a traumatized boy burdened by guilt, struggling with self-identity, repressing his true feelings, and unconsciously projecting protectiveness as love. His actions toward Eleven are rooted in trauma, not desire, while his connection with Will reveals the kind of emotional intimacy that speaks to a deeper, romantic truth. Until Mike confronts his trauma and his sexuality, he will continue to play a role that does not align with who he truly is — a boy in love, not with the girl who saved him, but with the boy who always understood him.

Mike is not a character who lacks love—on the contrary, he feels deeply. But his emotional repression, unresolved trauma, and fear of loss lead him to confuse guilt with devotion, and obligation with romance. His relationship with Eleven is a product of circumstance and narrative expectation—but it lacks the emotional reciprocity, intimacy, and authenticity of true romantic love. Meanwhile, his emotional world orbits around Will, whose presence brings out the rawest, most vulnerable, and most honest version of Mike.

In truth, Mike doesn’t need a girlfriend—he needs healing. He needs to confront his guilt, allow himself to feel, and to stop hiding behind a version of love that doesn’t belong to him. Only then will he be able to understand what love really is—and who it’s truly for.

[novalunosiss]

My favourite parallel actually

[delicatetigerobject]

hey hey hey wait. mike wheeler thought.

So, I know that people don't like episode 7 of season 2 in Stranger Things, I know that a lot of people find it dumb. However, this is my favorite episode. And I was just rewatching it for the first time when I thought of something, and I don't know if anyone else has said this, but in that scene with Kali and El on the rooftop, could Kali be like, a metaphor of sorts for Mike's queerness? (TLDR is at the end in case you don't want to read all this, as it might be a bit long since it's a sort of little analysis of this scene.) And now this may be the shittiest theory ever, because I'm running on caffeine and a hyperfixation on stranger things, so just be warned lol.

So anyway. What got me thinking it was when I saw these blue and yellow light specks (or whatever you wanna call them) behind El. And of course my immediate thought was "haha byler OMG WAIT BYLER", and at first I thought this scene might be important to Mike AND Will, both of them. But I kept watching it, and I think it's actually about Mike and how everyone sees him and his sexuality.

So, here, El is saying that Hopper says that she'd be able to leave soon, and Kali is calling him naive for thinking that. You can see the blue lights behind El when she says that he says she can be out of the house soon, and then the camera view switches over to Kali as she responds.

She tells El that "We'll always be monsters to them", which can also be said about queerness at the time, and might be a view that Mike has throughout the series. I think that it is, actually, especially with how homophobic people were around that time.

You can see El nod, with the same blue lights behind her. So, she understands that she is viewed as a monster for having powers, and this could also symbolize/represent Mike understanding that if he isn't normal, then he won't be accepted, and that as long as people know he's queer, he will be seen as a monster as well.

Kali says that she can make people "see, or not see" whatever she wants them to. This can also be said about Mike in regards to his sexuality. He can hide it. He can make people not see his queerness, just like by dating El he can make people see his supposed 'straightness'. If Kali is representing Mike and his sexuality here, it would actually make quite a bit of sense, because the view that others have of this part of Mike is controllable, and whether he lets people see it or doesn't is completely up to him, much like what Kali is talking about here with her powers.

Kali then proceeds to say that it doesn't have to be scary, which is also true for being gay. While some people may see it as something scary or disgusting (like the spiders that she makes Axel see), it doesn't have to be seen like that.

She says that it can be beautiful too, and then makes El see a butterfly. The butterfly starts off as blue in her hand (I couldn't get a very good photo of it), which as we know, is very commonly known as Mike's color. This detail is important in my opinion, because then the butterfly starts glowing rainbow, which is the color of the pride flag. So, where the spiders that she can make Axel see are scary to him, as he likely has arachnophobia, the butterfly that she shows El is explicitly stated to be beautiful. And so, this could also have the (sort of) hidden meaning of how while some people see being queer as something gross and scary (homophobia), others might see it as something beautiful.

She also tells El to "think of it as a kind of magic". A lot of people call love magical, so this might mean that queer love should be viewed as love just like any straight love is, but that people who have that are still seen as monsters (as she said earlier). You can also still see the blue light behind El as this is being said, which points out that this is still about Mike. And when she says this, she is talking about her powers, a part of her, which are currently being shown with a butterfly.

But then when El tries to grab at the butterfly, which could (possibly?) represent Mike's love, (which is queer/gay love), she can't actually touch it. Interesting, isn't it?

She then asks Kali if SHE is real, because if she can't touch the butterfly, then she can't be sure that Kali isn't fake too, can she? The same applies to Mike's sexuality, which is not heterosexual like everyone thinks it is. To people who don't know what his sexuality is, they might ask if this part of him, the queer part, is real or not real.

Kali then says that she is real, and El touches her face, just to be sure. So, if Kali is Mike's queerness in this scene, then her saying that she is real means that Mike being queer would also be real.

TLDR: I think the scene with El and Kali on the rooftop is actually about Mike being queer.

This right here is how I feel right now about this

sigh. I guess this is just what happens.

[apoll0-gies]

hi heres my theories for what was included in the s5 teaser

SO... who else cried

this seems to be either a heart to heart or some kind of pep talk?? i mean if you think about it we havent seen much of joyce and will reconnecting in these recent seasons so this could be like an early-season catch up before all the absolute chaos that will ensue

also if i may just slide in any little bit of byler that i can further in this conversation i would love love love it if will told Joyce about his crush on Mike but this is kinda just delusion and i don't think it will actually happen

heres my main question; who's behind joyce? and to me, it looks like robin to her right and will + one of the new characters, one of the main characters looking down or erica

this does prove us one thing though.

ROBIN AND WILL INTERACT IN SEASON FIVE OH EM GEE OA YES

but also, the lights flicker in this scene and theres something banging on the doors. i think this is a sort of parallel to the demogorgon scene with will at the beginning of season one, but it seems like the amount of force on the doors is too big to be a demogorgon. so is it something new?? is it like- an army of creatures from the upside down?? is it the swat team that they show us later??

i actually have no idea BUT joyce has an axe!!!! we love women with axes!!!

also note i know everyone already knows this but i think its so cool that they released season one on the 26th of november and theyre releasing season five on the 26th. i know everyone kinda expected it but still

also

the fact. that they're ACTUALLY putting the finale out on NEW. YEARS. EVE. theyre putting out vol. 1 & 2 in the last two months of the year like EVERYONE said they would and THEYRE ACTUALLY RELEASING THE FINALE ON THE 31ST OH MY GOD AS LATE AS THEY CAN GIVE IT TO US

so theyre obviously looking at something. now this is one of two options in my head

they're looking outside to the contents of the upside down being spilled out into the town and the town being torn apart. i really do think were going to have some kind of chaos where all the demogorgons and bats kind of go from staying in the upside down to kind of merging with hawkins and its just an all over battleground

theres something in the house. most likely a demogorgon and this is where holly goes missing (the dissaperance of ___ ((holly)) wheeler) because yknow demogorgon snatches holly

now this does also mean that karen now also fully has proof of the upside down existing. the parents, other than joyce & hopper, do not know about the upside down. this is gonna be such an eye opening moment for karen and possibly will make her much more of a present character for season five.

not much to say here, because we all know that max was in hospital but here she has no neck brace here, where in the end of the show she was in a neck brace. so either she woke up before this scene happened or shes making good progress.

(also i dont know shit medically so this could just be something they do in hospital idk)

so dustin.

theres really not much to say about steve here but dustin.

he looks very clearly beat up, which could be a result of the upside down OR

its from the graveyard where he supposedly got beat up. which leads me to believe that in that scene with steve, they weren't in the upside down. that was in hawkins.

the vines are already in hawkins, which means the upside down has travelled over to hawkins. and if theres a grave there for eddie that means that they had time to bury him and have a funeral between the end of s4 and beginning of s5, but wasn't his body in the upside down? does this mean that they went in to get his body to have the funeral? so does vecna already have clear access to hawkins, so much so that they were able to go down and grab his body?

this could make no sense btw it is so late at night

what is going on here.

i seriously have no idea

she looks like shes in pain, so maybe vecna is in ehr head?? shes grabbing her ears and it looks like theres something shes using her powers on something so is it another mindfight?? maybe she just defeated something??

but also yippee more hopper and el scenes yippe yippe!!

wall.

i think this could be like the end of the upside down. like hold on

do you guys see the vision?? also sorry this looks like ass i drew it in chrome canvas using a mouse

i also think that the big orange pimple looking thing could be like.. an egg?? like a demogorgon egg of sorts?? so maybe the objective is to like destroy the wall so that they can't make eggs any more and therefore stop existing?? maybe??

so theres a whole ass swat team here

this also means the government is involved in some sort so thats nice

now i dont know if its like. how all those gates opened and something is just poking out under the floorboards but everyone seems very afraid of it so this is where im thinking theres some kind of new monster for season five

we can also see will unconscious on the floor in this scene right behind one of the soldiers/swat team members idk what to call them man

so these last two clips seem to be in the same military base/same scene which means its very important. which leads me to believe that it IS a new kind of monster

now the people behind him i think are just bystanders. i don't count on them having much of a significance to the plot

but we can see joyce holding on very tightly to will which leads me to believe hes still unconscious because he also looks very sloppy?? like lazy?? idk how to explain it but he looks limp

NOTE: there's also a soldier passed out behind the gang. so maybe there's something in particualr making people pass out?? that or the soldier is dead and the swat team is useless.

i did will so dirty in this screenshot im sorry

but anyways, will is so terrified in this photo. re-possessed?? maybe?? hes looking up at something which means its huge. so is this the hydra theory coming back and actually in the show?? maybe maybe not

but there is something new and big definitely coming. and im scared. and excited.

NOTES:

season five is a concluding season. this means they have to cover everything of nuance. the painting, byler vs elmike, stancy vs jancy, any questions about the upside down, lumax, etc etc. just trying to get you excited.

in my opinion, they wouldn't have all this build up and talk about will liking mike if it goes nowhere. theyve talked about it constantly, hinted it in scenes and letters and confirmed that a love interest will be a present trope for Will in season five. i don't think this will just end in a "sorry will, i dont like you that way." and if it does then that will have to be used for some kind of motive for will in some kind of actions later on in the season

i will add more when i am less tired

anyways lets enjoy the next 214 days until the finale yippee huzza i will go cry myself to sleep

[lunabug2004]

Guys whatever you do don’t think about the fact that Mike Wheeler gets no comfort while watching his best friend get taken over by a literal monster and then be in excruciating pain because of this monster, only to be lost to this monster in front of his own very eyes. Don’t think about the fact that despite being the only (aware) child in the situation, none of the adults around him ever try to check up on him or support him through this.

Then when Bob dies he’s the one providing comfort to Joyce when they run, he’s the one comforting and supporting the others by coming up with plans.

The only comfort he gets isn’t until the beginning of episode 9, when everything isn’t even over yet, and it’s too late. He’s already lost his trust in Hopper now. He kept El from him for almost a year, letting him soak in his own depression and self-guilt. He may stay by Hop after he comforts him because that’s what he is craving, it’s what he needs, but we’re back to disrespectful Mike in the next season bc obv it was too much for Mike to forgive Hop.

In season 1, we see a kid with his heart on his sleeve. He knows what he wants and he’s not afraid to tell people this, even when his own family is putting him down for it. But in s3, we see a kid who represses his emotions as far down as they’ll go, full of self-hatred, never opening up to anyone.

I believe this change is mainly due to these facts: 1) he was depressed for a whole year and no one ever picked up on it, again, no one comforted him, esp not his family. He probably thought he was being stupid, we already know he thought he was crazy. 2) at this point, he had been repeatedly shut down when voicing his thoughts (Lucas shutting down his worries about Will, Dustin yelling at him when he was grieving for Bob, Hopper immediately getting mad when he was voicing his frustrations), and he probably doesn’t think there’s any point to it anymore. No one ever listens to him anyways. And then 3) the complete lack of comfort he is (not) given throughout seeing Will, his best friend, suffer and being completely unable to help him. That is, until he’s forced to listen to his screams as he’s convincing the others to put Will to sleep.

So yeah… don’t think about that guys :)

[bylertruth3r]

Everyone go watch this Byler video made by @teambyler it was made really well and it explains a lot of things about Mike and Will's relationship

[clericsandpaladins]

The Stranger Things twitter account has encouraged us two years in a row to rewatch s1, and specifically s1 episode 1 this year. So, that being said, can we talk about how strange Will's abduction into the Upside Down is in s1? Like, I personally fully believe he was taken by the Demogorgon because the shadowy figure matches up with how we see it throughout the show and we hear plenty of noises to indicate this along with the flickering lights. That being said, I think there was more at play here. First off, the lock on the door unlocks by itself, which is reminiscent of El's powers. The Demogorgon is shown repeatedly to have to break down barriers with force, as are the Demodogs and Demobats. At no other point during the series do we see a monster from the Upside Down unlock a door like this save for Vecna, but he is also like El so we aren't counting him. That is, unless Vecna did have an influence now that we know he was pulling the strings from the start. And secondly, we see the light flicker two times before Will is abducted. First at Mike's house in his garage, after Will leaves funnily enough, and then when he's bike riding home his bike light flickers. This is normal for when the Demogorgon is present. However, when Will is abducted the light does not flicker, it brightens and then dims when Will disappears. The only time we see this happening is when someone who is decidedly not an Upside Down monster is interacting with the lights. We see it with Will, we see it with Joyce and Hopper, we see it in s4 with Eddie, Robin, Steve, and Nancy, and, surprise surprise, we see it with Vecna. To further prove that this is strange, when Barb is abducted, the lights flicker and even turn off, showing the inconsistency between both abductions. We know that, for whatever reason, Will has a connection to Vecna and the Upside Down. His True Sight for one but also the fact that he can sense Vecna and feel/know his thoughts. We find out in s4 that not only is the Upside Down stuck on the day of November 6th, 1983, the day Will went missing, but also that the Mind Flayer was controlled by Vecna. So, this begs the question of why Will? If Vecna is controlling the Mind Flayer, then he specifically targeted Will in s2, but why? What was so important about Will? Why does it seem like Vecna had an influence in his abduction? I am sure the answer lies in the strangeness of Will's Upside Down experience, especially since we know we are getting a Castle Byers flashback, but what is it? So many questions that I do not have the answers to.

[sapphicslut777]

okay, during a countless rewatch of st2, i decided to look up the scientist that Owens brings up while talking to Nancy and Jonathan in the lab…

he brings up George Sarton,, saying “men of science have made abundant mistakes of every kind”.. he uses this in his argument/justification for Barb’s death, Will being taken, etc.

but! i decided to look this guy up, as i know the Duffers and other writers tend to slip references and clues in wherever they can.. and LOOK WHAT I FOUND

pay very close attention to Sarton’s birthday and death date…

we all know that March 22nd is Will’s bday,, however there is still a lot of discourse about whether the Duffers “forgot” Will’s birthday, due to the events that transpire in st4 episode 2 (at rink-o-mania, etc.)..

however there is a theory about Will’s bday.. the Duffers did Not forget. i know that there are things that slip through the cracks with media like this,, but this is a Big Thing to miss.

there is a great run-down/analysis of birthdaygate here: https://youtu.be/6HNfoOLpUj8?si=8naUiTkx9pVyTOBz

in this video, LesbianMindflayer shows that there have been other dates cited as Will’s birthday,, for example: this official post which came out in the era of st1

now, there is some discourse over whether this “fake/wrong” birthday was a mistake, which they changed/solidified going forward with st2,

however,,, this August 28th birthday for Will is very very close to George Sarton’s birthday…

let’s dig deeper people!!! what do you think!??

[michaelwheelerdefiodental]

Hmmmm, so "who's *really* looking for Jane Hopper?" is kinda obvious; it's the military, but i don't think this is what the promo team really meant when they decided to write and show us this.

Who is the woman that loves to track people that had a connection with her childhood?

She must have discovered about Eleven being jailed in California, or probably just read the news about Hawkins and the supposed missing teen Jane Hopper.

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Lotr and stranger things: Masterpost

I also mention dnd when it’s relevant to the lotr parallels.

(You can read this with absolutely no knowledge on lotr or dnd don’t worry)

@somewiseoutthere @itwasaseven7 @beomgyubestie @thy-lovelylionheart @itachisnipplesharingan <3

The thing is that stranger things isn’t a lotr retelling, so there are many parallels to several characters. It isn’t “oh, this character parallels ONLY this lotr character”, no, many characters have several parallels with several lotr characters. Let’s get to it.

Mike, the insecure hero.

Mike “it was the best thing I’ve ever done” Wheeler and Sam “it was the bravest thing he ever did” Gamgee. Many people also see Sam as a paladin (those with joy and whimsy and gayness in their hearts) (no but srs I’ve seen several people call him a paladin), even if he’s commonly known as a cleric. And guess who’s character is a paladin. And guess who is a cleric?

(Let’s focus on mike’s sheet rn).

From Worlds Turned Upside Down, official book. It has all the party’s dnd sheets, not their dnd character’s dnd sheets, but THEIR dnd sheet, as if they were dnd characters. This is not Mike’s character, but Mike Wheeler (you can see it, played by Finn, is a DM, etc). And would you look at that, he is a cleric.

In the Hawkins Middle School Yearbook there’s the boys’ characters’ dnd sheets. Take them with a grain of salt since idk if they’re canon, but it says that mike’s race is a halfling. Yeah ok.

Sam is also not the most confident person out there, always selling himself short and calling himself names, even tho he makes very good poetry and he literally fought against shelob and won. Sure he used frodo’s (bilbo’s) sword which is a cool, sharp sword, but like, shelob is a primordial being. That’s like Mike (with his 12 year old height) having a very cool sword and using it to fight all alone a grown size demogorgon (with absolutely no fighting experience, let alone sword wielding experience) who is inmortal and has existed since the beginning of time, and then winning.

Also the Frodo “dying” scene is kinda similar to s1? Like, Sam is trying to protect Frodo even tho Shelob already has poisoned him (Mike looking for Will even tho he’s already in the upside down) and when he was done with shelob he saw Frodo “dead”, and cried and decided to go and take the ring to mount doom, and then come back for Frodo (Mike seeing Will’s “body” at the quarry, going away crying in his bike and stopping the search, also smth smth mike jumping into the quarry, same place wills “body” was found, while Sam wanted to go back to Frodo’s body after destroying the ring and then not leave him, aka dying [This is an unpopular opinion, but I always thought that this scene: “It would not be worth while to leave his master for that [vengeance]. It would not bring him back. Nothing would. They had better both be dead together. And that too would be a lonely journey. He looked on the bright point of the sword” and “Good-bye, master, my dear!’ he murmured. ‘Forgive your Sam. He’ll come back to this spot when the job’s done – if he manages it. And then he’ll not leave you again.” obviously references Sam thinking about suicide (although he dismisses the idea quickly), since it’s not like we don’t see suicide in lotr (denethor), but not everyone seems to agree with this interpretation]), but then Sam overheard the orcs mention Frodo was alive, so he went back for him (El showing Mike that Will is still alive, and Mike beginning to look for him again).

Mike telling Will “I don’t know, maybe I feel like I lost you or something” vs Sam telling Frodo “I thought I’d lost you” in the fellowship of the ring movie.

Remember that scene of Mike waking up next to Will's bed in s2? And that scene of Mike sleeping next to Will's hospital bed also in s2? Sam was described as never leaving frodo's bedside when he was in rivendell, after having been stabbed by a morgul blade (and morgul blades have parallels with the mf/vecna...)

You could also argue that Mike trying (and failing) to carry Will at the hospital during s2 is a Sam parallel (Sam carrying Frodo to mount doom)

Also, Mike the Brave??

Clear reference to Sam. Not a reference by Mike’s part (in the books it’s Samwise the Stouthearted) but by the writers.

About byler and Sam and Frodo, there’s also a class difference in both relationships.

Dart parallels gollum (explained more below, where I talk about Dustin) and Mike’s behavior and opinion regarding dart is so similar to Sam’s over gollum.

Also Frodo? Mike’s parallels with Max, who ALSO parallels Frodo. Shelob wrapped frodo on her web. Mike has web imagery (amazing find by @mikesbasementbeets) (as does max and other characters that are in danger, trapped, etc. Smth smth henry and spiders, smth smth Max and Mike web imagery, smth smth falling into Henry's web, getting trapped, getting vecnad (Mike is so getting vecna’d idk what to tell you the evidence is just ABUNDANT). Shelob is female which also adds to all of mothergate, but whatever). Frodo “died”. This theory of mike temporarily dying in s5.

If we get a scene with mike getting vecnad choosing whether he should stay or he should go (s4 Dustin's voice: "get it?") and he's metaphorically dangling from the edge and the people outside vecna’s vision (specially will) are calling his name panicked and he has to chose whether to die (remember mike's horrible mental health and him stepping off the cliff in s1) or live and go forward, I'll go insane. Cause I'll be an obvious parallel to frodo literally dangling off the edge of a cliff in the return of the king movie with, on top of the cliff, Sam, offering his hand and a escape, a life. On the other, the ring, and flames, death. And he chooses life. Also the cliff scene in s1 mentioned before, also paralleled to this frodo scene, with Dustin/Sam telling him to "don't do it" (aka, "don't you let go"). But he does. He's saved, but he does. I guess it puts el (who saves him) in Sam's position aswell (it is Sam who pulls frodo forward so he doesn't fall). Having a scene like the one described before in s5 could be an awesome parallel, in s1 mike chooses death (for Dustin, but he also has some other personal reasons). In s5, mike chooses life. In s1, mike was willing to die for his friends (and cause he wants to). In s5 mike is willing to live for his friends (and because he wants to).

[poetic cinema]

Also Mike having his hero moment, probably with a sword since 1- his character is a paladin and 2- Sam hurts shelob with Frodo’s sword. @aemiron-main has lots of posts on this whole concept. Also smth smth Henry/Shelob parallels, and Sam hurts Shelob…

Also his post on mike/arwen parallels

Mike himself being a cleric makes me insane. Bro wants to be a knight so bad but he’s a healer. And this isn’t something bad. In fact clerics are pretty important because of their healing abilities (“you’re the heart!”). You can perfectly play without one, but it’s encouraged to have one just in case. Clerics also fight, they’re not just healers btw.

I think it may be a way to show than the person who mike actually is vs the person who mike wants to be are two completely different people. Smth smth insecurity and wrapped perception of self, smth smth thinks low of himself because he’s comparing himself to people that don’t make sense for him to compare himself to (fictional characters, El who literally has superpowers and has been raised as a weapon, Nancy who is older than him and had more practice with guns out of necessity, and also more years spent writing than him [he’s not “an ace reporter” like Louis lane, however who is an ace reporter? Nancy], anyway “you can’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree”), smth smth internalized homophobia, smth smth wants to be this cool, mature, adult guy (s3) but in order to be that he has to change himself. Whatever.

(Adding to this, Mike wants to be Lucas so bad, actually. Lucas is the opposite of Mike, he’s how heterosexuality is actually performed (genuinely and naturally), he’s the older sibling, Mike was very “we don’t wanna be popular” in s4, but it definitely bothered him that Lucas COULD be popular while knowing that if he tried he would fail, they even have that scene fighting over the same character in s2 (both wanna be venkman).

To prove this further, during the scene where Will destroys castle byers, we can see that the photo of the whole party that he stares at is inside a frame. A frame made out of ice cream sticks, so handmade. And in each stick, there's written the name of a member of the party. Will The Wise on top, on the left, Lucas the Knight, down, Dustin the Bard, and on the right, Mike the DM.

Lucas is a knight… aka a paladin…

Mike is not even a character but the DM… Why is Mike titled as a DM instead of his dnd class? Does he not play too? (Except he does because his character is a paladin. Unless he doesn't, and when he called himself a paladin in s2 while naming everyone's classes he was just naming what he thought his role in the party was - remember that one post? I can't find it but it basically said that Mike called himself a paladin and Will a cleric cause that's how he sees both of them. their relationship and role in the party)

It also makes us ask ourselves other questions like, why isn't Will "Will the Wizard" or "Will the Cleric" (since everyone else is named as their dnd role, not their characters name)? Or, why is Lucas a knight?

(Regina George's voice: so you agree, Mike is the DM and most important character and everyone else are just players? (manifestation theory). So you agree, Will is not titled with his dnd class because he DOES have powers irl? So you agree, Mike wants to be a paladin but it is Lucas who is the knight, aka, Mike wants to be Lucas?)

Anyway.

Will (with his own weight to carry).

Will is Frodo and the mind flayer is the one ring.

Image credits to @toseesoclearly

Frodo suffering the effects of the ring causing personality changes, thoughts that weren’t his own etc, and the same thing happening to Will while he was possessed. The movie scene where Frodo holds a sword against Sam’s throat, and Will choking Joyce. “As Will's connection with the Mind Flayer grew deeper, he started becoming more demoralized and scared” same with Frodo as the quest went on. Also if Frodo put on the ring, sauron would feel it, just like how Will was the spy. The mind flayer getting out of Will’s body thanks to heat, and the ring only being destroyed by casting it into the fires of Mordor. “I felt this evil like it was looking at me”, the eye of Sauron. Frodo getting attacked by shelob (huge immortal spider) (Sam thought he was dead), and Will getting possessed by the mind flayer (spider-shaped) (he almost died).

Frodo was willing to sacrifice himself (he didn’t think he would make it to mount doom alive, and that if he did, that he wouldn’t come back. He expected to die during the quest and yet he continued), Will was willing to sacrifice himself (Morse code tapping: close gate. It’s not explained in canon, but I believe he knew it would kill him. Also, he was gonna sacrifice himself to close the gate, and the scene of El closing the gate in s2 is already paralleled to Frodo in mount doom (more below, where I talk about el), so Will (Frodo) was gonna sacrifice himself to close the gate (destroy the ring). Basically what happened in the books then). Also if the shed scene is a parallel to frodo at mount doom, well, frodo loses a finger there, a permanent injury, a constant reminder. When Nancy burns will with a hot iron rod (also, rod imagery) that definitely left a scar cmon now. Constant reminder of his possession. And we established that possession from the mind flayer = the ring and its effects, sooo

The one ring extending Frodo’s (and Bilbo’s, and Gollum’s) lifespan and not letting its bearer die, and then Will somehow surviving the ud (this theory)

Frodo is also an almost Christ-like figure (specially considering Tolkien’s Catholicism). Christ who died for our sins (Frodo sacrificing everything and himself to save middle earth), who carried the cross in which he would be hung (Frodo carrying the ring, a great weight, and that destroyed him), unmarried, Jesus and his disciples (Frodo and the fellowship), mercy and forgiveness, etc etc. Where am I going with this? Will’s Jesus-coding.

Frodo is also a very tragic character, however he has a hopeful ending.

We technically meet him as a teenager (the day before his 33th birthday, which for hobbits is basically their 18th birthday), and then he is thrust unwillingly into a dangerous quest and becomes irrevocably changed. There is a big contrast with the Frodo from before (happy, normal hobbit) and the Frodo from after (very traumatized, cannot go back). Kinda resembles someone’s character story… And frodo also knew tragedy before everything (the death of his parents) just like Will also knew tragedy before the upside down (his fathers abuse, bullying). Hell, they even share a birthday (on different months). Both were born on the 22th.

Frodo endured so much and sacrificed so many parts of himself to save everyone, and yet he’s called weak and boring (by the fandom) for not engaging in many physical combats, and crying. Will endured so much and sacrificed so many parts of himself to save everyone, and yet he’s called weak and boring (by the fandom) for not engaging in many physical combats (and having his fight or flight response be freeze), and crying. I find both Frodo and Will some of the most compelling and interest characters from both lotr and stranger things.

Also frodo lost a finger (physical representation of how much the quest changed him and how he won’t be going back to normal ever). This theory of Will losing a hand in s5 by @pinkeoni… Beren and Maedhros (characters from the silmarillion) also lost a hand. Beren is paralleled to Frodo (and Aragorn), who’s paralleled to Will. Lúthien (Beren’s wife) is paralleled to both Arwen and Sam, who are paralleled to Mike… Maedhros killed himself, Beren died but came back… This theory of Will dying but coming back… Also Frodo got stabbed by a morgul blade, and “though the knife's blade dissolved soon afterwards, a fragment remained within Frodo's wound, working its way toward his heart and threatening to turn Frodo into a wraith. Elrond was able to remove the shard and heal the wound, but each year on the anniversary of receiving the wound Frodo became seriously ill” vs Will feeling whatever he feels on his neck ever since the possession. (Also each year on the anniversary Frodo becomes ill vs “The anniversary of an event brings back traumatic memories” vs the attention brought to birthdays in lotr (specifically Frodo’s) vs birthdaygate…)

Will lost his memories as s2 went on, as the possession from the mind flayer went on. As the quest goes on, Frodo keeps on losing memories. He loses himself and his mind to the ring, and “as I lay in prison, Sam, I tried to remember the Brandywine, and Woody End, and The Water running through the mill at Hobbiton. But I can't see them now” / “Do you remember that bit of rabbit, Mr. Frodo?” he said, “And our place under the warm bank in Captain Faramir's country, the day I saw an oliphaunt?” “No, I am afraid not, Sam,” said Frodo. “At least, I know that such things happened, but I cannot see them. No taste of food, no feel of water, no sound of wind, no memory of tree or grass or flower, no image of moon or star are left to me”. Also smth smth memorygate (x, x). It is memories that help against Vecna, not having them makes you more vulnerable, a perfect victim. One of the reasons Frodo was so depressed during the quest is because he was slowly losing the memories of his life before, only seeing the ring and Mordor and fire.

Morgul blades are also a little paralleled to the mind flayer/vecna because of its effects. The wound caused Frodo to be super cold. He likes it cold.

Another thing I can’t believe I forgot. Will is in the ud, they found “Will’s” body and so Mike (Sam) thinks he’s dead. How does he realize he isn’t? Because El makes him be able to hear Will singing through the walkie!!! Just like when Sam couldn’t find Frodo in cirith ungol and was about to give up on his search but it was Frodo’s weak singing than told him were he was and gave him hope again!!!

Will also definitely has a soteria on his neck. Soteria is paralleled to the one ring and if he’s Frodo he has got to have the one ring. It’s just, so obvious he has one and this further proves it.

Also, talking about Frodo, you ever wondered what Frodo’s name means?

For a little linguistic context, Tolkien was even more crazy about languages than I am (if that’s even possible), and we know that he simply translated lotr which was written by Frodo and Sam in Adûni (Westron). Frodo’s real name is Maura, which in Westron means “wise”. Tolkien translated this name into Frodo, a proto-Germanic name, which is a real name people used, and that also means “wise”. Will the Wise.

Regarding dnd, Will’s character is a wizard and/or cleric (going back to that post of Mike calling Will a cleric cause that’s how he sees Will and his role in the party). Will himself (see character sheets above) is a magic-user. This is crazy to me tbh it just confirms the Will has powers theories (talking about Will with powers, Frodo might have also used magic, even if unknowingly…).

Looking at you, s5 episode 4 called Sorcerer that contains the baby byler flashback.

Talking about sorcerers, Gandalf (although described repeatedly as a wizard in lotr), by dnd standards, is a sorcerer. Same with Saruman and with Radagast (Will is paralleled to all three of them). Sorcerers are born with their magic, wizards learn it.

Clerics focus on healing although they also fight (and have magic powers), wizards and sorcerers have yknow magic powers. A magic-user is an umbrella term for anyone who uses magic, let it be a wizard, a cleric, a mage, a warlock (if we’re assigning classes to lotr characters, Frodo is commonly associated with warlocks. Warlocks are those who “strike a deal (sometimes unwillingly) with greater powers known as 'patrons' who grant them magical abilities” like Frodo getting the power of being invisible thanks to ring. Those patrons are usually evil. Depends on how you think will got his powers, if he had them since birth or got them thanks to the lab/the upside down, etc).

Will is either a wizard or sorcerer, or a light domain cleric, since he can use fireball. Will found a way to communicate with the lights in s1… However the party are level 3 (in all the character sheets I found) and (light domain) clerics can only use fireball from level 5 and up? So it makes more sense for him to be a wizard (or a sorcerer), who can use fireball since level 3.

I also find it funny that despite Will’s character being “Will the wise” he has the lowest wisdom points out of the whole party. Will’s armor class is also 7. It was a seven.

Will The Wise.

The duffers cannot keep getting away with this.

Who is labeled as The Wise in lotr? Saruman, and Will has saruman parallels (we’ll get there) but hold your horses, cause that’s not all of it. Gandalf is also called Gandalf the Wise, at least once (“For nearly thirty years he laboured in the cause against Sauron; and he became a friend of Gandalf the Wise, from whom he gained much wisdom”, the appendix about Aragorn and Arwen’s romance). And Gandalf died and came back, like Will, but he came back changed, no longer Gandalf the grey but Gandalf the white (having adapted the title of one of the spies of sauron). Kinda like how Will died but then came back changed (and kept having visions of the mind flayer…). Coming back to this theory of Will sacrificing himself to save everyone in s5 but then coming back to life…

Radagast, password to castle byers (so it has something to do with Will), and also one of the five maias sent to middle earth to defeat sauron. “Radagast lives at Rhosgobel on the western eaves of Mirkwood”. Mirkwood reference (we’ll get there there’s SO MUCH surrounding Mirkwood). Who lives near Mirkwood? (Mirkwood as in the road in st) Will, his house is like next to it.

“Radagast was unwittingly used by Saruman to lure Gandalf to his tower of Orthanc, where Gandalf was captured. Fortuitously, Radagast also helped rescue him by sending Gwaihir the eagle to Orthanc with news of the movements of Sauron's forces.” vs “Hopper becomes trapped in the tunnels and passes out. […] Will has a vision of Hopper, leading Joyce to recruit Bob's help to determine its meaning. Bob identifies Will's drawings as a map of Hawkins and the pumpkin field as the place Hopper was going. […] Joyce, Bob, Will, and Mike rescue Hopper,” so the same thing then. Will/Radagast saving Hopper/Gandalf.

“Radagast is "the friend of all birds and beasts,” Will *couldn’t bring himself to shot at a literal monster* *kindness personified* Byers.

Later, he get possessed, becoming the spy.

The spy. Saruman.

Saruman became a spy of Sauron. He used a palantir, a sphere used for communication, to communicate with Sauron (although the palantir does not transmit sound, only images and thoughts). Not unlike Will being able to “communicate” with the mind flayer, having vision of what it was doing and thoughts of what it was thinking.

“The master stones of north and south were able to 'eavesdrop' on such external conversations”, unlike Saruman who was a willing spy, Will wasn’t, the mind flayer was just spying back. “Eavesdropping” you could say, but it also saw what Will saw.

Saruman also called himself “Saruman of Many Colours” at one point. Saruman of Many Colours vs Will’s rainbow spaceship, in which he used all the colours he had.

All of these are wizards/sorcerers/whatever. We get it, duffers, Will has powers.

+ By the way, what about Rosie? Sam’s wife? Who is she? Well, certainly not El. Rosie is Sam’s childhood friend, a string of normalcy after all his adventures. Rosie represents home, and safety, and comfort, and the life he left behind (remember that for Tolkien adventures weren’t something to strive for, after all he lived during wwi, Frodo is irrevocably changed by his adventures, “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend”). Rosie fell in love with him before knowing that he helped save middle-earth, aka, she fell in love with him when he was “nobody”, without knowing he was a hero. Reminds me of someone who doesn’t feel like a hero and is very insecure. Reminds me of their childhood best friend who is a string of normalcy, of the life they had before, who loved him before he was a hero and before he fought monsters, and fell in love with him, just him. I don’t know who, tho. Mike asking Will to be his friend was “the best thing I ever did”. Sam asking Rosie to be his wife was “the bravest thing he ever did”. Huh. Reminds me of “mike wants to be a hero like el / will wants to be a love interest like el”.

Also, this really caught my eye. “and it is not a dissimilar notion to hold Rosie and Frodo up as the anima and animus aspects of the same character”. I’ve read a theory about el as an anima of Will so when I saw this I was like no way. Do I believe that theory? Tbh no, just like I don’t believe Tolkien wrote Rosie and Frodo as the same character, but the fact that both characters can be interpreted in the same way, in different fandoms as a pure coincidence is so curious.

But despite all the character he parallels, he’s Frodo. He’s so frodo it hurts. If I had to assign a single lotr character to each st character, Will would be frodo.

El, the “mage”.

I see El as Gandalf. Sure they’re very different, but they’re also very similar. Gandalf, while helping the fellowship (and thorin’s company in the hobbit) in everything, also has his own adventures, goes away for a while to do something and then comes back. That’s something El does constantly. El is also described as a “mage” by Mike (who then describes Will as a cleric even tho his dnd character is a wizard but his class is magic user. But well). Gandalf is also the one who comes to get them out of trouble, for example, Gandalf kinda sacrifices himself (but then comes back) to defeat the Balrog, Gandalf is also who the hobbits and tbh everyone relies on to solve problems, Gandalf seems to always have the answer even if not always. Kinda like how El is the one doing the physical job (aka, closing the gate, fighting the monsters) and saving everyone, being a “superhero”. You can specially see this in s1 and s2, where in s1 El appears in the woods to help them find Will, then she leaves, and then comes back just in time to rescue Mike (who jumped of a cliff) and break troy’s arm (also how El never uses her powers against anyone who doesn’t deserve it but is able to use them for harm, while Gandalf never uses his powers against anyone who doesn’t deserve it but does threaten people with turning them into animals), and where in s2 she’s off doing her own thing, until she comes back just in time to close the gate. Same thing in s3 and s4, her off with max, and then her off in NINA.

Gandalf "died" while fighting the balrog to protect the fellowship. El also "died" while fighting the demogorgon to protect the party. They both came back, after everyone had already mourned them.

Gandalf is also of unsure origins. Very old, older that time itself, no one really knows where he came from, etc. I don’t know what you want me to say but Jane is NOT El those are two completely different girls (even Terry says so, “no”), so where exactly does El come from? There are many theories about that, but let’s leave it aside. Also, when Gandalf appears you know the characters are gonna get involved on an adventure (whether they want to or not), just like el’s appearance made the party get involved with the supernatural.

Gandalf ended up going to the grey havens after the destruction of sauron since he was only sent to middle earth to protect it from him. Many many theories regarding el’s potential ending… (some here, here, here and here)

Now to the Silmarillion:

Someone named Annatar arrived to a place called Eregion. In Eregion lives Celebrimbor, among other elves. Annatar seemed like an elf, and claimed to have been sent by the Valar (gods, basically) to share his wisdom and skill, specially on ringcraft and jewelry. Not suspicious at all. Celebrimbor says “cool” and him and the smiths of Eregion followed Annatar’s guidance and instructions, and they created the rings of powers (which were like, a massive deal). Turns out that, surprise, Annatar was Sauron in disguise, who then went home and created the one ring to control all of middle earth. Yay.

Kinda like Henry tricking El, not telling her he was 001, being evil, and all that.

“Later Sauron reassumed his role as the Dark Lord and placed the One Ring on his finger, claiming dominion over all the Rings of Power and their bearers. Before this, Celebrimbor believed Sauron to be what he had claimed to be, but realising the truth he and the Elves of Eregion defied Sauron by withholding the other rings from him.”

When El notices the Henry is, well, evil and murdering everyone, she vanishes him off to dimension x.

Celebrimbor died. He was killed by Sauron with many arrows. Ouch.

“far from joining Fëanor's rebellion, she opposed him in nearly everything.” Fëanor is a rebel, Galadriel opposed him in nearly everything. Fëanor and Henry parallels…

“And that she wished to leave Valinor and go to the vast world of Middle-earth, to give free rein there to her talents. She went for a time to live with her mother's relatives in Alqualondë.” El escaping the lab, going to visit her “mom” and Kali in s2. (You could even say her living with Mike on s1. Lukeandleiagate…)

Cool similarity I’ve seen, even if it wasn’t intentional. Éowyn, strong, badass, and complex female character, was supposed to die but Tolkien changed his mind. El, strong, badass, and complex female character, was supposed to die but the duffers changed their minds.

In the og script for ep1, El, instead of stealing fries from Benny’s, she sees the fries frying in the oil, the oil sputters, she is a bit scared and leaves and finds a freezer. Opens it, it’s packed with fish (it wasn’t Benny’s burgers originally, but Benny’s fish ‘n fry). “She snatches up a DEEPWATER COD. So big that she can hardly hold it in her tiny hands. She turns it over onto its side, studies it, smells it. Has she never seen fish before? She bites its fat glistening belly and freezes again. Listening.” She hears someone coming, so she grabs as many fish as she can and runs.

Reminds me of gollum, and his affinity for fishes (and how he eats fishes just like el, by biting directly)

She’s also Niënor!!!

Niënor stands face to face with a dragon (the sequence of events that lead her to this point is irrelevant). This dragon is named Glaurung, and he’s the “Father of Dragons”, and the first dragon Urulóki ever (the first dragon to breathe fire).

El fighting Henry at the lab as a child. Smth smth Henry being the first subject, and the “father” of the other subjects.

With his gaze, Glaurung erases Niënor’s memory. She’s paralyzed and unable to leave (he has a spell on her) until finally he lets her go and she runs. She doesn’t remember anything, not her name, not her past, not anything. She winds up on a forest, where everything is new to her because she’s doesn’t ever remember seeing a plant or rock before. While she was running, her clothes tore and she ended up naked. She can’t speak.

El losing her memory after fighting Henry, El eventually escaping the lab and finding everything to be new. El wearing Benny’s burgers’ shirt.

Turambar finds her in the forest, and brings her to his town (Ephel Brandir) and asks for her name. She can’t answer, first because she doesn’t remember it, and then because she can’t talk. He gives her a name, Níniel.

Mike finding El in the woods, taking her home and naming her El. El not talking and not even knowing her name (Jane).

Turambar and Niënor fall in love / Mileven gets together.

HOWEVERRRR

Niënor ends up learning how to talk thanks to other people’s help and eventually Glaurung gives her her memories back, and guess back

It is revealed that Turambar is her BROTHER!!!! None of them knew this and they both kill themselves. (lukeandleiagate my beloved)

Regarding Frodo, you have Frodo getting stabbed by a morgul blade, and this leaving a shard of the blade inside his shoulder, which he needs to have removed. El being attacked by the flesh mind flayer in s3 and it leaving a piece of it inside her, which she needs to remove. El seeing hopper at the end of s4 is also a visual parallel to Frodo seeing Gandalf at the end of rotk.

Also, “In order to provide a distraction so Eleven and Hopper could safely reach the Gate, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Max, and Steve went into the tunnels to burn them” (s2) reminds me of Aragorn and everyone distracting Sauron so that Frodo and Sam could destroy the ring.

Max (and life).

I can definitely see (s4) Max as Éowyn. Éowyn who was depressed and suicidal at the start of the story and takes part (willingly) in a war, wants to die in battle, killed the witch king, and then she collapsed for some time. Éomer finds her and thinks she’s dead but after she’s been brought to the houses of healing and is unconscious for some time, she wakes. She also chooses life, she becomes a healer rather than a warrior. “I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren." Max wanting to die until she’s face to face with death, and suddenly she doesn’t want to anymore, she’s not ready. Max holding on to happy memories. Éowyn disguises herself as a man, Owens thinks that Max is a boy.

Éowyn was believed to be dead but then she wasn’t. Max died until El brought her back. Her brother Éomer has a scene in the movies hugging her body and crying and screaming cause he thinks she’s dead. So does Lucas.

Also reminds me a bit of sam and frodo, since the pose is the same (seriously, look at the position of Lucas’s arms vs Sam’s arms. Literally same pose). Talking about Sam and Frodo,

“Death” scene parallels. Except Frodo wasn’t dead, just completely paralyzed to the point that in the book it says Sam couldn’t even feel a heartbeat, but he was alive and woke up hours later. And then there’s Max who died but El brought her back (made her have a heartbeat again). Lucas thought she was dead during this, Sam thought Frodo was dead during this. Frodo in return of the king eventually woke up and they have a lovely reunion. Max in s5…

Max also has web imagery, just like frodo got wrapped in a web (smth smth henry and spiders, the mind flayer being spider-shaped, shelob, etc). And, during the fellowship of the ring, when they are at Weathertop, Frodo gets stabbed by a Morgul blade, causing temporal blindness.

As I mentioned before with Mike, the scene of her getting vecna’d (at the cemetery) and seeing a escape (a kind of metaphorical portal, her seeing her friends) and then having choose between death or life, and choosing life, feels so much like Frodo dangling from the cliff at mount doom in the movies, having to choose between let Sam pull him up (life) or follow the ring (death). It shows he’s not 100% corrupted by the ring, and that he still has people who care about him (that unlike gollum, he’s not too far gone), and that he cares about (just like Max’s memories are about her love for others, not the love others have for her. Frodo offers Sam his hand not because Sam wants him to live, but because he wants to live, and he loves Sam more than he loves the ring).

Also during the Frodo “death” scene, in the book, Sam is there and tries to save him but he’s too late, just like Lucas not saving Max in time because of Jason.

We also see that memories help against Vecna. Like Max’s running up that hill montage, it’s her memories of her love for others and good times that saved her. Without these memories, she would have died. Similar thing happens to Sam, in Mordor, he remembered old memories. “and now as once more the night of Mordor closed over them, through all his thoughts there came the memory of water; and every brook or stream or fount that he had ever seen, under green willow-shades or twinkling in the sun, danced and rippled for his torment behind the blindness of his eyes. He felt the cool mud about his toes as he paddled in the Pool at Bywater with Jolly Cotton and Tom and Nibs, and their sister Rosie”.

“Oh but she’s paralleled to Frodo, not Sam. And Frodo loses his memories” yeah and so might max in s5… However Frodo loses them because he’s so affected by the ring. The moment the ring is destroyed, he can see clearly again. I think same will happen to Max (and Will). If Vecna has their memories, when Vecna is defeated, where will they go? Back to their rightful owners.

Théoden dies, and so does Billy, and we have a scene with both Éowyn and Max crying for them. This parallel I’m not so sure about, but worth mentioning.

Also a bit of Thorin? I mention later the Bilbo/Lucas parallels, and this makes Max Thorin. Thorin dies (actually dies), unlike max who is not really dead, but thorin starts The Hobbit not really knowing Bilbo and not being particularly close with him (like max at the beginning of s2 with Lucas), but over time they become friends and get closer (s2/s3 lumax), until thorin gets upset about Bilbo giving up the arkenstone because he was dealing with gold sickness and this makes them drift apart (max breaking up with Lucas because of her own mental health and them drifting apart in between s3-s4 and beginnings of s4), except that before Thorin dies, they make up, but it’s too late (lumax making up and Max beginning to let Lucas in again, except that before they can make their movie date happen, Vecna gets her).

Lucas, (the ranger)

I see a bit of Bilbo in Lucas. Not really any explanation for this one just vibes. Like, a character living a life away from adventure and danger and freaking out when this life is disturbed (the dwarves arriving to bilbo’s house, them finding El in the woods), who is also very realistic and has common sense (telling mike to tell his mom about el and rightfully freaking out), has good strategy, and is very sarcastic. Also maybe Lucas’ s5 personal arc? Like, Bilbo was all nice and respectable before the adventure and fit in with the other hobbits (s4 Lucas “conformity” Sinclair), then during his adventure he saw horrors and someone he loved die (Thorin, whether you see it as romantic or platonic), and then when he came back he was just like who cares and was as a strange as he wanted to be, didn’t care about criticism and proudly called himself odd.

Lucas’ character is also a ranger. Rangers are inspired by Aragorn, who is literally referred to as “ranger” in the books several times. Aragorn is a man who loves his friends and those he cares about and kisses them on the forehead and has been in love with the same woman all his life and isn’t like aggressive or feels the need to be the leader/hero (despite being the one leading the group once Gandalf is gone). This does not mean he doesn’t know how to get his hands dirty, he knows, but he knows when to do it and when not to. Plus it’s not like he relies on violence every time, violence is like the last option, but he can defend himself and those he cares about perfectly well. Lucas is pretty much exactly like this, and he’s also the most traditionally masculine out of the party.

Idc if it’s not on the books, Arwen fighting at helm’s deep in the movie’s deleted scene is real in my heart, so you also have Aragorn as this typically masculine guy, strong and capable, with a wife who will absolutely kick your ass and his ego does not feel threatened by this in the slightest.

Elrond (Arwen’s dad) didn’t want his daughter to be with Aragorn because he was a mortal (not out of any prejudice against mortals, but because mortals, well, died, and elves didn’t, so Aragorn’s death would cause Arwen a lot of pain, and Arwen might also make the choice to turn mortal to be with him, which she did, and Elrond didn’t want this cause it would mean he would lose his daughter someday), but Aragorn married Arwen anyway. Billy (Max’s step-brother) didn’t want Max to date Lucas because he was black (out of racism). Aragorn and Arwen’s relationship was a bit complicated at first, cause of difference in species (?), and Lumax’s relationship was a bit complicated at first, cause of racism.

The samfrodo parallels I talked about just now? There’s another one. Lucas telling Max “I thought we lost you” in s4 is a parallel to Sam’s “I thought I’d lost you” to Frodo in the fellowship of the ring movie. And Lucas thought max was about to die on the running up that hill sequence (where he said the “I thought we lost you” line), to which max reassures him "I'm still here". Similar to Sam saving frodo from the tower of ungol, when minutes ago he thought frodo was dead, that he lost him. After saving him, frodo reassures him that he (Sam) found him now. And they took a moment to rest, in each other's arms, in "endless happiness". Same with lumax, they spend some seconds in each other's arms, resting.

Lucas is very Sam in the way that he’s not afraid to attack or throw a punch, despite being a non violent person, and he’s also distrustful of outsiders (like he was of El in s1, and Sam was of Aragorn at first), but very devoted to those he considers his own. He would do anything for his friends, and we’ve seen just how perseverant he is over Max. Regardless of the fact that she shuts him out, he stays, he tries to help her. Despite being broken up, he still loves her, she’s still his friend, he still cares and still will do anything to save her. Despite being in a coma for longer than a year, he still is by her side, everyday, still hopes, still stays. The man who can’t be moved. Reminds me of Sam, who is devotion itself, who stayed by Frodo’s bedside in Rivendell and didn’t leave unless made to (“Sam was here until I sent him off to get some rest, about half an hour ago”), reminds me of Sam, who literally carried Frodo up a mountain.

(Lucas moving Max to safety by carrying her)

(Funny how he’s moving her away from the gate, gate which is a crack, while for Sam it’s the opposite, he’s carrying Frodo towards the crack of doom)

Dustin, (never change)

I also see a bit of Bilbo in Dustin, a character who’s actually very smart and gets everyone out of trouble / figures stuff out, seriously very good plans (idc what you say the thing with the arkenstone was genius he almost stopped a war), very good talker (talking to Smaug, talking to gollum) (remember Dustin’s character is a bard), knows niche stuff?? Like Dustin being really into science and maths, probably knowing obscure dnd rules by heart, and then Bilbo knowing several languages and elvish poetry and all these things.

Also Dustin is a thief (see character sheets above). Not his character (who is a bard), but him. Bilbo is the designated burglar of the group. Also Bilbo is very himself yknow. After coming back from his adventure he’s just as strange as he pleases and doesn’t care what the rest of the shire thinks. Similar to Dustin who doesn’t conform to the rest of the world and is unapologetically himself. Bilbo has been called “queer” (meaning strange), “cracked”, etc for being himself without hiding. Just like Dustin is bullied.

Dustin acts as Sam every once in a while. With Mike on the cliff scene (mentioned before) and with his relationship with Eddie (mentioned below, where I talk about Eddie). But character-wise I don’t think he parallels Sam.

He also parallels Éowyn a bit. He’s Éowyn while Eddie is Théoden during Eddie’s death (see image below where I talk about Eddie), and you could also say that Éowyn having a little crush / admiration on Aragorn (who ended up married to Arwen) that didn’t go anywhere and they remained friends and then she married someone else (faramir) is similar to the whole Dustin/Lucas/max thing in s2. Dustin as Éowyn, Lucas as Arwen, and Max as Aragorn (+ éowyn developed a crush on aragorn after seeing him from the first time at rohan's castle. This is a man she hasn't seen before —so immediate attraction and curiosity, like s2 Dustin and Lucas towards max— and who is from the outside world and a fighter, just like how max is from California).

Dustin also lacks a romance plot. “He’s dating suzie” correct, but their relationship is entirely off-screen. They got together off-screen, and the only moments with them are the never ending story scene and Dustin calling Suzie at the start of s4, both of these long-distance. They mention each other, but they hardly have scenes together. Dustin’s plots are unrelated to romance, unlike the rest of the party’s. Mike’s almost constant romance plot (either with el or with will), Will’s s3 and s4 romance plot, lucas’ s2, s3, and s4 romance plot. With romance plot I mean than it’s important and related to their characters. They have other things going on, of course, but the romance takes plot time, it’s there, you can’t exactly take it away. With Mike, if you take away ALL romance there’s many scenes with him that disappear and lots of things about him we no longer know. Same with Will, and same with Lucas (but to a smaller degree). With Dustin, this doesn’t happen. Reminds me of Bilbo “confirmed bachelor” Baggins. And also Frodo (despite the fact that Frodo is gay asf). Good post about Dustin and romance here.

Bilbo and Frodo are extremely paralleled which makes Dustin have things in common with Frodo aswell (lack of a romance plot, takes pride in being odd, feeling pity for gollum).

Frodo barely has friends his own age. In the book, Sam is younger than him, and so are pippin and merry and fatty. He’s also friends with Gandalf, much older. He doesn’t have any friends his own age. Dustin has the party, but he’s also friends with Erica (younger) or Steve and Eddie (older).

Frodo doesn’t have a father (or mother) since his parents died. Dustin is the son of a single mom. Bilbo and Gandalf fill the role of Frodo’s paternal figure. Dustin being friends with so many older guys + the relationship the party (where everyone has absent dads except Lucas) had with mr Clarke might show a lack of father figure, and searching for one.

But if this doesn’t prove the Dustin/Frodo parallels (makes sense, these are a bit of a stretch), I realized they might be there with dart.

Dart

Dart is gollum. Only difference, dart saves Dustin & co and gollum betrays Frodo and Sam. But that’s because Dart had Dustin (took care of him) while gollum had Frodo (took care of him) + Sam (wanted to kill him). I’m not blaming Sam, but there’s a scene in the book where, after coming back from talking to shelob, gollum is super close to repenting and not betraying them, until Sam insults him after hurriedly waking up and unknowingly makes gollum go on with his plan. Smth smth kindness is rewarded. And we know stranger things is a show about friendship and kindness and nerds.

Let’s look at all the dart / lotr parallels.

Dustin grabbing dart while having no idea what dart is or where he came from. Bilbo grabbing a random ring he found while having no idea what it truly was. Dart being a demogorgon. That ring being the one ring. One difference though, Dart ends up saving them, and the one ring needs to be destroyed.

Dustin finds dart and decides to not kill him or throw him out, but take him in and take care of him, despite having no idea what he is. Bilbo finds gollum and, although he has the chance to kill him, decides to spare his life and run away. Will realizes dart looks like the slug he threw up but doesn’t tell anyone at first (“Why didn't you tell us before?” “I wasn't sure”). Frodo realizes gollum is following them but doesn’t tell anyone at first. When Mike finds out dart is from the upside down (which has hurt Will in the past, which has hurt them in the past) he wants to kill dart. When Sam finds out gollum is after the ring and wants to kill them, he’s 100% on board with killing him.

Frodo offers gollum his protection, and gollum begins trusting Frodo and being good and nice. Sam still doesn’t buy it and doesn’t understand the relationship Frodo has with gollum. Look at this exchange between Dustin and Mike in s2.

M: “Maybe he [dart] should be dead”

D: “how can you say that?”

M: “how can you not? He’s from the upside down!”

D: “Maybe, but even if he is, it doesn’t automatically mean that he’s bad”

M: “That’s like saying just because someone’s from the Death Star doesn’t make them bad”

D: “We have a bond”

M: “A bond? Just because he likes nougats?”

D: “No, because he trusts me!”

L: “He trusts you?”

D: “Yes! I promised I would take care of him”

Don’t tell me it’s not exactly what I explained above. Dustin is so extremely Frodo-coded in this scene. Also Dustin telling Mike to not hurt Dart, like the many times Frodo told Sam to be nice and not hurt Gollum. Mike’s “where'd you go, you little bastard?” while looking for Dart is so Sam aswell.

When Will finds Dart in the bathroom, he is gentle and tries to reassure him (but it doesn’t work out). Frodo keeps on talking with gollum and protecting him.

The scene in the tunnels where Dustin goes to talk to Dart is also similar to the scene in the books where the men find gollum and Frodo convinces them to not kill him, and to let him go talk to him, since he’ll listen to Frodo.

Dart allowes them to escape and basically saves their life. Gollum ends up being crucial to the destruction of the ring and basically saves Frodo. You see it. When they closed the gate, dart died. After the ring was destroyed, gollum died.

Nancy, who grew up too fast

(Look at this cute fanart of Nancy as Frodo and Robin as Sam)

Superficially, Nancy can be seen as Éowyn. Strong female characters who handles a weapon (sword / gun), and who are remembered by their scenes using said weapon, but who are actually much more complex that people give them credit for. Éowyn is depressed, and she feels stuck. She doesn’t want to be stuck in her life, doesn’t want to die without fighting, stuck in a castle, she wants to make her choice, and have autonomy. She doesn’t want to be like the women that came before her (which is not to say she doesn’t want to be a woman, she just wants to have the same freedom as a man). Nancy is also depressed, and she doesn’t want to be stuck in a loveless picket fence marriage, like her mother. Éowyn suffers from misogyny, so does Nancy. Éowyn ends up with mr nice guy Faramir. Nancy ends up with mr nice guy Jonathan.

Nancy is also similar to Frodo, but in a different way that will or max are. Theirs are more obvious parallels, while Nancy’s are a little more abstract. Frodo decided to take the ring to Mordor, was willing to face the challenge to do the right thing. That’s something Nancy would definitely do.

Nancy goes from normal carefree teenage girl to a traumatized woman with the burden of saving the world, a survivors guilt bigger than herself and the need to save everyone, no longer the same girl she was before. Same with Frodo!! He goes from a normal carefree hobbit to a traumatized hobbit with the burden of saving the world and guilt over claiming the ring at the last minute, no longer the hobbit he was before.

Nancy is also the leader, taking care of the kids, making the plans, shooting with her guns. Frodo is not the leader, but yknow what he is? Scared, normal, average, and also vital. Nancy is the same. Scared, normal, average, and very important. Nancy doesn’t have superpowers nor any kind of experience in battle or fights (like for example Hopper who is a war vet). And yet everyone turns to her. Just like how everyone counts on Frodo to destroy the ring so they can succeed in saving middle earth, everyone is always counting on Nancy, although neither Frodo nor Nancy have any kind of special ability or experience that makes them different to the others.

Nancy is also paralleled to Sam, believe it or not, specially since mike is Frodo. “What are you talking about? Their relationship is nothing like Sam and Frodo’s, the wheeler siblings are famously dysfunctional!” 100% agree, the wheeler siblings have everything but a perfect relationship, however there do is one singular scene (one. Seriously just one) that sets this parallel.

Vecna showing Nancy the future. What does that remind you of? Because I know what it reminds me of, and that is Galadriel showing Sam and Frodo the future through her mirror. Vecna showed Nancy glimpses, not the full picture, not the full scene, just tiny moments without context. Same thing Galadriel did to Sam and Frodo.

“Oh but why Sam? Nancy is already paralleled to Frodo” true again, except what did Frodo see in the mirror? The sea. That was his future, no one else’s, and it was a good future. He didn’t understand it yet, but Galadriel’s mirror showed him finding peace in the future (Frodo goes to Valinor at the end of rotk to find peace and healing).

What did the mirror show SAM, though? The scouring of the shire (Hawkins after Vecna won), his father being forced to leave the shire (whatever she saw happening to Karen and Holly), Frodo “dead” after being attacked by shelob (Mike — except Frodo wasn’t dead, and Sam didn’t interpret this vision correctly at first since he had no context. He thought Frodo was sleeping, and then when Frodo got attacked thought “this is what the vision meant! He’s dead not asleep!” but both times he was wrong. I think the same will happen to Nancy, she might have seen mike “dead” but it will be something else), and him running to save Frodo (didn’t understand this one at first aswell). All the visions become true though, although they were different to what the characters guessed. Interested on the “creature with a gaping mouth”, will it be another incorrectly guessed vision, or will it be truly a creature with a gaping mouth? The scouring of the shire is the only vision Sam more or less interpreted correctly, and we have seen how Hawkins ended up after Vecna “killed” Max. However all the other visions were not as grim as he thought, so maybe the wheelers might be safe?

When it comes to Nancy, saying “oh she’s similar to this character” is complicated, at least to me. Because Nancy is such a “her” character, she’s so herself, she’s one of her best female characters I’ve seen in media, super complex and interesting, despite the fandoms obsession with reducing her to a boring love triangle. The duffers said that they got inspired by the breakfast club for the creation of Nancy’s, Jonathan’s, and Steve’s characters, so it’s not like her lotr parallels are huge. In fact, maybe the duffers weren’t thinking about any of this and I’m overthinking. But anyway I just love Nancy.

Robin, “I cracked the code”

Robin gives me so so so many merry vibes. They are both even misinterpreted in the same way! People think merry is just haha dumb comedic relief, same with robin, but they are both super interesting characters!

Merry is so smart, like, genuinely, he knew about the ring (which Bilbo kept a secret from everyone but Frodo and Gandalf for YEARS AND YEARS) before anyone else, just by observing him. He’s the mastermind behind it all, he grabs pippin, Sam, and fatty and gets them to gather information about Frodo (who HE noticed was acting strange and might be about to leave the shire). He does all the planning to let them leave the shire as quickly and silently as they could. Merry focuses on the “speak friend and enter” part written above the doors of Moira. It is Gandalf who figures it out, but from the first second it’s merry who notices it above the rest of the text, and finds it weird. It’s thanks to merry pointing it out, that Gandalf begins thinking about it. Merry is super observant!! Just like Robin being the one to figure out music helps against Vecna, or cracking the Russian code or almost always being right.

Merry doesn’t want to be left behind in Rohan while his friends are fighting the war (steve and nancy going to the mothergate and leaving robin and Eddie alone on the boat) so he just sneaks with éowyn to the war even tho he’s super scared (robin diving right after nancy).

Strategy. Organized genius.

Rambling about the same topic for paragraphs. It’s literally canon that all that could be discovered about pipe-weed in antiquity was put together by him. Same with robin rambling. Both into “weird” things (like, robin knows several languages and is very into old films and old books and merry is into maps and boats, which hobbits aren’t usually interested in). Also both can be seen as neurodivergent (by those with eyes to see it). (Same with Frodo and Bilbo)

They have funny scenes, of course, but they have much more to them!

Erica, child soldier

I think erica might be similar to pippin. “Erica would absolutely destroy pippin wdym” I mean yeah but think about it. This character who originally doesn’t really have much of a role and is just the family of one of our main characters (s2 Erica, pippin at the beginning of the fellowship) and who you could say is just there for laughs cause they’re funny, but who slowly gets a bigger role and becomes a member of the team and an important member too, helping to save the world. Also pippin is the youngest out of the fellowship, he’s not even an adult yet. Erica can amuse the viewer like pippin does (but in completely different ways, pippin by being “dumb” (again, he’s a literal teenager thrown into horrors he literally couldn’t imagine), erica by her amazing comebacks) but she’s also an important member of the team, just like pippin.

She’s not aware of the real danger until s4. I mean, in s3 she basically risked her life and her only condition was “free ice cream forever”. While stuck in the elevator, she says her mom will be mad at Steve and Robin for endangering her and making her miss her uncle’s birthday. It’s steve who brings her to reality, telling her that if they are killed in a Russian elevator, her mom wouldn’t find them anyway. Erica is taken aback by this, and for the first time, she’s beginning to see the actual danger.

She also has “dumb” funny moments that sound like something pippin could perfectly well say (like when she said they should drink the weird green liquid they found. Like obviously not erica wtf. Reminds me of movie!Pippin eating three lembas breads without even knowing what they were before eating them). But we also see later in the season her calculating maths in her head super fast and well, and Dustin lovingly calls her a nerd. We see that’s she’s smart! Pippin is also smart, people just don’t acknowledge it. Good pippin post.

Eddie, the hero

(Cute fanart of Eddie and Dustin as lotr characters)

Now, I’m not really into Eddie’s character, so if there are any more similarities that I’ve missed and a diehard fan noticed, please let me know. Eddie’s lotr parallels are so easy to see. Movie!Aragorn saying “for Frodo” and Eddie saying “this is for you, Chrissy” (which then puts Chrissy on Frodo’s position, Chrissy who got vecna’d. Mike/Chrissy parallels here, here, and here. Also Will/Chrissy parallels here).

Also the fact that all the characters paralleled to Frodo in one way or another (Chrissy, Max, Nancy, El) got vecna’d (about El, does mike’s monologue scene count as getting vecna’d? Even if not, she has scenes talking to him and such so I would add her aswell) makes me scared and excited for the other characters paralleled to Frodo (Will, Mike, and Dustin. Mike is so getting vecna’d, Will might already be in a trance by the end of s4, and Dustin is so getting vecna’d aswell).

Eddie saying “I say you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I’m totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea… but the shire, the shire is burning. So Mordor it is” vs Aragorn saying “I would have guided Frodo to Mordor and gone with him to the end” (or the movie version, “I would have gone with you to the end, into the very fires of Mordor”).

Eddie is also boromir. Boromir who died a hero, protecting pippin and merry (“the little ones”. While merry was an adult, pippin was a teenager, and they were technically more little (stature) than Boromir. Just like Dustin, max, Lucas etc being younger than Eddie, and him dying to save them [and all of Hawkins]). Also the scene with Dustin and Eddie playing/training in a field, parallel to the movie scenes with boromir playing/training with merry and pippin in a field. Which puts Dustin in their roles. I can see Dustin as merry, great plans, smart, scared, funny, definitely neurodivergent, etc.

This is also tied to this other parallel. Théoden’s death scene.

(In the book, it is merry the one hearing Théoden’s last words and last seeing him alive, in the movie it’s changed to Éowyn. But not to worry, cause Dustin fits both of these roles).

Just noticed some Eddie/Frodo parallels??

I mean, Eddie is older that everyone else he’s friends with (Dustin, Mike, Lucas, the rest of hellfire) just like how Frodo is older than Sam, merry, and pippin.

Eddie is hiding, cause Jason’s gang are looking for him since they think he killed Chrissy. Frodo is hiding cause the black riders are after the ring. Dustin, Lucas, Max, Robin, Erica, Steve, Nancy help him, just like the fellowship helped Frodo.

Eddie doesn’t start s4 being friends with Dustin. In fact, they had a huge power imbalance. Eddie was the dm, and a very controlling one, to the point Dustin and Mike were a bit scared to tell him about Lucas not going to the game, outright refusing to postpone (I get that maybe finding a day where everyone could play might have been complicated, but if he really wanted all of hellfire there he could have postponed. Lucas’ match couldn’t be postponed, cause there were more people playing, there was another team, they already had permission to play at the school, there would be a crowd, etc) and telling them to find a sub, to which mike and Dustin obey instantly. They have to do what Eddie does, or he gets mad. He’s the leader, they’re followers (there’s also much to say about the hypocrisy of Eddie and hellfire but well). Eddie was someone Dustin (and Mike) thought was cool and interesting and who they respected.

Frodo and Sam started similarly. Frodo was Sam’s employer, and someone Sam admired. He thought Frodo was wise and strong and he respected him. However unlike Dustin (and Mike), he was never scared of him, sure, he respected him and was scared of offending him and going over his social class, but not really of him. In fact, Frodo had always been very nice and kind to him.

As s4 goes on, and Eddie is hiding and discovering all the supernatural, dustin and him grow closer.

As lotr goes on, and Frodo is hiding and discovering the outside world and dealing with the ring, Sam and him grow closer.

Eddie and Dustin become best friends, leaving aside the power dynamics they started the season with, they’re now equals.

Frodo and Sam become best friends, leaving aside the power dynamics they started the books with, they’re now equals.

Eddie’s death scene also has some visual parallels with Frodo’s “death” scene. See above.

I guess this fucks up my “all characters paralleled to Frodo get vecna’d” theory but like, he died, so more or less…

On The Two Towers movie, there’s a scene with king Théoden crying because his son died. At the end of s4, when Dustin confirms to Wayne that Eddie died, he cries in a scene that is shot more or less the same way.

Théodred (Théoden’s son) died in battle, and lived only long enough to say his last words. Eddie died n battle, and lived only long enough to say his last words.

“I go to my fathers. And even in their mighty company I shall not now be ashamed.” (Théoden) vs “Boromir, you fought bravely. You have kept your honor.” (Aragorn @ Boromir) vs “I didn’t run away this time, right?” (Eddie)

Henry (001)

Also not necessarily into Henry’s character. I mean, the creels murders are super interesting (there’s def more that meets the eye) and so are the things we learn about him through NINA (which Brenner definitely manipulated. You cannot tell me Brenner is not making Henry look extra bad there. Which is not to say I defend him, but like c’mon Brenner would obviously do that), but I don’t know much about him aside from the obvious.

(When he found the mind flayer) “I found the most extraordinary thing of all. Something that would change everything. I saw a means to realize my potential.”

Remember this line, it’s important. Like, seriously.

Henry is gollum but he’s also sauron. The mind flayer is the one ring but it’s also Melkor (Morgoth).

Henry/Sauron created the one ring but Henry/Gollum is also consumed by it. The mind flayer/melkor is stronger that Henry/sauron, and existed before Henry/sauron, but the mind flayer/one ring was also created by Henry/sauron.

Woah, what a headache. Let’s go slowly.

Henry’s sauron-coding

Sauron’s original name was Mairon. Vecna’s original name was Henry.

“Mairon saw in Melkor the will and power that would help him achieve his personal ends quicker than if he pursued them alone.” So Henry finding the mind flayer?

Melkor is an Ainur, basically a god, an “eternal spirit”. Not the highest god (that’s Ilúvatar) but one of his “children” (listen the silmarillion is complicated ok). He turns evil unlike his siblings, destroys what they create, etc. And he has other beings that work for him and support his evil deeds, one of them being Sauron/Mairon.

I don’t think it is Henry who works for the mind flayer, I think he controls the mind flayer. However in the last shadow (correct me if wrong, I haven’t seen the play, just read summaries) it says that Henry was possessed with the mind flayer as a kid and that’s how he developed his powers (more on that later). So you could say Henry begins by “working” for the mind flayer (who, for example, made him kill animals) but then after arriving at dimension x as an adult, decided he could use the mind flayer for his own gain.

Sauron began by working for Melkor, and then time later, created the one ring. Henry begins possessed by the mind flayer, but years laters decides to mold him into something useful for him, a mean to realize “his potential”.

The mindflayer is the ring but also Melkor apparently. Duffers explain yourselves.

About sauron, he is also described as a sorcerer once (remember s5 ep4 “Sorcerer”) in the fellowship, and the number one is repeatedly mentioned regarding him. He created the one ring, he has been called the “black one”, the “one enemy”, the “nameless one”. Also “the shadow” (the first shadow)

Sauron also used to be blonde.

“Sauron's physical manifestation was destroyed in the ruin of Númenor. As a Maia, his spirit returned to Middle-earth, though he was no longer able to take the fair form he had once had.”

I also heard people say sauron was queercoded, and so is Henry. There’s a sort of “gay on gay crime” going on then (frodo and sauron, will and henry).

Henry’s gollum-coding

“One of Brenner's fellow scientists defected and stole key technology and transported it to a Nevadan cave. At this time, a very young Henry and the Creels lived nearby, in Rachel, Nevada. While exploring the Nevadan caves and playing with a spyglass, Henry stumbled across the stolen technology when it unexpectedly activated, transporting him and the defecting scientist to Dimension X.”

“In Dimension X, Henry was exposed to the influence of the shadowy entity. Though Henry returned home after 12 hours, he now possessed a unique blood type and had a changed personality. Brenner was later able to track Henry down thanks to Henry dropping his spyglass in the caves.”

Henry got possessed in a cave. Gollum lived on a cave, and Bilbo finds the ring (and steals it from gollum) on a cave. Technically bilbo-coding, for a tiny second.

“Henry stumbled across pieces of scientific equipment stolen from the Nevada Experiment. The equipment unexpectedly activated; Henry and the scientist who stole the equipment were temporarily transported to Dimension X, killing the scientist in the process.” Henry and someone else being there while the equipment activated, Gollum (Sméagol) and Déagol stumbling across the ring. Déagol stealing the ring, the scientist having been to one to steal the equipment. Déagol got almost inmediately murdered by Sméagol (for the ring). The equipment killed the scientist in the process. Sméagol ended up with the ring, Henry ended up possessed.

“I found the most extraordinary thing of all. Something that would change everything. I saw a means to realize my potential” is SO like if he just found the one ring. The ring tempts you, tells you that if you use it you will be powerful and will accomplish your desires, no matter if they are to save the world or destroy it. It says that it’ll give you the power to manage it, corrupts you, but it’s all a lie.

Henry has been fully corrupted, even his physical body changing (I mean, because of the burns but like, still a similarity) and cannot be saved. He’s gollum but he’s the ring (since the mind flayer is the ring, and he controls the mind flayer) at the same time, makes me a bit crazy.

The ring gave gollum, Bilbo, and Frodo the power to turn invisible. The mind flayer’s possession made Henry have powers, all the Will has powers theories…

Henry being 001 and the ring being the one ring is just so (x)

Also the many parallels between Will and Henry, how they’re so similar. Because Frodo and Gollum are extremely paralleled and similar!! Except Frodo fears becoming Gollum just like how Will fears becoming the abuser, the predator. But also Frodo having sympathy for Gollum cause he understands, + my theory of Will having a tiny bit of sympathy for Vecna in s5, cause he can literally feel what he feels, and he’ll probably get a Vecna vision like “oh Will we’re alike you and I join me blah blah blah make them pay and let’s get our vengeance blah blah blah”. Will won’t listen to him obviously that’s the difference between Gollum (who had no one) falling fully corrupted to the ring vs Frodo (who had Sam) only falling corrupted at the very end. Smth smth Will has a support system and doesn’t choose violence and all that.

Also

“Fëanor was possessed of exceptional oratory skill, and could persuade virtually anyone through speechcraft. He also was known to have been restless, exploring as much of Aman as he could and constantly crafting new works. One of these works was believed to have been the palantíri.”

“Fëanor quickly became the most prominent of the rebellious Ñoldor” (a group of elves)

“Despite Melkor having been the true root of the Ñoldor's unrest, Fëanor's crime had been of his own making, and for this the Valar exiled him for twelve years time from Tirion.”

Reminds me a bit of everything going on with Henry…

“Melkor stole away to Avathar in the south of Aman. There he discovered the evil spider-like creature Ungoliant and secured her as an ally, promising to sate her unrelenting hunger in return for her aid.”

Some things happened and they fought, and Ungoliant tried to strangle him. She didn’t get to, and after Balrogs came, had to run away. Some say she died from starvation. Maybe the mind flayer turning against Vecna in s5?

Thorin? I mean, Thorin sets to destroy Smaug, but ends up turning just like him because he’s affected by gold-sickness. Kinda like how Henry is super mad at Brenner and everyone and plans to “reshape” the world so that the “mindless play” stops (I think? I never really got his intentions), so like, technically in his head he probably thinks he’s doing good (??) but like, obviously he isn’t, he’s murdering teenagers and kids for no reason. Substitutes one villain for another.

Henry/Aragorn?? But we can see the contrast between both characters. I mean, Aragorn was on some kind of self-imposed exile, Henry was exiled from earth (El vanished him into dimension x), Aragorn became king (ruler) of Gondor, Henry became some kind of ruler of the upside down. Aragorn is good and noble and rightful heir, Henry is, well, evil.

I feel like Henry stans are gonna come yell at me I’m terrified

Hopper, who died and came back

Hopper is also a lot like Gandalf. Adult (male) who while technically is not a parent to any of the characters but he do is a paternal figure (him adopting el, him dating Joyce so becoming a kind of paternal figure to Jonathan and Will). I wouldn’t necessarily call Gandalf a paternal figure, but he do is this older “man” that the characters go to for help and who always helps the characters, and who has known Bilbo and Frodo since they were young (very basic description of Gandalf, I know). Also yknow Gandalf died but then came back, turns out he didn’t actually die. Hopper did the same. Gandalf “died” while saving the fellowship. Hopper “died” while saving everyone.

The scene of him meeting with el again in s4 is similar to Gandalf meeting with Frodo again in return of the king.

(Talking about the scene of the reunion between Hopper and El at the end of s4, check this out)

Literally same thing. It’s so fun because Hopper is the one Sam-coded (see below) while El is the one Frodo-coded.

Hopper is also Sam-coded in two occasions. First when he’s there with el while she closes the gate (since she parallels Frodo in that scene, and Sam was with him), and second when he told Joyce “I thought you were dead. Thought I lost you” in s4. Parallel to Sam’s “I thought I’d lost you” in the fellowship of the ring movie. You could also argue that hopper carrying Will in the hospital during s2 is a Sam parallel (Sam carrying Frodo).

Bob Newby, superhero

Bob is played by Sean Astin, who played Sam in the lotr movies.

Bob Newby, superhero vs Samwise the stouthearted (or Samwise the brave in the movies)

I see him as Radagast tbh

“Radagast has a strong affinity for—and relationship with—wild animals.” You know what my first thought was? Lonnie (“he made me kill a rabbit”). Who’s basically Lonnie’s opposite? Bob. (Sure, Joyce could also be, having been the parent who stuck around and who loves her kids deeply and actually cares and isn’t abusive, but when talking about dads, it’s Bob. Could also be hopper, but I think radagast is Bob). I’ll explain.

“His role in Tolkien's writings is so slight that it has been described as a plot device.” Bob, I mean, he appears in just one season to kinda further the plot and then dies. He was also supposed to die in the third episode of s2, originally.

“Radagast was unwittingly used by Saruman to lure Gandalf to his tower of Orthanc, where Gandalf was captured”. Bob telling Will to fight the mind flayer and that causing Will to get possessed. “Fortuitously, Radagast also helped rescue him by sending Gwaihir the eagle to Orthanc with news of the movements of Sauron's forces.” Bob eventually saving Will and everyone.

“Radagast is "the friend of all birds and beasts,” Bob basically being the perfect stepdad, being super nice and caring. “He innocently helps Saruman to assemble "a great host of spies”, again, unknowingly and unwillingly causing Will to get possessed, which made Will the spy.

Mirkwood, (where Cornwallis and Kerley meet)

Oh boy talk to me about Mirkwood in stranger things.

Mirkwood is a real road, named by the party as “Mirkwood”. Mirkwood is a forest that appears in the hobbit, and from where Legolas (member of the fellowship of the ring in lotr) comes from (he’s the prince of Mirkwood). What’s interesting about Mirkwood regarding stranger things, you might ask. I ask a better question. What is not interesting about Mirkwood regarding stranger things.

That road is the road where Will was on when he was going home in s1, where he saw whatever it is that took him. “It is in close proximity to both the Byers house and the Harrington house, with only the forest separating them”, oh ok, not suspicious at all. Will got taken at his house (which is close to Mirkwood) and Barb got taken at Steve’s house (which is close to Mirkwood). Nothing to see here, just a normal ass road. Mirkwood is also where they found El, where Nancy found her tree gate (I think, not super sure on this one), where the police found Will’s bike, and also, oh right, it’s next to the lab. I think you can see it in ep1, right? Like when will is on his bike and passes a sign that says smth about the lab.

Next to Mirkwood are the woods, where castle byers is, and where lots of things happened over the series in general. The woods are pretty connected to the upside down, the gates are either in the woods or on places next to the woods, lots of characters spend time in the woods since they live next to them, for some reason, etc.

Before beginning to talk about Mirkwood (lotr), what do we know about the upside down (st)?

Well, we know it wasn’t always supposed to look like that, rather it’s original design was very green and even with light. Eventually the duffers decided for the upside down we know now. We also know that before it was the upside down, it was dimension x, a place WIDLY different to the upside down we know now. We know the upside down isn’t necessarily evil (as seen by dart, a creature from it who shows the difference between nature and nurture), that it’s just a neutral dimension, simply controlled by an evil man (but it hasn’t been like this always). Ok, now that that’s clear, what about Mirkwood (lotr)?

“The area had been called Greenwood the Great until around the year TA 1050, when the shadow of the Dark Lord Sauron fell upon it, and Men began to call it Mirkwood, or Taur-nu-Fuin and Taur-e. Ndaedelos in the Sindarin tongue. From then on, The southern part of Mirkwood became a haunted place inhabited by many dark and savage things. Sauron, or the 'Necromancer' as he disguised himself. established himself at the hill-fortress of Dol Guldur, an old Elven fortress in the forest's southern region, and drove Thranduil and his people ever northward.”

Oh okay, so the upside down is Mirkwood fr. Alright. There’s also the fact that Mirkwood is the home of the children of Ungoliant (aka, huge spiders that tried to eat thorin’s company) and we know everything going on with spiders and Vecna and the mind flayer etc.

Also this s5 theory, probably my favorite theory ever.

Suspicious Minds, (Terry and Andrew)

Suspicious Minds is a half-canon book (some say it’s canon, others that it isn’t), focusing on Terry (Jane’s mom) and her time at the lab. Andrew Rich is her boyfriend at the time, and father of Jane.

I really need to reread Suspicious Minds if I’m gonna talk about it cause I read it back in 2019 during summer holidays and barely remember anything. However you know what I found out? The many lotr references in the book. It was like a wonderful lake appeared in front of my while I was at the desert. Couldn’t believe my eyes. Oh duffers why me.

Andrew was a big lotr fan and, like any nerd, forced Terry into reading the books. Let’s get to it. Some of the lotr references in the book:

“Andrew had fallen in love with The Lord of the Rings on the van ride to New York and back, and then presented her with his battered copy of the first book when he returned. The cover featured a wizard in flowing yellow robes with a long white beard on a mountaintop”. A wizard with yellow robes. William Byers what are you doing here??

-

"It would've been a lot easier for the hobbits to stay in the Shire," she told him when he opened the door. "But they don't, do they? Frodo ends up with the ring and they leave with it."

"I knew you'd like it," he said, beaming at her and dropping a kiss on her cheek. "Let me know when you're ready for the next one. Where are you?"

"Still early. The hobbits may be the ones without magic, but I can feel how it's going.”

"You can skip the Tom Bombadil/Goldberry section if you want. It's a little much.”

"Now there's no way I'm skipping it." She paused. "But did you just admit this book isn't perfect in every way?"

And what’s funnier and insane is that they are Sam and Frodo shippers. They constantly compare themselves to Sam and Frodo. They are dating. They are a heterosexual couple who saw 2 gay hobbits and went: “they’re just like us fr”. Honestly, stan.

“Terry had bare feet with brown fur glued on, and wore rolled-up trousers and an old shirt. Her hair was arranged in tight curls, pulled aside to reveal pointy wax ears.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Alice asked, puzzled.

Andrew slid up to Terry's side, good looks muted only slightly by his own ridiculous curls and similar costume. He had fur glued to the top of his hand.

"She's Frodo, and I'm Samwise Gamgee. From my favorite books. I let Terry pick, and she made me the sidekick. But I don't mind being her sidekick.”

Terry shrugged. "I like Sam."

"And I like Frodo. Let me get you a drink."

-

"Don't do that," Andrew said, sitting up against the headboard. "Sometimes even Frodo and Sam have to have tough conversations.”

-

“I want you to live your life while I'm gone—think of me sometimes. I'll be dreaming of you and settling down in the Shire. No Grey Havens for us.”

UGHHH

Specially the last paragraph. It’s from a postcard Andrew sent Terry.

I cannot tell you ANYTHING about their relationship, again, desperately need to reread.

However Sam and Frodo are depicted as a romantic relationship. They are compared to a canon romantic relationship. Literally. Not by parallels like lumax, no, genuinely, literally, explicitly compared.

While there are characters who are compared to Sam and Frodo during some moments (Dustin and mike over dart, Nancy seeing the future vision of mike) and who’s relationship is definitely not romantic, it’s interesting to see how two canon couples have been compared to them. And then we have byler, who while not canon yet parallel both their relationship and the characters separately more than any other characters do…

That last paragraph? The postcard? When I read it I didn’t understand if he was saying “I’ll be dreaming of you while I settle down in the shire” or “I’ll be dreaming of you and of settling down in the shire (with you)” so I went to my copy, which is the spanish translation, and it’s the second one. Sam and Frodo settling down in the shire together… no mention of Rosie… No grey havens for us… All that combined with the duffers love for trope subversion and making things not be how they seem and so on, they are basically saying that Sam and Frodo have a happy ending together in the shire in stranger things (which basically tells us lumax endgame and byler endgame).

+ (some extra stuff)

“The transformation of the Shire from rural idyll to industrial wasteland heavily parallels Tolkien's own views of the destruction of the English countryside by the steady creep of industrialisation” + Smaug (the dragon they are set to kill in the hobbit) has lots and lots of money for the sake of having money. Doesn’t spend it, just hoards it because he’s greedy + Thorin dealing with gold-sickness, aka, wanting hoard as all the gold he took from Smaug, and not spend it or share it (just like Smaug did, so he sets to destroy Smaug just to turn just like him) (Smth smth, the mind flayer as capitalism)

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Quoting Eddie, the shire is burning. The upside down arrived at Hawkins. At first, the upside down and the supernatural was located in the lab and in the upside down. It didn’t touch Hawkins. Except now it did, and things get dirty, the scourning of the shire, the shire is burning. So Mordor it is. Also, birthdaygate. March 22, Will’s birthday. Yknow what else is March 22? The day Sam and Frodo left the road and headed towards mount doom.

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By the way, look at the gates.

Don’t they remind you of spiderwebs? Cause they sure look like spiderwebs to me. (The gates vs Shelob’s lair). Smth smth shelob smth mind flayer smth prey smth vecna smth. Oh, also Will being taken to the ud (supposedly going through a gate) forcefully, just like Frodo got captured by Shelob in one of her webs.

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Frodo’s birthday (and Bilbo’s) is also the 22th. 22th of September, not March, but the 22th. Also there’s 7 months between March and September (March - April - May - June - July - August - September) and (September- October- November - December- January - February- March). It was a seven.

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Soteria is paralleled to the one ring, which is strange because soteria inhibits powers, while the ring gives you powers (hobbits turns invisible, extended lifespan, etc). Henry also said that soteria tracks your movements, and if he was right about that, it’s a similarity with the one ring, which when put on, allowed sauron to know someone had it.

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The one ring was a physical object, you could put it on, touch it, destroy it. The mind flayer is not a physical object, and Vecna is a person (?). Not so easy to destroy. You could destroy the one ring by throwing it into the fire of Mordor, and you could take the mind flayer out of Will with heat (he likes it cold). So, can you kill the mind flayer by burning it? Following this thought pattern, yes.

At the end of s4 Nancy and robin burned Vecna and it probably hurt but he’s not dead. So either it doesn’t work or they need a much bigger fire. Well, not all fire worked with the one ring, it had to be the fire of Mordor. Now the question is, what is Mordor in stranger things? Because the upside down is Mirkwood. Maybe vecna’s weird red dimension (like where max was during the running up that hill sequence). It’s different to the ud, since it’s mental. The upside down is somewhere you can physically enter and leave, vecna’s red dimension is harder to access (since it’s mental). Maybe Vecna/the mind flayer whatever can only be burned there. Or maybe the upside down is both Mirkwood and Mordor.

Idk it’s all so confusing. All I know is that a certain someone who has already cast fireball twice on dnd might be “the cure”…

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If you made it here you deserve an applause cause DAMN this got long.

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Conclusion:

The duffers are sam/frodo shippers. They’re also insane and I desperately need to hear them infodump

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things (2x07): “The Lost Sister” Review

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other reviews:

Stranger Things Episode Reviews:

Season 1:

The Vanishing of Will Byers

The Weirdo on Maple Street

Holly Jolly

The Body

The Flea and the Acrobat

The Monster

The Bathtub

The Upside Down

Season 2:

MADMAX

Trick or Treat, Freak

The Pollywog

Will the Wise

Dig Dug

The Spy

Stranger Things Play:

Stranger Things The First Shadow

I’ve always felt bad for "The Lost Sister." I remember seeing this for the first time in 2017, being intrigued enough by Kali’s character to want to see her return, and even liking the complicated dynamic she had with El. I was sad when I got into the fandom and saw the hatred directed at Kali and this episode. I'm also disappointed that Kali hasn’t made an appearance since season 2. While I understand some of the issues people have with “The Lost Sister,” I always shake my head in disbelief whenever I see claims about how this is the worst episode of Stranger Things.

No, it isn’t. Not by a long shot.

Compared to future episodes like “Suzie, Do you Copy?” (which featured cringe-inducing humor and managed to degrade several of its characters), or “Vecna’s Curse” (which was DEEPLY mean-spirited and featured a MAJOR continuity error with Will’s birthday that fans are still sore about), “The Lost Sister” looks like a masterpiece. Both those episodes were bad enough that I was seriously questioning if I was going to enjoy the rest of seasons 3 and 4. Thankfully, I did, but they were rough to get through, and NOT ones I look forward to whenever I rewatch.

By contrast, “The Lost Sister,” while not perfect, had fun moments and intriguing ideas that kept me invested. It’s also an episode I would argue that has slowly improved with time. While it comes off as a side quest on the surface (especially when looking at season 2’s overall arc with the Mind Flayer) it’s one that not only is important to El’s growth this season (and may even be important to Kali’s character development depending on how you look at it), but also factors into the overall mythology the show has established. There are several themes, plot elements, and revelations from this episode that come into play during season 4 when the show finally starts giving answers about Hawkins Lab. We even get subtle foreshadowing for the direction El’s arc would take in later seasons as she’s forced into a reckoning with her past and her place in the world.

Something I’ve tried to emphasize with these reviews isn’t just how certain aspects that may appear trivial on first viewing become more important down the road, but also how initial reactions really aren’t the best source for how something should be judged. I don’t want to be the person throwing stones at glass houses because I know I’ve been guilty of that in the past as well. Take for instance my initial reaction towards Steve in season 1: I hated his character (to the point I let it color my perception of him at the time) and only grudgingly accepted his turn for the better towards the end. It wasn’t until season 2 and the direction subsequent seasons went with Steve that I finally reevaluated his character and realized there were subtle but important details I’d missed about him on first viewing that hinted at the idea he wasn’t as bad of a guy as I initially perceived. It makes his arc in season 1 all the more rewarding.

Similarly, I look at the reception Kali got in 2017 (where fans were vocal about their hatred or indifference towards her) to how she’s seen now (where there's been a growing chorus of fans hoping she’ll come back, and don’t want her character to go to waste). I am glad to see this change, even if it’s coming after so many years. Even back then, I felt like her character and arc deserved a chance. I don’t know what direction season 5 will go, but I sincerely hope she returns and her arc gets the closure it deserves.

This review is going to be a little different in that I’ll discuss my thoughts about Kali and her gang, what worked for me about this episode vs what didn’t, how Kali and El’s arcs here factor into later seasons, fan reaction and which criticisms were valid vs which ones were heavily biased, speculation/theories about Kali, and whether Kali comes back or not or what role she could play in the future of the show.

This review will be split into 7 parts, and will contain SPOILERS from The First Shadow, so be warned!

Part 1: Kali Prasad

I remember at one point Kali being described as the “Evil Counterpart” to El. That never sat well with me for multiple reasons. For one thing, “Evil” is a strong word to use, because the connotations are that it’s something with no redeeming qualities or standards. Profoundly immoral, wicked, morally bankrupt, and having a full understanding of right vs wrong and still choosing to be vicious anyways (either because you lie to yourself about your behavior, or you just don’t care). Kali has her flaws (and by that, I mean human flaws that are developed with experience and circumstances) and has made morally questionable choices, but calling her “Evil” with a capital E comes with a whole can of worms. Not only does it demonize her while glossing over her backstory and the circumstances that have led her to this point, but it also deliberately ignores the nuances associated with her character, the shades of grey within her choices and actions, and her redeeming qualities.

If anything, given the way season 4 went, I think it’s fair to say that the “Evil Counterpart” to El is Henry/One/Vecna. He is the other side of the coin to El with a similar backstory as an outcast who’s fully descended into evil. Whatever redeeming qualities he once had in The First Shadow are long gone, and he has embraced the darkness and chaos. El has empathy for people (even those who’ve wronged her like Angela and Vecna) whereas Vecna has none. He wants to see the world burn, whereas El wants to preserve it (despite the way the world’s treated her).

With that in mind, I would say that, between El and Vecna, Kali falls in the middle. If we were to judge these characters by an Alignment chart from D&D, I would argue that El can be categorized as Chaotic Good (i.e. a character who acts as their consciousness directs them, believes in goodness, is kind and benevolent, and follows their own moral compass while disregarding societal rules and norms), Vecna is Chaotic Evil (i.e. someone who operates under selfish and cruel desires, is nihilistic, is inherently violent and deceitful, and will spread misery and corruption for their own ends), and Kali falls somewhere around Chaotic Neutral (i.e. a character who prioritizes their freedom, seeks to be free from society’s restrictions and laws, can be impulsive and unpredictable, and are individualistic).

From a writing perspective, Kali is an Anti-Hero. Since this word gets thrown around a lot (and even applied to characters who don’t fall under that label), we should define it for the sake of this review: An anti-hero is a character who lacks some of the conventional heroic qualities associated with a hero (idealism, integrity, nobleness, etc). These are usually characters who don’t do things that align with the audience’s sense of morality, but nevertheless engage in actions that they consider to be justified and operate under their own code in some cases. Anti-Heroes are deeply flawed people who are more concerned about putting their own personal interests first and foremost (which is oftentimes rooted in cynicism). Depending on the circumstances, they can make a change for better or worse.

Han Solo from Star Wars is a well-known example. Initially, he starts out as a smuggler under Jabba the Hutt who’s looking to make a profit (primarily to pay off his boss) and whose personality contrasts with the idealistic hero Luke Skywalker. Han is only there to look after himself and Chewbacca and at first doesn’t give a damn the war against the Empire. He’s belittling and rude to people, he has no qualms about killing others to survive (as we see when he shoots Greedo), and his motivation for doing anything for others is “What do I get out of this?” The only reason he takes Luke and Obi-Wan to Alderaan is because they pay him, and even when he finds out about Leia being held prisoner on the Death Star, he refuses to do anything to save her until Luke points out Han would get a huge reward for doing so. Han eventually grows past this kind of self-centeredness, with his first truly heroic act coming at the end of the movie when he saves Luke from Vader and his men, and enables Luke to blow up the Death Star. The later movies also continue this growth where Han comes to care for Leia, and begins fighting for the Rebels against the Empire because it’s the right thing to do as opposed to his earlier motivations.

Anti-Heroes are tricky to write because there’s a balance that needs to be established between getting the audience to feel sympathy for them while defining their personality and having the character engage in actions that are morally ambiguous. An anti-hero who’s badly written can be grating and make that character more of an annoyance rather than interesting. Dash X from Eerie, Indiana is an example of this. He was introduced in the last 6 episodes of the show before it got canceled, and was set up as a mysterious kid who didn’t know about his past and wanted to find out who he was and where he came from. While this could have made the character sympathetic, the show unfortunately undermined it with his asshole (and outright villainous) behavior towards Marshall and Simon. He constantly got Marshall into several life-threatening situations (sometimes on purpose) that nearly killed Marshall, he was constantly out for himself at the expense of other people (like refusing to help a man who’d been beaten, or even working with the villain-of-the-week to make a profit in the second-to-last episode), and was so unpleasant that you began to question why other characters put up with him. The show tried to frame Dash X as a frenemy to Marshall, but this never rang true, with him acting more like an antagonist (and even embracing the role of villain in the series finale). Doesn't help that his motivations were all over the place. While I still like Eerie, Indiana, and wished it had been renewed for a second season, the episodes that featured Dash X were some of my least favorite, and took a major dip in quality. He was NOT a well-written anti-hero.

I’ve seen some fans label Billy as an anti-hero, but that isn’t the case with his character. Billy at best is an antagonist (i.e. a character in opposition to the protagonist who creates conflict in the story) and at worst is a straight-up villain (even BEFORE he got possessed by the Mind Flayer). Same can be said for Jason in season 4: While his actions on the surface may look like that of a traditional anti-hero, they take a turn into villainhood when he whips up a lynch mob to go after the main characters and refuses to hear anything Lucas tries to tell him later about Vecna and what’s really going on. It doesn’t help that the way Jason’s behavior is framed heavily implies that a huge chunk of his motivation outside of avenging Chrissy is about getting validation for his preconceived biases about Eddie and the Hellfire Club being a Satanic Cult, all while disregarding any information that contradicts that. That’s also including the less-than-appealing qualities that were established in his character (self-absorption, hotheadedness, etc) BEFORE Chrissy was ever murdered.

Kali, by contrast, is a traditional anti-hero. She is neither an antagonist nor a villain to El or any of the main characters from the show. Her motivations are centered around hunting down the scientists, orderlies, and employees from Hawkins Lab who were responsible for kidnapping kids like her and El, abusing them, and turning them into weapons for the Government. Her anger is understandable in that she had her entire life taken away, was constantly dehumanized at Hawkins Lab, later escaped into the world, and saw how others (like the members of her gang) were discarded by society. The result is she’s weaponized that anger stemming from years of trauma, attempted to help people like Dottie, Axel, Funshine, and Mick in her own way, and has directed her purpose in life to ensuring those in power who were responsible for destroying so many lives are held accountable and can never do something like that again.

Kali’s actions aren’t heroic, but they’re not meant to be seen as heroic. She’s not above killing people, but her revenge is directed at specific targets as opposed to the wanton destruction and genocide Vecna engages in. She also has her own code that she will follow. For instance, she doesn't try to kill the cops that are chasing her (the most she does is create illusions to deceive them) or the gas station attendant who pulls a gun on her (whom she tries to reason with instead). While you could argue this may be rooted in pragmatism (dead bodies get attention), the fact she spends effort trying to get the gas station attendant to look the other way instead of having one of her gang members shoot the guy through the head indicates she doesn’t take pleasure in killing innocent people. This is also demonstrated when El first shows up: Kali’s reaction isn’t to immediately attack her, but to listen to El and find out why she’s there. Kali's not above stealing either, but it’s more limited to taking what she and her gang need to survive since they’re constantly on the run. Even when it comes to Ray Carroll’s kids, while Kali didn’t have any qualms about killing Ray on the spot, neither she nor her gang made any attempt to physically hurt or kill the girls, and were horrified to find them there when they initially believed Ray was home alone. Murdering children is a line they’re not willing to cross (which is a HUGE difference from Vecna).

Even Kali’s personality is not only complex, but also grounded in a believable way. She is ruthless and will have no mercy for anyone who has wronged her or people she cares about, but she is capable of empathizing and looking out for others (as we see with both her gang and with El). She has a hardened exterior brought out by trauma and past experiences, and she can be callous with other people’s feelings, but it’s not rooted in the kind of sadistic cruelty that defines characters like Billy and Angela. She’s not looking to make other people miserable for her own entertainment, and she’s not a bigot. She isn’t racist like Billy, or ableist like Angela, and is capable of both sympathizing and empathizing with outcasts based on her own experiences. Even when she’s encouraging El to draw out Ray’s death, it’s more about wanting Ray to fully understand the depths of the suffering he’s inflicted on others.

I’ve seen accusations that Kali only wanted to use El for her own ends, but that comes off as a distorted oversimplification which ignores a lot of nuances in El and Kali’s relationship. The truth is she does and she doesn’t. On the one hand, she values El’s ability to see into the Void to locate people (which Kali seems unable to do) and there’s no question she views that as an asset. However, to imply that’s the ONLY reason Kali wanted El in her group is disingenuous. Kali grew up with El at the Lab, and while El may not remember her (due to repressed memories), Kali clearly remembers El, and may have been the only friend she had at that time. It’s all but stated by Kali that a major reason she broke out of Hawkins Lab was because they separated her from El and she was devastated by it:

This becomes a lot harsher in hindsight when you recall season 4 and how Brenner trained the special kids. He fostered an entire culture at the Lab that was about pitting them against one another for “Papa’s approval” while also enabling the bullying of kids like El who weren’t living up to their potential. There’s an insidious implication in Kali’s story that a big reason El was eventually separated from Kali (or at least stopped appearing in the Rainbow Room) is because he didn’t want either Kali or El to develop too close of a relationship with the other. His control was contingent on keeping the special kids familiar enough with one another to know what was expected from them, but also subtly isolating them and making sure they were at odds with each other so that they would never rise up against him and he would be the ONLY constant in their lives (with his approval being the end-goal for these kids). Even with Two and his gang, that was rooted in the unspoken understanding that Two was the alpha male at the Lab (either because of his number, his reputation, or the extent of his abilities). Aside from El (who got viciously punished when Two thought she overstepped her place), if any of the other kids who followed his lead had tried to push him out of that spot, there would have been hell to pay.

This is a big reason I look favorably at Kali given what's revealed in season 4: Aside from how there’s never been any indication she bullied El at the Lab, Kali at least had an established personality compared to Two and the other special kids. All of them (except for El) had been brainwashed by Brenner by the time the Massacre at Hawkins Lab occurred. Their personalities had been obliterated from Brenner’s conditioning, and the only thing that mattered was Brenner’s approval and staying on top of the social pyramid at the Lab. Kali, for all of her flaws, is at least an independent thinker, is able to see through other people’s manipulations, and didn’t buy into Brenner’s bullshit the way the other kids did.

Adding on to this is Kali’s backstory and when/how she was taken:

I remember there was speculation about the extent of the influence Brenner had, given they were able to kidnap Kali from London, or even the idea there were other illegal programs similar to Hawkins Lab in other countries, like the United Kingdom. Given the revelations in season 4 and The First Shadow about how Vecna’s blood was a key ingredient for creating these special kids, I think the latter theory about similar labs worldwide is debunked at this point. The simplest explanation is that either one or both of Kali’s parents were participants in the MKUltra project, specifically the experiments at Hawkins Lab. Most likely, they were transfer students who went back to London once they finished their studies, and Brenner kept tabs on them via government resources.

It should be noted that the actress who plays a young Kali in flashbacks (Vanathi Kalai Parthiban) was 9 years old when season 2 was filmed. Given the twin actresses who played a younger El in Terry’s memories (Charlotte and Clara Ward) were around 3 years old at the time, this indicates there’s a 6 year age difference between El and Kali (which would make Kali 19 years old at this point in the story).

In any case, what’s clear is that Kali wasn’t kidnapped as an infant the same way El was, but instead much later as a kid (though the newspaper doesn’t list what age Kali was when she disappeared). Whether it’s because Brenner had a harder time kidnapping her due to Kali being in a different country or because of other reasons is unknown. What is important here is that she had exposure to the outside world prior to Brenner whisking her away to Hawkins Lab. She was already beginning to form a personality before Brenner could brainwash her. The newspaper even notes Kali was “stubborn from the day she was born,” and that stubbornness likely factored into how Brenner treated her at the Lab. I find it telling that Kali doesn’t talk about any of the other special kids in her conversations with El in this episode. The implication seems to be she was kept separate from them, with El being the only one she was allowed to briefly interact with before El was eventually separated from her. It makes me wonder if Brenner was worried that Kali would corrupt or influence the other kids to turn on him, and that’s why he didn’t have Kali train with them like El did. Of course, it's also possible Kali escaped BEFORE she got to meet any other special kids besides El.

Anyways, the point I want to emphasize here is that, despite the complicated dynamic they have, Kali cares deeply for El. Aside from being the only friend she had in her childhood before being forced to go on the run, El is the only other person she can truly relate to due to their powers. She still has her companionship with Dottie, Axel, Funshine, and Mick, but they don’t have the same understanding of what it’s like to have her abilities the way El does, and it’s something that’s made Kali feel alone in the world. Even with the adoptive family she briefly hid with and eventually lost, there are two ways I can interpret that: Either they couldn't handle her powers and she was forced to leave, or the Government tracked her down to where they were and killed them. When she tells El with tears in her eyes that she feels “whole” now that El’s here, she means it. I would even argue El feels the same way.

From how I see it, Kali isn’t being insincere when she tells her gang that bringing along El for their mission is what El needs in order to heal. From her perspective, she believes that. She knows El was hurt by Brenner and Hawkins Lab the same way she was, and she’s giving her another option besides running away: Fighting back. Making the “bad men” afraid of being hunted and reversing the dynamic. Kali’s been angry for most of her life, and the only way she knows how to deal with that anger is to channel it towards a goal. I'm reminded of what Storm told Nightcrawler from X2: X-Men United: “Sometimes, anger can help you survive.” Kali’s lesson towards El is similar: Channel the anger into something productive as opposed to letting it eat you from the inside.

On top of that, there’s also what happened to Terry, and Kali’s reasons for wanting to target Ray Carroll: Aside from the abuse Ray put Kali through at the Lab and how he was responsible for frying Terry’s brain, it's implied that Kali pushing for El to kill Ray isn’t just about getting El to avenge her mother, but also the guilt Kali feels for what happened to Terry. There’s probably a part of Kali that wonders if she could have stepped in to prevent that had she acted at the time. Granted, she was a child who didn’t have a full understanding of what was going on when Terry showed up for El, but I bet that feeling of “I could have done something to stop this” weighs heavily on her. From her perspective, she’s trying to correct a wrong that never should have happened.

This is a big reason I find Kali interesting as a character: Her motivations and personality are complex and multi-layered. She doesn’t just see El as a tool. She genuinely wants a sisterly relationship with El. The problem though is she is so damaged from what has happened to her that it’s manifested itself in unhealthy and maladaptive ways. She honestly thinks this revenge tour she’s on is one of the only ways she can bond with El, and she fails to realize until too late that El doesn’t want to make revenge her entire personality. El also doesn’t have the blind-spots Kali has: Ray Carroll may be a despicable and cowardly human being but, at the end of the day, he’s still a parent, and El can’t deprive those little girls of a parent the same way Brenner deprived her of her mother. If that means sparing his life regardless of whether he deserves to live, so be it. Kali isn’t incapable of empathizing with people, but her empathy is very selective and she’s not willing to give that to people who have wronged her (regardless of what their circumstances are), which is why she has a hard time understanding why El made the choice she did. However, Kali still recognizes that as El’s choice, with her issue stemming from El interfering with her choices. Kali’s spent her entire life trapped and controlled by others, which is why she values freedom and the ability to choose more than anything. She isn’t a hypocrite in that regard. I’ve seen people make side-by-side comparison of when Kali tells El that this isn’t a prison and she’s free to leave if she wants to vs when Brenner told her the same thing in season 4 at the Nina Project, but these are two very different situations: Brenner had zero intention of honoring his word and attempted to keep El imprisoned at the silo when push came to shove. Kali doesn’t do that. She’s heartbroken when El chooses to leave her, but she isn’t petty about it like Vecna was when El rejected him, and Kali honored El's choice to return to Hawkins even if she was hurt by it.

All of this makes the ending heartbreaking: There’s a sense of tragedy in El and Kali being reunited after so many years only to be separated again, as well as Kali’s realization that her behavior may have contributed to alienating El and influencing her decision to leave. In Beyond Stranger Things, Linnea Berthelsen noted that Kali has a hard time being able to connect with people, and that the end scene with Kali crying in the van as they’re escaping the cops implies that she realizes she needs to make a change and can’t continue on like this. This makes me invested in her character because not only does it show that she isn’t a flat character (like Angela), but is capable of growth if she chooses to pursue that. It also conveys that her attempts to bond with El were genuine.

Before we move on, I want to briefly discuss Kali’s name in relation to her character: Kali derives her name from the Goddesses Kali in Hinduism. Like the character from the show, Kali is a contradiction of many traits. While she is known as the Goddess of Death, Time, and Destruction, she has also been associated with the embodiment of Feminine Energy, Creativity, Fertility, and even Motherly Love. She is also a warrior and fighter who’s capable of consuming other beings, and famously took down the demon Raktabijia and the clones produced from his blood by consuming them. One of her defining characteristics is her unstoppable rage and bloodlust, which was considered to be so great that it nearly destroyed the universe. It wasn’t until her husband, Shiva, intervened by allowing Kali to step on him that Kali finally snapped out of her rage and realized she’d hurt someone she cared about. Kali on the show has many parallels to the mythological goddess (which was likely intentional given her name and ethnicity as Indian) in that her rage against the Government for the way she was treated has led to her quest to kill anyone who worked at Hawkins Lab or under Brenner. However, rage isn’t the only aspect of her character, and we see her ability to create with her illusions (the butterfly she makes for El) and even adopts the position of protector to the members of her gang and El, much like how Kali from Hinduism is seen as a “protector” from death itself. Even the myth of Kali stepping on Shiva and recognizing how her rage has hurt someone she cared about can be seen in what happens at the end of the episode when Kali from the show finally realizes she may have driven El away with her behavior and is remorseful about it. Just like how Kali from Hindu mythology is a complex being, and has even been perceived as misunderstood, I would argue Kali from the show shares similar traits in that regard.

Part 2: How this Episode factors into Season 4

Like I said earlier, a big reason why this episode looks better in hindsight is because not only are there key mytharc elements that come into play during season 4, but it also foreshadows the direction El’s story would go.

Take Brenner for instance: While there were hints he may have survived his attack from the Demogorgon in season 1 (we never saw his body, and Dr. Owens referred to him as “gone” as opposed to “dead”), this episode reveals via Ray that he’s still alive. Or at least that’s what he claims to El and Kali. Initially, this episode frames that confession as being done under torture and saying whatever he had to say for El and Kali to spare his life in that moment. As of season 4 however, we know he was telling the truth.

I’m assuming that, somewhere between 1983-1984, Brenner reached out to Ray Carroll to bring him out of retirement and have him work on the Nina Project or something Government-related, which is how Ray knew Brenner was alive and where he was located. Ray also claims Brenner trusts him, which infers they still had a good relationship. We don’t get a lot of information about Ray, and his reasons for why he wasn’t working with Brenner again are ambiguous. Whether it was out of remorse for his past crimes, or if he just preferred retirement, or if he was planning to accept Brenner’s offer but hadn’t left before Kali and El showed up, we don’t know. What is clear, however, is that Brenner was still operating behind-the-scenes. He could have also been trying to restart the Hawkins Lab experiment and create more special kids, but considering he didn’t do that after Vecna slaughtered everyone in 1979, and we don’t get any indication in season 4 he’s been engaging in that kind of work (with his attention being focused exclusively on El getting back her powers), I seriously doubt that.

The show doesn’t explore this, but I’d have to imagine Brenner must have been aware Kali was still out there, and at least heard reports about employees under his previous command being killed. There’s no way he couldn’t have known, or suspected that Kali was behind it. I suggested this theory in my review of the non-canon comic Into the Fire, but it's possible one reason Brenner and Owens may have conducted the Nina Project from a silo in the middle of the Nevada Deseret wasn’t just about hiding it from Lt. Colonel Sullivan and other factions of the Government who were against them, but also as a precaution against Kali and her gang to make sure they couldn’t find them.

Then there’s the explanation for why El never investigated the Void to see if Brenner was truly dead: She didn’t want to. Kali’s illusion of Brenner may have been cruel, but she’s making a valid point when she notes that El is afraid of facing the reality of “Papa” being alive. I don’t blame El since Brenner traumatized her in more ways than one, but it also conveys that she truly hasn’t confronted her pain (as Kali claims). It’s been implied in the past 2 seasons that El is repressing a lot of her memories due to trauma (Kali straight up asks in this episode if the memory Terry shared of Kali is the only memory El has of her), and season 4 confirms that. Not just with Brenner, but her time at the Lab being bullied, her role in the Massacre of Hawkins Lab, and Henry/One/Vecna himself. “The Lost Sister” acted in many ways as foreshadowing for the solo journey El would undertake in season 4 when she was brought to the Nina Project and forced to confront her past. While it's a painful process for her, she does begin to heal not just by gaining back her abilities, but also by confronting Brenner and calling him out for his numerous crimes. She also manages to build a better sense of self-esteem for who she truly is in the process.

Following the airing of season 4, Matthew Modine (who plays Brenner) admitted in an interview that Brenner was supposed to have a bigger role in season 2, which suggests that they were going to reveal much earlier that Brenner survived, as opposed to here where it’s only strongly hinted at. While I’m glad Brenner was brought back for season 4 to start providing answers to the mythology of the show, I prefer how they gently threaded his return instead of just bring him back instantaneously. I also maintain his role in season 2 via flashbacks and illusions works better. Even though he isn’t physically present, he’s still the metaphorical shadow haunting El and Kali, and serves as a reminder that just because someone is gone doesn’t mean their legacy is.

Then there’s both Kali and El’s powers. I find it interesting that, while Kali has the power of creating illusions, she can’t exert psychokinetic force against another person. When El refuses to kill Ray Carroll, Kali immediately opts to shoot him with a gun, which only reinforces absence of that specific power. She also apparently doesn’t have the ability to remote-view and locate people in the Void like El does. Whether or not this is because Kali lacks that ability in general or because she wasn’t trained to do that prior to escaping Hawkins Lab is unknown. Likewise, El doesn’t seem able to create illusions in people’s heads like Kali can, and even her ability to remote-view in the Void is kinda glitchy, like she hasn’t fully mastered it yet. She isn’t able to locate Kali at first while at Terry’s house, but then sleeps and is able to in her dreams. She’s also able to find Ray Carroll, but doesn’t notice his kids in the house. Then there’s her seeing Mike and Hopper at Hawkins Lab and the vision dissolving before she can truly comprehend what’s going on. While I’ve suggested the idea that external factors could be responsible for a vision in the Void dissolving (like Vecna or the Mind Flayer), it’s also possible it could be from El’s lack of mastery over remote-viewing at this point in the story.

Personally, while this episode initially implies that the special kids have separate abilities that make them unique, season 4 debunks that with Henry/One/Vecna. We know he has all the abilities the special kids have exhibited: He can create illusions like Kali (which we see in The First Shadow), he’s capable of psychokinesis, he can remote-view, and he even has the ability to “consume” a person or animal when he kills them. Since both El and Kali have their powers because of his blood, it’s likely they have untapped powers and potential that they haven’t been trained to use yet. I believe Kali is just as capable of remote-viewing or using psychokinetic force as El is of creating illusions within people’s minds. It’s more of a question of finding those abilities within themselves and mastering that skill.

In any case, there’s Kali and El’s scene in the warehouse yard. Am I the only one who noticed that Kali’s advice is eerily similar to the advice Henry/One/Vecna gave to El all those years ago?

This makes me question if Vecna worked with Kali on developing her powers prior to her escape. To be fair, Vecna does name-drop her in “The Dive” (Season 4, Episode 6) when he tells El about her mother (“This would have been when Eight was still here”), which suggests that he knew Kali.

This leads me to a suspicion I’ve had for a while ever since I saw season 4:

Did Vecna enable Kali to escape Hawkins Lab?

Kali tells El in this episode that she escaped when her gifts were strong enough. If Vecna was working with Kali to develop her abilities the same way he did with El in 1979, that implies Vecna may have orchestrated Kali’s escape from the Lab. He could have done it for any number of reasons, from wanting to spite Brenner, to potentially having an ally he could contact in the outside world once he escaped the Lab. It also could explain how he knew exactly where the tunnel was that he later leads El to when he was planning her escape: For all we know, that same tunnel could have been used to smuggle Kali out. As for why Vecna didn’t go with Kali, he still had the soteria device implanted in his neck, and Kali may not have been able to pull it out via psychokinetic force like El could because she hadn’t developed that ability yet.

As for why Kali never mentioned Henry/One/Vecna when she was telling El about her escape:

She may not have considered that relevant to the conversation at the time. OR............

She may not have known it was Vecna enabling her to escape because he was working behind-the-scenes as opposed to working with Kali directly like he did with El.

Either way, it’s an intriguing theory because it makes me question what role (if any) Kali still has left to play on the show.

Part 3: Kali’s Gang and Inspirations/References

In order to understand the thought process that went into crafting Kali’s gang, it’s important to know what inspired their creation.

Two influences that were cited for the costume design and outlook of the gang were the outfits rock signer Siouxsie Sioux (who was the leader of the band Siouxsie and the Banshees) wore, and the movie Sid and Nancy, which was a biopic film focusing on Sid Vicious (bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols) and the toxic relationship he had with Nancy Spungen during the last few years of their lives. There are echoes of this seen, particularly with Axel’s character (who has a similar design to Sid Vicious from the movie, with the addition of having spiked orange hair) and Dottie (whose hairstyle and mannerisms remind me of Nancy Spungen, with a little bit of Pris from Blade Runner added to the mix). In any case, the idea is this group is going Punk with their clothes, hairstyles, and general outlook. While the idea of Punk is about individuality and rejecting mainstream conformity, in the case of Kali and her gang, they are deliberately trying to make themselves look dangerous and off-putting so that people will know to stay away from them.

Additionally, while this movie isn’t mentioned as a reference, am I the only one who saw similarities between the masks Kali and her gang wear when they go to kill Ray Carroll vs the ones the marauders wear in The Purge series?

Perhaps that’s simply a coincidence, but I couldn’t help but notice the parallels between both stories of masked individuals attacking people at night. Difference is The Purge deals with a 12 hour period in America where all crime (including murder) is permitted, with civilians treating the night as carte blanche to get away with whatever heinous and lawless crimes they can before the evening is over, whereas Kali’s raids are targeted at specific individuals and more morally ambiguous compared to the unhinged and unrestrained cruelty exhibited during The Purge.

Then there are the two movies that inspired the dynamic with Kali's gang: The Warriors and Escape from New York.

I talked about Escape from New York in my Darkness on the Edge of Town review when I made comparisons between the movie and Hopper’s story in that tie-in book. To give a brief summary: The movie takes place in an alternate reality where Manhattan has been turned into a maximum security prison after crime increases by 400%. The island is walled off and guarded to prevent prisoners from escaping, but the criminals within are otherwise left to their own devices. When Air Force One is hijacked by terrorists and crashes, the President of the United States leaves via an escape pod that lands within Manhattan, resulting in him getting captured and held hostage by the Duke of New York (one of the top criminals in the prison) in exchange for amnesty and allowing the prisoners within to walk free. To counter this, the Government recruits a former criminal named Snake Plissken to infiltrate the island and rescue the President within 24 hours. In exchange, he’ll receive a full pardon for his crimes. The movie deals with Snake carrying out his mission while trying to avoid being killed.

Likewise, The Warriors is a 1979 film centered around a group of nine gang member from Coney Island called The Warriors who (as part of a delegation) travel to the Bronx for an arranged summit with other gangs from New York City under a leader named Cyrus. At the meeting, Cyrus proposes a unification of all the gangs to take back the streets and run the city themselves. Before this plan can come to fruition though, Cyrus is assassinated by an unhinged gang member named Luther. Due to one of The Warriors seeing Luther shoot Cyrus, Luther uses the chaos to frame The Warriors for Cyrus’s death, resulting in the other gangs turning on them. The rest of the movie deals with The Warriors attempting get back to Coney Island while evading the cops and other gangs that have put out a hit on them.

One thing that should be highlighted when it comes to these two movies is that they lean heavily on being a thrilling experience as opposed to a character study. I can’t speak for the book The Warriors was based on as I haven’t read it, but that movie isn’t as interested in examining its characters and their backstories as it is in putting them in life-threatening situations, with the suspense centered around how they’re going to get out of their predicament. Same goes for Escape from New York: We’re given some exposition about Snake’s backstory as a former war hero turned criminal to explain why the Government would consider hiring him to rescue the President, but the movie isn’t interested in the development of the characters as opposed to the visuals and action scenes. There are some parallels that can be drawn from certain characters in those movies to Kali’s gang: Ajax from The Warriors mirroring Axel from the show in that they’re both the Token Evil Teammate who isn’t the nicest of the group (with the big difference being Axel from the show never tries to force himself on a woman the same way Ajax did in the movie), and Kali’s cynicism mirroring Snake’s in that both have been used by the Government in the past, leaving them bitter and disillusioned as a result. However, these parallels are few and far between. The point is the dynamic of Kali’s gang, which is centered on survival and evading people who want to capture or kill them, is similar to the group of characters in both Escape from New York and The Warriors in their attempts to evade danger and complete their mission.

I want to be clear that I don’t have an issue with these types of movies that focus on thrills over developing characters. Sometimes, people don’t come to a movie because they care about the characters, but more about the situations they’re in while envisioning how they would deal with it if they were in that character’s position. There’s nothing wrong with that formula.

However, when you apply that same formula to a show like Stranger Things, where fleshed-out characters are a MAJOR REASON why the show resonates with people and is as successful as it is.........that’s a problem.

When it comes to Kali’s gang, I don’t hate them the same way other fans seem to, but I agree with the criticism they were underdeveloped. Aside from this episode and the opening scene in the season premiere, the audience wasn’t given a lot of time to know Axel, Funshine, Dottie, and Mick in a way for us to care about them the same way we do about the main characters. We get a perfunctory introduction from Kali to El about each member of the gang, and while I would argue there are subtle nuances presented in each of the gang members during this episode (which I’ll discuss in a minute), it’s not enough to get people to emotionally invest in them. It doesn’t help that we haven’t seen them since season 2 with the show moving on to introduce and develop other characters.

Speaking of criticisms.........

Part 4: Criticisms of this Episode (Valid vs Not Valid)

Aside from the underdevelopment of Kali’s gang, one criticism I do have with "The Lost Sister" has to do with the order it's placed in this season. I would argue a big reason why this episode got the reception it did at the time had a lot to do with airing right after “The Spy,” which is not only a beloved episode by fans, but also ended on a highly anticipated cliffhanger where the demodogs were set to invade Hawkins Lab……………only for this episode to come next and put that arc on standby (if only temporarily). There is a tenuous connection with El seeing Mike and Hopper’s predicament in the Void at the end of this episode, which influences her decision to go back to Hawkins, but that’s about it. Personally (and this is just my opinion), I think this episode should have come after “Dig Dug” (which is when El discovered what Brenner did to Terry) and before “The Spy.” Not only would it have helped the flow better, it would have built up anticipation for the next episode when El peeked into the Void and saw Mike and Hopper. Unlike here, where we already know what’s going on at the Lab and are waiting for El to get on the same page, this could have been a better way to generate suspension and anticipation for the audience: Like El, we would be wondering what the hell was going on with Mike and Hopper and why they looked scared, which would lead into “The Spy” where we see how they got to that point. Basically, In Media Res would have worked better for the Mind Flayer arc than it did for El’s.

This brings us to the next criticism I've seen thrown at this episode: How it separated El from the main cast and how it had little to do with the main story. This criticism both is and isn’t valid. I think the premiere misled a lot of fans into believing Kali would have a bigger role in season 2 and her character would tie in with what was going on in Hawkins………only for that not to be the case. Kali had nothing to do with the Mind Flayer, and her arc came off like a side-plot for El.

However, I disagree with the idea that this arc was a waste of time. Aside from the mytharc elements set up in this episode which would prove important in later seasons, this arc was essential for El’s character development. Millie Bobby Brown even acknowledged in Worlds Turned Upside Down that the purpose of this particular story was about El discovering who she was as a person, and it’s something I agree with.

In this episode, El is at a crossroads. She’s being hunted by the Government, she’s been cut off from her friends for nearly a year and can’t safely contact them, she’s in a very contentious place with Hopper over their living situation and feels like their arrangement is not working anymore, and she finds out she’s been kept in the dark about what really happened to her Mom. She even loses trust in Becky when Becky calls Hopper’s precinct for help because she doesn’t know who else to turn to. The only thing El has to go on at this point is what Terry showed her in the vision: Kali.

When El finally meets Kali, not only is she introduced to someone with similar powers to her who helps her develop them (if only briefly), but also introduces her to a new lifestyle: One where her situation is reversed. Instead of running or hiding, she can fight back and make the “bad men” afraid for a change. Instead of suppressing her powers, she can be free to use them how she wants to. Instead of the fear of being an outcast, she can embrace it and make it a strength. She no longer has to live in fear.

However, like any lifestyle, it comes with its negatives in addition to the positives: Kali and her gang are still fugitives, and they’re always on a knife’s edge from being caught by law enforcement. They’ve already had several close shaves, and there’s always the risk they won’t be lucky next time. Even though scenes from the gang convey a hedonistic attitude (like rocking out in the van, or raiding the gas station), there are still consequences if things go wrong. They are not truly free, even if they project the idea of freedom.

Additionally, there’s the exploration making revenge a part of one’s lifestyle. Even though Kali has weaponized her rage for a direct purpose, it still doesn’t change the conditions of her situation, or her gang's for that matter: They have no life outside of targeting personnel from Hawkins Lab. At the end of the day, no matter how much they scrap and steal, they’re still effectively homeless and have no other prospects going for them. There’s a legit argument about how the Government and Society screwed them over, but it still doesn’t change the fact they’re not doing much to broaden their futures. And in El’s case, there’s the question of whether taking revenge is worth it, or will bring her any satisfaction. Regardless of whether Ray Carroll deserved to die, from El’s perspective, depriving his daughters of a father is no better than what Brenner did to her when he reduced Terry to a catatonic state, and it isn’t going to fix what El really wants: For her Mom to get better. El doesn’t get any pleasure or satisfaction from hurting or killing people. Even with Angela in season 4, for as vile as Angela was towards her, El was left shaken and upset when Angela was screaming, crying, and bleeding on the floor after she hit her with the roller skate. Maybe revenge works for Kali (and I would argue it actually doesn’t since Kali’s revenge tour has done nothing except leave her embittered while not improving her life), but it doesn’t for El. She isn’t interested in causing collateral damage or leaving a wake of destruction just to get even.

All of this factors into why El finally leaves for Hawkins at the end, albeit with a firmer resolution. One of the themes for this episode is about choice, which Kali conveys to her. El can’t force Kali to change her lifestyle any more than Kali can force El to stay. And neither of them wants to force the other. Despite El having a major blowout with Hopper, she overhears his message in the Void and recognizes that the door is open to her to try and fix things with him. Likewise, when she sees the vision in the Void of Hawkins Lab, she realizes that even though she can’t fix her circumstances or change the past, she can still make an impact on her future and be there for her friends who need her. She would have been there for Kali as well, but Kali’s made it clear that she’s set on the road she’s on, and she will not stand for El trying to divert her from it. And El realizes this is not a life she wants to have. She would rather sacrifice herself for her friends and stand the risk of being captured or killed just so they can have a future as opposed to constantly being on the run and trapped in a cycle of revenge with no end in sight.  

Finally, there’s the last criticism I’ve seen (and something websites like TV Tropes take snipes at): The idea of Kali’s story and this episode being cliché. Which…………really? 😒 That's the criticism we're going for here, considering God knows how many stories out there (TV shows, movies, books, etc) have repeatedly centered themselves on the idea of revenge (and continue to do so in the year of our Lord 2025)?

Dune. True Blood. The Boys. The Beekeeper. A Song of Ice and Fire. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. The Amateur. Red Hill. The Bourne Supremacy. Kill Bill. The Northman. The Mentalist (which also stars Pruitt Taylor Vince, who plays Ray Carroll in this episode). Supernatural. Salt. These are some I can name off the top of my head, but all these movies, shows, and books feature revenge (or avenging someone) as a key theme. This idea isn’t original. It’s a theme that’s been examined in stories going all the way back to ancient times, and it’s one that continues to be popular today. The theme of revenge is a cliché unto itself at this point. It’s also one that’s grounded in real-life: The idea of seeking revenge for a grievance visited upon us, or avenging someone who’s been wronged in some way. We see that play out constantly in both history and everyday real-life situations, which is a big reason why we probably get more stories about this topic, even if they aren’t original. Stranger Things may not be breaking new ground when exploring this theme with Kali, but then again, neither are the other movies, shows, or books I’ve just listed.

However, there’s another factor in this accusation of “cliché” that bothers me, and it’s specifically tied to the way Kali got ripped to shreds compared to certain other characters who had cliché arcs.

I know there are racist assholes like u/I-fuc-yo-mudda or internalized bigots like u/grandequesso from Reddit who get triggered and pissy whenever this topic is brought up (because God forbid people dare to have any discussions about it 🙄)…….but I’ve been in enough fandoms at this point to know that characters of color tend to get judged harsher for things that white characters would get off easy for. This isn’t just limited to revenge arcs, but any character arc in general. There’s a reason I’ve put a major emphasis in these reviews over how a character like Lucas got torn apart in season 1 (despite his personal growth) vs how some of those same people tripped over themselves to excuse/justify/downplay Billy’s behavior this season and had a conniption with anyone who dared to call his character a bigot. People like this like to pretend those kind of biases don’t exist, but after years of seeing a repeated pattern of this from multiple fandoms (as well as the tiresome accusations of being “woke” or “SJW” or “politically correct” whenever someone pointed this out)………..let me put it this way: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

What's really irks me about past fan discussions regarding Kali's character (which is a big reason I'm doing this review) is that any nuance or complexity in her personality, motivations, or why she was seeking revenge was immediately dismissed at the time as “cliché” with zero desire to continue talking about it. Meanwhile, many of these same people went to fawn over Billy and wax poetic about him being a complex character (he wasn’t) and how great his backstory was (it's been rehashed multiple times in other stories outside of this show). This is despite how the type of character he is isn't original, and the theme of asshole bully who’s abused by his dad has been done to death (and done better) in other media outside Stranger Things. If we're really gonna blast Kali for not breaking any new ground here, then I've got news: Neither did Billy.

Personally, I don’t give a damn if people have characters they like and others they don’t, even in regards to Kali and Billy. I'm also not going to begrudge people for relating to certain arcs more than others. However, I find the double-standards of a POC character like Kali getting torn apart because she had a story that didn’t “razzle and dazzle” everyone, whereas a white character like Billy can have a completely unoriginal story (Billy’s ENTIRE ARC in seasons 2-3 was one of the most predictable storylines this show has ever done, not helped by the fact writers like Stephen King already explored this angle in the past with bully characters) and not get that similar level of heat from fans, to be tiresome. I would tell people to own up to their biases, but I have enough life experience to know that rarely happens (if ever). Even now, while Kali’s reception has improved over the years (especially with the direction the later seasons went), fans still can’t resist giving backhanded remarks. Take this section from “Character Perception Evolution" on TV tropes for instance:

I find this to be both eyeroll-inducing and infuriating because its fans wanting to absolve themselves for the attacks they viciously hurled on Kali at the time (which may have been a factor in why her character hasn’t appeared since season 2) while laying the blame solely at the Duffer Brothers feet, as if fans didn’t bear any responsibility for this. Kali’s personality wasn’t “stereotypical” and neither was her backstory. I’ve already explained why and how. You guys tore into her at the time and refused to give her a chance, and now you claim to act surprised that the show moved on and she hasn’t been featured since? Come on! 🙄

To be clear: I want Kali to come back for season 5. I’m glad season 4 has allowed fans to reevaluate their stance on her. I’m just annoyed because I’m someone who liked Kali way back in 2017 when she made her first appearance, and saw the potential for her character and the direction her arc and relationship with El could go……………only to be sad and disappointed when that didn’t happen. And while I recognize the Duffer Brothers are the ones who make the final call about whether Kali appears again or not, I wish for once that fans would take responsibility for the way they use their voices to influence the show. The same fandom that caused #JusticeForBarb to trend, to the point the Duffer Brothers made getting justice for Barbara a plot point in season 2, were just as able to push for Kali to come back if they really wanted her to. I hope it’s not too late, but it shouldn’t have taken this long for people to go “Maybe we shouldn’t have jumped the gun in regards to this character and what they could have brought to the show.”

If we’re still hung up though on the “cliché” criticism, then permit me to do a side-by-side comparison with another arc on this show that was not only deeply cliché, but also had the downside of being miserable and pointless to sit through (which is NOT how I felt watching "The Lost Sister"): Angela and her disgusting friends.

Part 5: Angela's Gang vs. Kali's Gang

Remember what I said earlier about how there were nuances present in Kali’s gang? When you compare it to the way Angela, her friends, and the entire Rink-O-Mania crowd were written, those aspects become apparent quickly.

Take the way Angela and her friends treat El vs how Kali’s gang initially does for instance: We are never given any explanation in season 4 for why Angela and her friends viciously bully El. They are nasty to her simply because the story needed to emphasize how El was having a miserable time in Lenora. The show gives no reason or motivation whatsoever for their mean-spirited behavior. They are simply like that because the plot demands it.

By contrast, while Kali’s gang isn’t nice to El when she first appears at the warehouse, there’s at least context provided in the scene (and the season 2 premiere) to demonstrate why: They are fugitives from the law who are trying to hide, and the last thing they need is for some kid they don’t know to become their problem. They can only trust one another because of what they’ve done in the past, and the result is they are wary and hostile towards outsiders. While they tease El, it’s not rooted in sadism like with Angela and her friends, but them conveying to El that she is not wanted there and she needs to leave. Other than that, they’re not actively targeting El for harassment because they get a kick out of being cruel to her the way Angela does.

Additionally, there’s the relationship members of the gang have to Kali vs whatever thinly written relationships Angela’s friends have to her. While we’re not shown this, we’re at least given an explanation for why Mick, Dottie, Axel, and Funshine follow Kali’s lead: She helped rescue them (both internally and externally) from society discarding them, and built a family unit with them where they could depend on one another to have each other's backs. The result is they are loyal to Kali. It doesn’t mean they always agree with Kali’s decisions (like her wanting to do another hit just after reuniting with El) or aren't above calling Kali out (like when Axel angrily demands she stay out of his head), and we even see them express their ambivalence about El openly to Kali, but they at least trust her because they know Kali will look out for them.

By contrast, we are never given any explanation for why Angela’s friends like her, let alone want to be around her. She’s written to be such a nasty, hateful brat that it breaks suspension of disbelief that anyone tolerates her behavior. I dare fans to tell me what Jake or Stacy or Chads’ personalities were beyond “Follow Angela’s lead.” There’s no reason given for why they find their cruelty towards El to be funny, or why they think harassing the same girl for months on end wouldn’t get tiresome after a while. At least with the dynamic between Steve, Tommy, and Carol in season 1, there were instances where Steve expressed visible discomfort with the mean-spirited jabs Tommy and Carol made, and it eventually got to a point where he angrily called them out on it. We never see that nuance with Angela’s friends, and the result it (unlike Kali’s gang) they come off as brainless tools who cater to Angela’s whims. They have no needs or wants or motivations beyond whatever Angela's agenda is. I get that Angela was heavily inspired by Chris Hargensen from Stephen King’s Carrie, and that the Rink-O-Mania scene was meant to pay homage to the scene from the book and 1976 movie where Carrie has her period and the girls harass her in the locker room by throwing tampons and sanitary napkins at her. However, even Carrie featured girls like Sue Snell who were remorseful over what they did and eventually got sick of Chris’s behavior because she was that unpleasant. There is none of that featured with Angela, her friends, or the Rink-O-Mania crowd. At best, writing-wise, they all come off as future sociopaths lacking in empathy, and at worst, they’re one-dimensional cliches. The show doesn’t even try to give them hidden depths.

Kali's gang may be rough on the surface, but once they get acquainted with El, there’s an effort to be nice to El and include her in the group in subtle but noticeable ways: Funshine politely referring to El as “Miss Jane.” Dottie helping El with her makeover. Mick pulling El to safety when the cops show up at the end of the episode. Axel’s impressed reaction to El taking out the gas station attendant. Even them coming to cheer El when she pulls the railroad cart across the yard is genuine. They’re small moments, but they highlight there’s more underneath these characters to elevate them beyond simple stereotypes.

With Angela and her friends, there’s none of that. I understand they were written to be bullies, but there isn’t even an effort by the Duffer Brothers to give them any kind of depth beyond that. It makes them obnoxious and grating, and NOT in a "Love-to-Hate" way either. They don’t seem to have any standards beyond being cruel just for the sake of it, and it gets tiresome to watch. I cannot recall one instance where any of them expressed discomfort or doubt about what they were putting El through, or even said something along the lines of “Maybe we’re going too far with this.”

This brings me to the next point: The moral conundrums faced by El in both arcs. Personally, I find El’s dilemma about whether to kill Ray Carroll and continue Kali’s vigilantism to be more intriguing and better written compared to the guilt-tripping the show tried to engage in when Angela got her face smashed in after El lashed out at her.

Part of the reason I find Kali’s arc (and El’s role in it) interesting is because it raises ethical questions beyond the idea of revenge: The cold-hard reality is the Government and Hawkins Lab engaged in illegal acts (including the kidnapping, torture, and abuse of children) which wrecked lives, and the people behind those vile actions were never held accountable. They didn’t face jail time and, in Ray’s case, they were allowed to retire like nothing happened. The colossal damage and dead bodies they raked up were a non-issue that got brushed under the rug as “for the greater good.” As of season 4, we see that continuing, with Brenner’s “Nina Project” and his attempts to imprison El there, and Lt. Colonel Sullivan’s fixation on hunting down El without giving a damn for civilian casualties in the process. As the old saying goes: Who watches the watchmen? If people in the Government aren’t being held liable, what’s to stop them from continuing the same programs that created kids like El and Kali, and destroyed the lives of people like Terry? Kali’s methods may seem extreme on the surface, and there’s the argument that there will always be more men like Ray and Brenner out there, but as Mick points out to Kali, their methods are working in getting the attention of people in the Government and making them afraid. It may even work as a deterrent that dissuades others from working in those programs out of fear that they will be hunted down as well. There’s also how Ray’s character is portrayed here: Is he genuinely remorseful for what he put Kali and Terry through, or is he only sorry because he’s now facing consequences from the people he’s wronged? When he tells El and Kali that Brenner is alive, with the implication that Brenner reached out to him to come work for him again, was he planning to accept the offer before Kali’s gang showed up? Did he turn it down and want nothing to do with Brenner at that point? What were the circumstances behind his retirement in the first place? Was it because he saved up enough money and wanted to take care of his family, or was he disgusted with his past actions at Hawkins Lab and wanted to distance himself from that? Did Ray having kids himself cause a change of heart or not? The show leaves Ray’s character deliberately ambiguous in order for the audience to draw their own conclusions about whether he deserves what he’s being subjected to. Ray claims he was just following Brenner’s orders, and Kali calls bullshit on this while telling Ray he knew what he was doing was evil. Likewise, El’s argument for sparing Ray because he had kids who didn’t deserve to be deprived of a parent vs Kali’s argument that him being a parent doesn’t excuse his past sins (especially towards them when they were kids) and that he deserves to be held accountable creates a moral greyness that’s fascinating to watch.

By contrast, El hitting Angela with the roller-skate comes off as less conflicting than the Duffer Brothers intended it to be, and more cathartic because of how vile Angela had been up to that point. She had been harassing El for MONTHS and no attempts at getting her to stop or appealing to Angela’s empathy and decency (which were nonexistent) were working. It was clear from El’s perspective that Angela was just going to continue with this cruelty even after what she pulled at Rink-O-Mania, and that this was never going to stop. At that point, El finally reached her limit. This wasn’t ever about killing Angela (and people who claim that was the case are either intentionally reading El's actions in bad-faith or trolling). El wanted Angela to understand the depths of the hurt she had repeatedly inflicted, and if that meant conveying that in a physical way that Angela couldn’t ignore and would be forced to reckon with, so be it. I know the show wanted us to feel bad for Angela when she was wailing and the paramedics had to tend to her, but the problem is they wrote her character to be so irredeemable that I just don’t care. I don’t care that she got a broken nose and a grade 2 concussion. I don’t care that Angela’s friends or the Rink-O-Mania crowd (who had participated in viciously bullying El beforehand) are horrified by this. I don’t care because the show has given me no reason to care. At least with Ray Carroll, there’s ambiguity about whether he’s sorry for what he did. There is none of that present with Angela, or anyone else at Rink-O-Mania for that matter. So when the show tries to engage in this pearl-clutching over El's actions while Angela is crying her eyes out, this is the most emotion I can muster:

The overall point I’m trying to make with these comparisons is that, while I understand “The Lost Sister” has its flaws, and there could have been more development with Kali’s gang (as well as an attempt to integrate them better into the main story), there are subtleties with this arc and the characters which get overlooked when fans rush to dismiss everything associated with it as “cliché.”  When I think of that word, I think of the Lenora arc, specifically the parts involving Angela and her friends. Not just with how one-dimensional and unpleasant it was to sit through, but how it regurgitated every single cliché associated with bullying to the point it was off-putting. I’m not saying that people like Angela don’t exist in real life (I’ve met people like her before, and they are fucking AWFUL to be around) and I’m aware that mob mentality is a thing (I’ve seen that plenty of instances on social media and off it where people gleefully dogpile on others and harass them for shits and giggles), but it doesn’t change the fact it’s still a cliché that adds nothing new and the topic of bullying is something that’s already been covered by the show prior to season 4. At least Kali’s arc tried something new, even if it could have been polished up a little.

Part 6: Kali’s Future

As of writing this, it remains unknown whether Kali is coming back for season 5. We haven’t seen Linnea Berthelsen’s name in the casting list yet, and it's unknown if she's returning at all. To be fair though, it is early, and they do sometimes withhold names to avoid spoilers, so I’m not ruling anything out yet.

Out of all the characters who’ve come and gone, if they were going to bring at least one of them back, I would prefer it to be Kali. Just like with El, Kali deserves closure. I’ve already expressed unhappiness at initial fan reception towards her, and I believe they did her dirty by not featuring her in seasons 3-4. This is a character who has a lot of potential, not just for her relationship with El, but also for what future relationships she could develop with the main cast. I would LOVE to see her interact with characters like Mike, Steve, Hopper, and the rest of the main characters, and I would also like to see what relationship (if any) she has with Henry/One/Vecna.

For what it’s worth, there are some indications (however subtle) that she could be brought back for season 5. There was an interview the Duffer Brothers gave after season 4 aired that revealed three things had been planned out from the beginning of the show: The presence of Henry/One/Vecna, the Massacre at Hawkins Lab, and (in addition to El) Kali being one of the survivors:

MATT DUFFER: We always knew that the other kids with the exception of Eight were dead. We always wanted to explore that and exactly what happened. It became a challenge because we knew we wanted to tell that story but it’s basically an origin flashback story. How do you keep that feeling relevant to what’s happening in the season, so when you cut to it, you feel like there’s some sort of forward progression and a connection? We knew it was going to connect ultimately to One.

Furthermore, in the original Montauk Script, there was a character named Tommy mentioned by El to be her “little brother.” I suspect this was likely what Eight may have originally started out as before the character was reworked in the writing process to become Kali. Regardless, it highlights the idea that El wasn’t just going to be the only special kid left alive besides Vecna.

The reason I bring this up is because, from a writing perspective, you wouldn’t feature a character like this surviving a major plot-related event that shapes the entire story unless you were planning to do something important with that character. If Kali/Eight wasn’t meant to have a major role in the story, why didn’t they just kill her off when they originally conceived the Massacre at Hawkins Lab, and just have El and Vecna be the last of the special children?

I’m reminded of what Animorphs did towards the end of the series. There was a character from that book named Arbon, an Andalite friend to Elfangor (the Andalite responsible for giving the main human characters the morphing cube so they’d have the ability to combat the Yeerk invasion on Earth). In the prequel novel The Andalite Chronicles, Arbon had been with Elfangor on a mission to the Taxxon home world, and ended up getting trapped as a Taxxon due to exceeding the 2 hour limit of morphing. At the time, he opted to stay and become a part of the Taxxon resistance against the Yeerks. At first, he was absent from the story for a long time (this series last for over 60 books) and it seemed like he was never coming back. Then he appeared again in the last 2 books of the series. Not only that, but his appearance marked a major turning point in the war against the Yeerks that enabled the main characters to stand a chance at saving Earth. What made it work is that Arbon’s character and backstory had been established beforehand, so his appearance in the final books didn’t come off as an Ass Pull, or introducing a new plot element/character that had never been mentioned prior to that moment.

All this makes me wonder if Kali’s absence for the past few seasons is because they’re saving her character for season 5, and she’ll have a major role in the conflict between El and Vecna. Or maybe El will seek her out for help. For what it’s worth, the Stranger Things writers tweeted out back in 2023 that people should rewatch season 2 again prior to the final season airing, hinting that there will be elements from this season that will come into play in season 5.

There’s also this “Missing Poster” for El that got dropped in January of this year:

I know I suggested the theories about Vecna taking El prisoner in the Upside Down, or her simply lying low after being spotted at Hawkins High School to avoid attracting further attention from Lt. Colonel Sullivan, but there may be a third theory: El may have disappeared trying to locate Kali. Or maybe El's disappearance is what causes Kali to come to Hawkins.

All of this is speculation though because it remains unknown if Kali is coming back at all. Because of this, I’ll discuss all the possible scenarios that could happen with Kali during season 5 and what my reaction would likely be:

1.) Kali doesn’t appear in season 5 because her character gets killed off by Vecna by the time the season starts.

This was a theory that got suggested by someone in the notes of one of my ST5 speculation posts. I’ll be honest in admitting I HATE this theory. Not only would it be completely wasting Kali’s character and any potential she had in the story, but it would essentially be Fridging a character of color for the sake of El’s arc. I already had problems with this when shows like Supernatural and Games of Thrones did that, and I have no desire to see that on Stranger Things. That’s also including how Vecna already has the ability to create illusions in people’s minds and doesn’t need to kill Kali for that (not saying that he wouldn’t kill her given the kind of person he is, but it would just render her entire character and story pointless).

2.) Kali doesn’t appear in season 5, doesn’t appear in the spin-off, and Stranger Things forgets about her altogether.

This is only slightly above the idea of Fridging Kali, and I dislike it just as much. It’s wasting a perfectly good character, and it begs the question of why they even wrote Kali in the first place if they weren’t going to do anything with her. That’s not even getting into the unfortunate implications of catering to fans who threw a fit about Kali when she was first featured all those years ago.

3.) Kali doesn’t appear in season 5, but will be featured in one or more of the Stranger Things spin-offs.

I’ve heard conflicting rumors about the Stranger Things spin-offs. They recently announced one of them would be in the vein of a Saturday Morning Cartoon titled Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 which will focus on the Party facing monsters from the Upside Down in 1985. There’s also another spin-off called Stranger Things: Tokyo that’s supposed to be an anime focusing on twins from Tokyo who have an encounter with the Upside Down. Neither of these spin-offs convey the idea that Kali will be featured, but it’s possible she could return in a supporting or recurring role. Additionally, the Duffer Brothers have talked about the idea of doing live-action spin-offs, and it’s possible that they might try to feature Kali there if she doesn’t make an appearance in season 5.

To be honest, I’m extremely wary about this. A lot would depend on whether season 5 ends on a solid note, or drops the ball like Game of Thrones and True Blood did. That would automatically sour any interest I have in future spin-offs. House of the Dragon is the only exception to the rule, and even that comes with major asterisks, to say nothing about how it continues to live in the shadow of the shit-show that was Game of Thrones Season 8.

I would prefer it if Kali came back for season 5 as opposed to appearing in her own spin-off. I believe she deserves to be a part of the main story, and get some kind of closure with El. However, if they were considering doing a spin-off with Kali as the main character, there would be a number of things that would have to change. For one, they’d have to either do a better job fleshing-out the members of her gang so that the audience would care about them, or they would need to disappear entirely. For another, they would need to create an arc for Kali that wasn’t just about her seeking revenge against Hawkins Lab. They can’t just rehash what this episode has already done.

4.) Kali returns to season 5 as a villain working for Vecna.

As sad as I would be to see Kali descend into evil, I could see that as a potential arc for her if they chose to go that route. Right now, Kali is in the middle between good and evil. She hasn’t completely descended into mindless cruelty and destruction like Vecna has, nor is she killing random people out of a genocidal desire to wipe out humanity like he is. However, she is on the edge between morally ambiguous anti-hero and straight-up villain. She is deeply angry and on a revenge tour, and if she isn’t careful, that could explode into her directing her rage at innocent people and causing them to become collateral damage. Assuming my theory is correct that Venca knew Kali at the Lab and enabled her escape, it’s possible he might try to contact her, and get her to act as his agent against El. He’s already tried to beat El on his own, and it hasn’t worked, so he tries a different method: Exploiting El and Kali’s complicated relationship, and manipulating Kali into believing El wrongfully abandoned her and that he’s the only friend she can trust. The result is that Kali becomes El’s enemy and another special kid that she and the main characters have to contend with. It would be horrifying and tragic, but I could see that happening.

5.) Kali comes back for season 5 and aids El against Vecna.

This is where I hope they take Kali’s story in season 5. Like I said, I like the relationship between El and Kali, and I believe Kali should have the chance to heal and redeem herself. She deserves to have her story brought to a satisfying resolution instead of being left hanging. Like I said, I would like to see her interact with the other main characters outside of El and see what relationships she would form with them. I also think it would make for a powerful conclusion to her arc if she rejected the darkness that’s dominated her life and helped her sister save the world from Vecna and the Upside Down, all while finding meaning and a renewed purpose in her life. Stranger Things has always pushed for redemption for characters who choose it, and I believe Kali should at least be given that chance instead of being written off.

Part 7: Song Choices and Final Thoughts

First song featured in this episode is probably one of my favorite musical moments from the entire show: “Runaway” by Bon Jovi. This plays when El arrives in Chicago for the first time and sees how big the city is.

Jon Bon Jovi has admitted the song was inspired by his experiences traveling on Greyhound buses from New Jersey to Manhattan, and seeing so many young people during those trips who were desperate to leave their situations. It’s a fitting song for El’s introduction to Chicago since she’s traveling by bus to meet Kali, and is running away from her home with Hopper because of the argument they had three episodes ago (“All your life, All your life, all you've asked when is your daddy gonna talk to you. But you were livin' in another world, trying to get your message through.”). At this point in the story, El doesn’t feel like Hopper understands her or her frustrations, and she’s traveling to find someone who might. In a way, she’s getting a kind of freedom that she felt was absent while living with Hopper (“Ooh, she's a little runaway. Daddy's girl learned fast. All those things she couldn't say.”). However, her brief time with Kali isn’t as fulfilling as she believed it would be, and we see her towards the end of the episode starting to miss home, similar to the girl’s predicament in the song (“So you sit home alone, 'cause there's nothin' left that you can do. There's only pictures hung in the shadows left there to look at you.”). In a way, this song practically foreshadows the direction El’s story is going to take in this episode.

Next song is instrumental and mostly features humming, but one I appreciate because of how soothing it is: “Outside the Realm” by Big Giant Circles. This plays when El reunites with Kali for the first time in years, and they’re later on the roof while El tells Kali her story and Kali conjures an illusion of a butterfly for El to play with.

This music was composed for a video game called There Came an Echo. It’s a beautiful piece of music that fits perfectly with El and Kali’s heartwarming interactions. This same score was even featured in “Trick or Treat, Freak” during Mike and Will’s conversation when Will tells Mike about the Mind Flayer stalking him, and Mike comforts Will.

Next song is “Back to Nature” by Fad Gadget. This plays when Kali formerly introduces El to her gang the next morning.

The song’s lyrics suggest the idea that it’s about “the separation between modern people and the natural world.” I find that ironic given Kali and her gang aren’t in nature, but in the city and constantly on the move to different locations. However, maybe it’s possible that the various cities they’ve been forced to run to and from in their quest to hunt down employees from Hawkins Lab (Pittsburgh, Chicago, etc) is their “natural environment” at this point. Best I can say is this is NOT a feel-good song, and perhaps captures the artificial routine of Kali and the gang and what has become their lives.

Next piece of music is a sample of one of John Carpenter’s scores from Escape from New York: “The Bank Robbery.” It plays during the scene when Kali, El, and the gang make plans to target Ray Carroll.

This piece was supposed to be a part of a deleted scene from that movie where Snake Plissken, the main protagonist, executes a bank robbery (likely the Federal Reserve that was mentioned in the movie) and gets caught in the process, kickstarting the events leading up to making a deal with the Government to rescue the President. The music complements the scene well in conveying the formulation of a plan, and works as a nice shout-out to John Carpetner and the movie.

Next song is “Dead End Justice” by The Runaways. This plays during El’s makeover and when Kali and her gang organize before driving out to kill Ray Carroll:

They only feature the first part of this song in the episode, and it perfectly captures the image of Kali and her gang: “Stealing cars and breaking hearts. Pills and thrills and acting smart. Dead end kids in the danger zone. All of you are drunk and stoned. Dead end kids, you're not alone. You sleep in the streets when you're not at home.” Granted, none of them are teenagers or “sweet sixteen” like the singer from the song is, but they are their own group of rebels causing trouble. Difference is they’re doing a lot worse than just getting “drunk or stoned.” They’re targeting people for death. The second part of the song differs heavily from the first part: The singer is caught by police, ends up in juvenile hall, and their prospects go downhill from there (“Behind the fence, there is no defense. There's murder, rape and bribery. In and out, burglary. You don't look so tough. Oh, I been around. On the planet sorrow, there is no tomorrow.”). The last part of the song features the singer and another person attempting to break out and escape, only for it to go horribly wrong: (“Joan, I'm down, my ankle! I can't go on, but I can't leave you. What do I do? Save yourself, you know what you gotta do. Oh, my god!”). The song reminds me of “Green Green Grass of Home” from “Dig Dug” that starts out optimistic, only to take a dark turn towards the end. In the context of this episode, the song not only works to highlight the risks Kali and her gang face if they’re caught (Kali might survive since the Government values her abilities, but the rest of her companions would likely be killed), but also what El’s fate might have been had she refused to return to Hawkins and stayed with Kali. It’s a horrifying “What If” situation, but one that could happen to Kali someday if she continues down this path.

Finally, there’s "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)" by The Icicle Works. This plays when El returns to Hawkins and briefly interacts with the nice lady on the bus.

This song has an uplifting tone to it, and fits nicely with El’s decision to save her friends. After being in a dark place for multiple episodes, while she doesn’t have everything in her life figured out yet and the future still remains unknown to her, she at least is going back with conviction (“Finding our way around indecision”) and a desire to save others out of love rather than continue Kali’s quest of destroying others out of hate (even if they were vile people who deserved it): “Love come down upon us till you flow like water. Burning with the hope of insight. Feathered, look they're covered with a bright elation. Stolen in the sight of love.” This also can apply to Kali as well in that she still has a choice: She doesn’t have to continue this life, or allow herself to be defined by her past. She can find El and make peace with her, and start anew. I sincerely hope she does.

On a final note, I want to discuss this woman briefly despite her minimal role in this episode:

While I think this is likely just someone who’s being kind to El in this moment (similar to Becky and the truck driver in “Dig Dug”), I would find it amusing if she returns for season 5 and the Duffer Brothers reveal that she’s Patty Newby from The First Shadow. I doubt that’s going to happen (though I also hope Patty makes an appearance in season 5 similar to Kali, and I’ll discuss why in the next review), but it would be funny if they did that. It certainly would make this episode and this scene more important in hindsight. 😂

To conclude, No Funko Pop for Kali. If they ever release one for her, I will happily buy it.

DUFFER BROTHERS: PLEASE BRING KALI BACK FOR SEASON 5!