We’ve been waiting for almost two years, but Stranger Things’ final season is finally here. At long last, we’ll get some answers to the questions that have been plaguing us since the season four finale, like, how did Vecna blow up Hawkins? Is Max really dead? And did Eleven get her powers back for good?
But for every question answered, the show has also thrown up two more. Such as the case of Number 8.
Warning: spoilers ahead.
During the Volume One finale, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Hopper (David Harbour) break into the fortified US Military base in the Upside Down. They’re trying to access a secret room, where they think Vecna is being held prisoner thanks to some nifty sound-weapon technology the Americans seem to have developed.
Instead of Vecna, they find a girl. It’s Number Eight (played by Linnea Berthelsen), whom Eleven calls ‘sister’. The two have matching tattoos, and a shared history at Hawkins Lab.
But who is she, and what should we know? Let’s dive in.
Hawkins Lab
The pair grew up together in Hawkins. Number 8 was born Kali Prasad and was raised in London for the first 5 years of her life. But in 1969, Dr Martin Brenner abducted her from London and brought her to Hawkins Lab – for reasons that are still pretty hazy.
Either way, at some point Kali developed special powers. She didn’t get telekinesis, but she did develop the power to create illusions and manipulate minds.
At some point, Kali also managed to escape from Hawkins, leaving El behind – and El lost all memories of her when she banished Vecna, or Number One, into the Upside Down, almost killing herself in the process.
El’s emo phase
This happens during season two, when El runs away from Hawkins and tracks down Kali using her powers.
She finds her ‘sister’ living in Chicago with a gang of fellow runaways. Their hobby appears to be hunting down people in their past who have wronged them, and Kali has a very long list – in fact, they’ve just killed a man called Dr John Pericles, who probably worked for Hawkins Lab at some point.
Kali helps El to hone her telekinetic powers (and they give her an emo makeover), but the pair clash over their methods: El is unwilling to kill people, which Kali finds enraging, and after a failed hit on a former lab scientist called Ray Carroll, they have an argument.
In the end, El leaves the gang and returns to Hawkins, but the pair were clearly close.
And now?
It looks like Kali was captured by the US Military at some point. For what end, we’re not entirely sure. Watch this space.
Stranger Things Vol 1 is streaming now on Netflix
