Stranger Things brings back the 1 character we didn’t want to ever see again

Warning: Spoilers ahead from Stranger Things season 5.

Stranger Things has finally returned with its final season on Netflix, and as with the final season of any show, there are many questions answered, many callbacks to past events, and many returns from characters we haven’t seen in quite some time. We always love a bit of fan service, but a particular character that’s back will definitely ruffle some feathers.

Naturally, plenty of characters that we have met in Hawkins and elsewhere in the past four seasons could fit that bill, but there’s a particular character that was popularly disliked from the second they were introduced. They weren’t even a villain or intended as a foil to our favorite characters, but fans still weren’t on board… and now they are back in a big way.

We didn’t expect to see Eleven’s “sister” Eight, also known as Kali, back as a key part of the story, and most fans probably didn’t ever want to see her again. Linnea Berthelsen made her debut as Eight in season 2 episode 7, titled “The Lost Sister.” The bottle episode finds Eleven traveling to Chicago and is widely deemed the worst episode of Stranger Things.

Eight makes a brief return in season 5 episode 4, though it’s clear that she will continue to play a large part in the rest of the season, but we’ll see what happens next for her in volume 2. Even though rumors started swirling among fans that Eight could come back, she makes her surprise return in the volume 1 ending cliffhanger.

After Hopper and Eleven meet back up in the Upside Down, they venture to Dr. Kay’s military base, where they assume Vecna or possibly even Holly is being held captive. However, because Eleven’s powers can’t unlock the door to the room holding the mystery captive, they need to gain access. A struggle ensues between Hopper and Dr. Kay and her guards as Eleven’s rendered powerless to the kryptonite noise.

Once Hopper’s finally able to enter the room, he prepares for the worst to happen to him and attempts to send Eleven away. She stays put outside the room once the door shuts behind Hopper. Moments later, the kryptonite noise stops and the door opens again with Hopper alive and well. When Eleven enters, she sees Eight hooked up to a machine and says “Sister.”

Evidently, Eight has something to do with Vecna’s master plan in connection with Eleven and Will, and she also appears to be a fellow target for the government along with Eleven. Kay believed that Eleven was the one hurting children and causing the chaos in Hawkins, which is obviously ridiculous. But after not seeing her this long, is Eight really this important?

There has been a fan theory that involves adding up the numbers associated with Eleven, Eight, One, and now even possibly Will. That’s a lot to unpack, but for many fans, it’s probably frustrating that at least part of the theory — that Eight has returned — came true. Season 2’s bottle episode left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, and here’s another reminder.

I don’t mind Eight returning, especially if the Duffer Brothers have a bulletproof reason and narrative necessity for her to be back. More than anything, Eight’s reappearance legitimizes “The Lost Sister” and proves that the episode everyone wrote off was actually important for the series. Also, it’s a fun callback to the early days of Stranger Things.

But isn’t it funny that the one character, from the one episode that has drawn so much criticism, returned for the final season and could possibly be a key to the endgame? Who would have thought? We all assumed that after the season 2 bottle episode, we would never see Eight again and she wouldn’t be important. Well, think again!