It has been a long wait, but Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 has finally dropped on Netflix, and I hope you cleared your Thanksgiving schedule to binge it because we need to talk about that ending immediately. While the first three episodes, starting with “The Crawl,” gave us the high-stakes Hawkins drama we expected, it is the Volume 1 finale, “Sorcerer,” that has me absolutely buzzing. Why? Because the Duffer Brothers finally did the one thing I have been arguing for years they needed to do: they brought back Kali.
If you have followed my coverage for a while, you know I have always been a defender of Season 2’s “The Lost Sister.” I know, I know—it is arguably the most hated episode in the show’s history. Fans have spent years complaining that the detour to Chicago was a waste of time and that Eight/Kali didn’t fit the vibe of Hawkins. But I have always stood by the opinion that her story was crucial to Eleven’s development and that leaving her plot thread dangling felt wrong. A sister doesn’t just disappear.
Episode 4 vindicated that belief in a massive way. Seeing Hopper and El infiltrate that secret military vault in the Upside Down, expecting to find Vecna, only to discover a shaved-headed, restrained Kali hooked up to those machines? It was a jaw-dropping cliffhanger. It makes perfect sense that the military, led by Dr. Kay, would hunt down the only other powered individual capable of messing with people’s minds.
This reveal proves that Kali wasn’t just a one-off “mistake.” Her illusion powers are exactly the kind of wild card the group needs to fight Vecna. It looks like she has been suffering just as much, if not more, than El, and the emotional weight of that reunion—even under such horrific circumstances—is going to be the driving force of Volume 2.
For everyone who said we’d never see her again, “Sorcerer” is the answer. It validates that the world of Stranger Things is bigger than just Hawkins, and it honors the trauma these “lab kids” went through together. I can’t wait to see the haters eat their words when Kali inevitably plays a massive role in saving the world when the show returns next month. Welcome back, Eight. I knew you deserved this encore.