5 ThingsStranger ThingsWould Be Missing Without Eight and ‘The Lost Sister’

I storm through the 2nd season of Stranger Things during a nine - hour flight back from a social media - free vacation , so I was n’t around to see how hoi polloi were reacting to the modish sojourn to the Upside Down . When I reached the 7th episode , “ The Lost Sister , ” I think of thinking it was all right . Not the fine 60 minutes of goggle box I ’d ever seen , but it had some elements I genuinely like , and I understood its plaza in the serial . Lo and behold , once the cyberspace was rejuvenate , the integral earthly concern was buzz with how incorrect I was about everything .

I ’ve stick to admit , I was genuinely shocked at how much multitude seemed to abominate “ The Lost Sister . ” It ’s now the most polarizing installment of the series , with so many multitude feeling it should ’ve been taken out that the Duffer Brothers have had to add up out anddefend its very universe . I — I do n’t get the problem , people . Sure , this is n’t the expert thing we ’ve seen get out of Stranger Things , but I feel it deserves to be part of the show . Could it have been tweaked ? Absolutely , but so could a lot of other things on this show ( likeMax ’s total character ) .

“ The Lost Sister ” may not be an award - winning piece of music of television , but that does n’t mean it should n’t subsist . And I ’m not just talking about the end game , which was to show Eleven how to maximise her powers to close up the gate . There ’s a spate here , both for Eleven and the audience , even if the final intersection was n’t all that stellar . It ’s an case of how the kernel of something ’s part can be , in some character , greater than the whole .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

It expanded the world, physically and metaphorically

My kinfolk has a locution that whenever one of us require a disruption from the group , that “ I ’ve get ta get out of the van . ” Stranger Things desperately needed to get out of the van . Hawkins , Indiana , is fine and all , but it ’s an incredibly motionless place with , allow ’s be honest , a somewhat static scourge . The only thing that really happens this season , apart from the Demodogs , is the Mind Flayer carve out some tunnels that down a crew of pumpkin vine . Since the Hawkins laboratory confederacy did n’t play a part this season , “ The Lost babe ” not only gave the show an opportunity to search the lab ’s other misdeeds , but it also express they ’re affecting the world beyond Hawkins .

Taking Stranger thing to Chicago was n’t just good as a change of scene , but also as a representation of the larger , more conflicted world . As the serial publication ’ stakes continue to grow , the reach of its storytelling has to keep pace . We ca n’t keep revisiting the kids and their small town of Hawkins , it ’s going to become repetitive . ( Hell , in a way it already is . ) This episode teased a story where there are more labs , test subjects , and experiments related to the Upside Down , which could impart us into multiple seasons . It hints at a grownup world in a style that does n’t curtail itself to “ How does it relate to Hawkins ” ?

The big city location also something that play well into one of the second season ’s principal takeaways : shaver produce into adults . A major theme in the series is innocence gainsay by experience , as represented by a bounteous job coming to a small town . Eleven has been a major instrumentalist in that , take on the role of a wide - eyed child surrounded by people who want to forbid her from seeking out her own path . Throughout the second season , the Thomas Kyd started grow into adults in their own way . As the boys did thing like lie to their friends , whip out in ire , and pursue a relationship , Eleven ’s track maturate her up by growing her out of her bubble .

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It gave us Eight, the (second) best new character

Of of course , my preferent newbie this time of year was Bob , RIP , but Eight / Kali decidedly come in at a close secondment . Played by Danish actress Linnea Berthelsen , Kali was both sincere and selfish , wanting to help Eleven but part because she assume Eleven ’s conflicts echoed her own . This made their relationship at long last toxic , but you still wanted them to work it out because , unlike anyone else we ’ve meet , Kali is the only one who have it . It was also nice to get Eleven interacting with another young lady for more than a sentence , something that was long overdue . Stranger thing might have some inviolable female characters , but it ’s been take a crap when it comes to get them actually talk to each other .

While I enjoyed Kali ’s scene with Eleven , I especially loved her insertion in the first episode , when she put one across a fuzz into cogitate a burrow was collapse . This gave us a taste of her optical illusion ability in a way that mirror Eleven ’s talents . accord , that was designed to be a false - out and obnubilate the interview , but it also hinted at her and Eleven ’s future relationship . Kali and Eleven might have the same origin story , bonding them as Sister , but in the end their connexion was an conjuration that could n’t last .

It showed Eleven another path, and its consequences

“ The Lost Sister ” is , at its core , about selection . Eleven is torn between different homes and families , as well as what the idea of family really is . Her aunty and female parent briefly show Eleven what could have been , a truly normal life , only for the real earth to show how that ’s no longer possible ( since her aunt calls Chief Hopper ) . Meanwhile , Hopper represents the prison of artlessness , in that keep her protected from the threats of Hawkins Lab not only halt her from produce into herself and her gift , but also resound what Hawkins put her through in the first place . Kali is the paradigm of ultimate freedom — not only from innocence , but also from responsibleness .

Eleven ’s time with Kali and her ( admittedly pathetic ) gang is basically a glimpse into a watch glass ball , showing Eleven what could very well be if she decided to , like Kali , let her emotions control her life . Both Eleven and Kali are angry at the hoi polloi who abducted and experimented on them — Kali is a preview of Eleven ’s desire to dissemble on it . It ’s a glimpse into what would occur if Eleven fully embraced her wrath , not only as a method of tone her ability , but also as her nonremittal mode and motivation . It would signify the foiling and rage Eleven experienced in in Hopper ’s cabin , especially when he broke the TV , would no longer be inhibited .

At first , Eleven liked it , because it was freeing . But after a while she recognize the flaws in Kali ’s choices — how live without limits can be just as imprisoning , because you discontinue caring . maturity is n’t just about doing whatever you desire , it ’s about deciding your own path and taking responsibility for it . The final choice was n’t just about whether she ’d kill this one beau who helped change by reversal her female parent into a veg , it was about the choice of what kind of person Eleven wanted to be . Choosing to spare him , and returning to assist her friends , was the first adult decisiveness Eleven ever made . It would have been hard to show this in just a couple of scenes , spread out across a variety of episode as a B - plot .

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It gave Eleven a new hairstyle, which is more important than you think

This might voice uncanny to some of you , but I sense Eleven ’s new hairstyle was one of the greatest moment of the time of year .

In Stranger Things , Eleven ’s hair play a very authoritative role . At first , Eleven ’s bald-headed head might seem like something the showrunners did so she would look cool , like Furiosa in Mad Max : Fury Road , but it ’s really project to show Eleven at her most honest , vulnerable ego . It ’s where she ’s both her strongest and her weak , and giving her hair feel like dulling her down . When the male child disguise Eleven , they put a light-haired on her to hide her individuality in more ways than one . It is n’t until she strike the wig off that she comes into her great power . The same can be said of her curly locks that grow while she ’s with Hopper . It ’s a youthful , innocuous look that , along with everything else , hides who Eleven is .

In motion-picture show and shows , getting a “ Crisis Cut ” is often used as a metaphor for increment and change — peculiarly for young women . We saw this in Mulan , Felicity , the new Power Rangers . Inferno , it happens in almost every one of Hayao Miyazaki ’s film . It ’s a usual trope that ’s used to physically represent an emotional change — it ’s a sign of a charwoman who ’s simply had enough of it all . It ’s also a way for manful filmmakers to convey something they ca n’t realise about the female experience , but this is n’t what happen in Stranger Things . In fact , the trope is subverted .

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When Kali gives Eleven a makeover ( some might have opinions on that image , which is perceivable ) , the coiffure is far-famed . Eleven does n’t cut her hair , thus foreclose her from falling back on that stock “ Crisis Cut ” trope or fix her seem like she ’s regressing to her puerility physique . But she does slick it back so that it hark back to her bald head , i.e. who she was , with a few curly tendril at the goal to show how far she ’s come since then . Her new coif is symbolic because it embraces who she was , is , and continues to be .

It inspired my craziest fan theory yet

This is a fillip treat that is n’t ground in world in any way of life , but made me laugh so I intend I ’d portion out it with you . As I was watching “ The Lost Sister , ” I could n’t help but grimace at how undyingly loyal Kali ’s crew was to her , to the point where they ’d willingly defeat a bunch of humans who had n’t harmed them instantly . They said it was because Kali had “ bring through ” them , both in their head and hearts , so they fought for her to mend justice . But the price they were pay seemed pretty high for what they sustain in substitution . Their dedication felt weird and unnatural — almost supernatural .

My theory is this : Kali has formed a cult of outsiders , as their leader , using her abilities of optic magic to both reward and punish them to keep them in line . When they facilitate her , she makes them feel just with illusions that make them happy , like the butterfly stroke she showed Eleven . When they do n’t do as she enunciate , she mentally tortures them , like when she force the mohawk guy to call up he was being attacked by spiders . She ’s a drug and they stay with her , doing whatever she tell them to ( including murder ) , so they can get their fix .