Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Stranger Things season 5 volume 2.
Kali's return in Stranger Things season 5 has brought a devastating storyline and a chilling reveal that the terrors from her and Eleven's childhood are not over. After being rescued from Dr Kay's lab by Eleven and Hopper, Kali recounts the horrors she witnessed: Kay keeping pregnant women captive and infusing them with Kali's blood to restart Dr Brenner's programme. Kali then realises she must tell Eleven everything and ask the impossible—that Eleven sacrifice herself alongside Kali to end the cycle.
Actress Linnea Berthelsen exclusively told RadioTimes.com: 'I think there is a part of [Kali] that's just realised what happened to her... She's devastated. She's falling apart... And then there is this very deep love for Eleven at the same time and asking her to do something that's quite tough. It's just a really difficult conversation.'
At the end of volume 2, Eleven is left reeling from that conversation and forced to grapple with what to do for the best, with the finale presumably showing her decision and its aftermath.
Kali was first introduced in season 2, and fans were stunned by her surprise return in season 5. Berthelsen is relishing delving deeper into Kali's character, adding: 'Every time you get to develop a character... it's just such a human place... It's very rare, I think, that you get to work on a character like that.'
It was this development that the Duffer Brothers pitched to her when they asked her to return. 'We had a great conversation about what they wanted to do... I thought it was quite exciting and different,' she recalled.
