6 Stranger Things characters who likely won't return in season 5

Kali

Before the premiere of Stranger Things season 4, it seemed highly likely that Kali, also known as Eight, Eleven's older "sister," would make an appearance. Yes, we did get a look at Kali when she was younger in the Hawkins National Lab and Rainbow Room, but I was fully expecting Linnea Berthelsen would be back as Kali in the fight against Vecna in season 4. That didn't happen, and now, I'm starting to seriously wonder if that story is going anywhere.

Based on Berthelsen not appearing in the season 5 cast photo, we have to assume Kali will not be back in the new season. As mentioned, there is so much to tie up in the new season. The Duffer Brothers have already discussed how much of a challenge it's going to be to stick the landing. Giving precious screen time to characters who were only relevant for such small parts of this story seems like a mistake. I don't think that will happen, and that's the main reason I think Kali isn't going to be a part of Stranger Things season 5.

I have a lot of questions about that storyline. Personally, I think it works well with Eleven's motivations. Eleven was given the opportunity to take her revenge, and she didn't want it. She chose her new friends and family instead, and that's important for any character who wields the power that Eleven does. It's a slippery slope, as we've seen with Henry Creel and Vecna.

I have to wonder if there was a plan to bring Kali in for season 4 or season 5 as more of this story unfolded. The Duffer Brothers and the creative team falls into the trap of creating characters that are too good and lovable. It has to be much more fun to continue to build those characters rather than kill them off, and that's probably one of the reasons the cast that started so small now has about 20 people involved in every aspect of the story heading into the final season.