Posted in: Netflix, Stranger Things, TV | Tagged: stranger things, stranger things 5

Stranger Things 5: Berthelsen on Restarting Kali's Journey with Eleven

Stranger Things 5's Linnea Berthelsen on Kali's dramatic return, how she's changed since the second season, and her reunion with the Duffers.

When it comes to filming shows on streaming platforms, it can be its own arduous journey, given the time it can take to produce certain shows, and Stranger Things is no exception. With the final season spanning two months and three batches of releases, Netflix is undoubtedly making the most of its binge platform, spreading them out with the finale premiering in theaters simultaneously on New Year's Eve. It was eight years since Linnea Berthelsen made her debut on the Duffers series in season two in 2017. By the time the fifth and final season finally emerged, starting at the end of 2025, a lot had happened in the series since then as she tried to reacclimate to her character, Kali, one of the initially liberated gifted youths experimented on by Hawkins alongside Eleven/Jane Hopper (Millie Bobby Brown).

As she showed El that she too can acclimate to society in her own voice, we discover that tragedy took a turn on her group as she was the sole survivor of a raid orchestrated by Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton), and later siphoned periodically of her blood to continue Brenner's experiments (Matthew Modine) to create more like her and El. As our Hawkins heroes freed her from her prison, Kali now plays a key role in the plans to strike Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) in the finale, as Berthelsen and the Duffers spoke to Entertainment Weekly about her journey back to the character.

Linnea Berthelsen on Her Journey Back to Kali on Stranger Things 5 and Reconnecting with Her Sister, Eleven

"We've talked about bringing her back before, but there was not a narrative or thematic reason to bring her back," Matt Duffer told EW. "She'd served her purpose in season 2, but it still felt like this loose end where Eleven just left her there. What happened to her?" Three years after season two, Berthelsen, now 32, received a follow-up. "It could have been just to catch up," Berthelsen said. "They were very supportive and saw the other things that I've done over the years. I was about to do something else when they called me three years ago to do [season 5]. So I think I was never attached mentally to come back and do anything, but it's just very lovely to see they had something that they wanted to do with the character — and then we took it from there."

When it came to breaking down her scenes, she found out she was going to work with legendary director Frank Darabont. "I think for logistics reasons, it's my first take on the whole season. It was my first day of principal photography," Berthelsen recalled. "We had to do it in one take. I did it with [episode 5 director] Frank Darabont. I did not do it with Matt and Ross [Duffer], so I also had to do it with somebody who I didn't know. I love [Darabont's] work. I love working with him, but there was all of these logistics and requests about, 'Is this something you would like to come and do?'" For more on Berhtelsen discussing her decision to get her head shaved, her emotional journey, including not only adjusting back to the character but also her dramatically different circumstances, Hopper's (David Harbour) distrust of Kali, and more, you can check out the complete EW interview.

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