Stranger Things Season 5 has brought the return of Kali Prasad, otherwise known as Eight. Reintroduced after being discovered by Eleven and Hopper in a military base, Kali has now joined their side, heading into the final fight against Vecna. However, some fans are not so sure that she’s on their side at all, with suspicions that she has malicious intentions. If you’re wondering if Kali is good or bad in Stranger Things, this guide covers everything you’ll need to know.
Is Kali “Eight” Bad in Stranger Things? Explained
From what Kali has shared with viewers as of Episode 7: The Bridge, no, there is no hard evidence that she is bad or has malicious intentions. Instead, she appears to have a focus on self-sacrifice with the idea of ensuring the cycle of creating more ‘gifted children’, or copies of Henry, never continues.
Of course, she’s trying to get Eleven in on this idea too, which is where the lines start to blur. Is she simply that selfless and determined to stop the cycle, or does she have ulterior motives as to why she’s trying to force the idea of ‘giving up’ into Eleven’s mind?
After Eleven and Hopper stumbled upon Kali and broke her out of the military facility within the Upside Down, she shared a little of what had happened since she and Eleven last parted ways. According to Kali, Dr. Kay continued hunting and tracking her like an animal, and ruthlessly slaughtered Kali’s friends (who were essentially her found family) upon locating her, before finally kidnapping her.
They then took Kali to the facility, where they began constantly harvesting her blood and infusing it into the systems of pregnant women. This was the same method they used to create the original gifted children from Henry’s blood, including both Kali and Eleven. However, Kali’s blood was not working the way that Henry’s did, which is why Dr. Kay so desperately wants to capture Eleven.
Keeping this in mind, Kali is now in the mindset that no matter what, they will never be free. They will always be tracked down and harvested for their powers, nothing more than experiments. Even if/when they destroy Henry/Vecna and the Upside Down, the military will seek to create more children just like him. In Kali’s eyes, there is no way for this cycle to end other than ensuring there are no more gifted children in existence left to continue the next generation.
However, she is being very adamant and rather pushy with this view, ensuring Eleven that it is the only way. To help force this idea into her head, Kali used her own powers of altering reality/images to show Eleven an image of herself hooked up to the machine, her blood being harvested for this experiment. Essentially, she’s trying to manipulate Eleven into being on the same page. Because of this, some fans are skeptical of her overall intentions and believe she may secretly be working with Henry/Vecna rather than against him.
Hopper also seems to strongly believe that there’s something off with Kali and that she is not to be trusted. For the most part, Hopper hasn’t been wrong very often with his gut feelings, so it’s very possible that Kali is keeping something hidden. On the other hand, he’s proven himself to also be extremely overprotective of Eleven, perhaps the most of all this season, so he may also just be defensive of anyone related to the lab getting close to her.
Some fans believe Kali may actually be working either with Vecna or with the Mind Flayer itself. Possible theories include her being a vessel for the Mind Flayer, similar to Vecna, or even being the Mind Flayer itself. They’ve noted how it’s odd that the Mind Flayer hasn’t been mentioned at all by the characters in multiple seasons, which has led some to believe it’s been hiding as Kali the entire time.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Mind Flayer has possessed/controlled someone, with Billy Hargrove facing that very fate back in Season 3. In addition to this, Kali has been known to refer to Henry as ‘brother’, which has some individuals believing that they may be working with one another.
The Stranger Things finale drops on December 31, 2025, which will finally reveal how things play out. Will Kali try to betray Eleven? Will she sacrifice herself to save her? Will she be revealed as a much bigger bad than anyone around her would have imagined? Only time will tell.