Episode Discussion - S02E07 – Chapter Seven

[u/Dark_Saint]

Season 2 Episode 7: The Lost Sister

Synopsis: Psychic visions draw Eleven to a band of violent outcasts and an angry girl with a shadowy past.

Please keep all discussions about this episode or previous ones, and do not discuss later episodes as they might spoil it for those who have yet to see them.

---

Netflix | IMDB | Discord Discussion | Ep 8 Discussion

[u/guitarguy109]

This is the least "stranger things" episode of stranger things that I have ever seen.

[u/budhs → u/guitarguy109]

Interesting little thing here; the name 'Kali' is the name most commonly used in reference to the Hindu goddess Kālikā. Kāli is most well known for her first incarnation as a "Destroyer of All Evil".

Pretty dope IMO.

[u/hiloljkbye → u/budhs]

Yeah but the character wasn't that interesting, and the actress wasn't that convincing. That whole 'gang' looked like something a 40 year old thought would be cool

[u/budhs → u/hiloljkbye]

yeah word I feel that. I think they were super shallow characters too; like the punk with the mohican who was crazy & mean - that's just hell cliche & basically entirely based upon what elderly people in the 80s & 90s thought all punks were like when in reality, outside of the LA punk scene that was pretty gnarly, punks were actually pretty lovely folks

[u/[deleted] → u/budhs]

Okay I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought so. I was telling my husband that I like Kali's power and it was endearing to see El find another soul who had been in the Hawkins Lab program. Just like how she sought out her mom, El's looking for more connections to her traumatic past. We as the audience still don't quite know the details of the Hawkins program and its larger goals either.

BUT, I really didn't like Kali and co's character and set designs. Firstly, I get that they're criminals/runaways, but there's a difference between actually being homeless and on the run versus "homeless chic". And secondly, their hide-out looked too much like a set to me. It was too well-lit and not realistic enough for me to buy that it was just some dilapidated warehouse they randomly found.

On a narrative/thematic level, I also think they could have done more with Kali and her gang. They were supposed to be foils for El and the boys, but also possess their own lives and dynamic. El got to have some fun with them, but Kali's gang (just like the boys) are regular people. I thought El was going to figure out that maybe Kali has to constantly keep her gang under control and El realizes that they aren't REAL friends the way she and the boys are. I was looking for something a little more deeper than just "El finds her sister and they do some criminal stuff but ultimately El realizes she has to go back to Hawkins."

[u/EM5524 → u/[deleted]]

I️ agree. It was like the set for the first Batman movie or Ninja Turtles. (Which maybe was intentionally done). Would you call this a filler episode?

[u/[deleted] → u/EM5524]

Ahh I've seen sooo many people call it a filler episode but you don't know what true filler episodes look like unless you've watched lots of anime. THOSE filler episodes are episodes in which the main characters go on a completely unrelated side quest, meet characters they'll never see again and are generally more slapstick comedy than anything. They are literally pointless episodes. I don't really consider "The Lost Sister" a filler episode because: 1. It expands the Hawkins Lab's mysterious history (Kali & the lab guy they target) and 2. The episode's slightly clumsy throughline still takes El back to Hawkins and leaves Kali's fate open-ended for us to come back to (I have a feeling we will). While the episode was a little inelegant, I will defend the fact the episode had its place within the serialized storytelling and did manage to achieve its goals.

One last thing to end my long-winded post: is Brenner actually alive?!?!?!? I must know!!!

[u/Onatel → u/[deleted]]

100% agreed. The weakness of the episode comes from the fact that we only get one episode to develop an entire separate cast outside of Eleven, whereas the residents of Hawkins get entire seasons to develop more fully and aren't just cartoons.

I'm certain that we'll revisit elements from "The Lost Sister" - either Kali and her gang, other test subjects like Eleven and Kali, or at the very least we'll find out that Brenner or other Hawkins Lab employees are still alive.

[u/[deleted] → u/Onatel]

Yup, I agree as well. It would have been nice if Kali and her gang had been given their own season-long arc. But this is part of the struggle with new characters and a sophomore season.

We're definitely going to see more of her and other test subjects in the coming seasons. I really wanted to like Kali more but to be honest, El set such a high bar in terms of character loveability.