Stranger Things 5 already brought back one character we thought we'd never see again, but outside that one surprise, we didn't see any other returning characters pop up in the series finale, "Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up."
In "Chapter Four: Sorcerer," Hopper and Eleven thought they had Vecna trapped in the secret lab in the Upside Down. In one of the most important reveals of the season, we learned that it was not Vecna who Dr. Kay was keeping locked up; it was Kali/Eight (Linnea Berthelsen).
There were some fans who suspected we could see Kali return, especially with the theory that suggests they needed to roll a 20 in D&D to beat Vecna in Eddie Munson's campaign from season 4. Eleven plus Eight plus One gets you to 20. Still, we hadn't seen Eight since Eleven left Chicago in "Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister" in season 2 until she popped up in the finale.
Jamie Campbell Bower teased some actors returning for the Stranger Things 5 finale. As soon as I heard that, I thought of three character who would surely be returning for the finale. The problem? They didn't actually return.
I shared a list of the three Stranger Things characters I was expecting to see at the end of the series who never actually showed up. Let's get the list started with Papa.
Dr. Brenner
I think we’d all been wondering just when/if Dr. Brenner would return in Stranger Things 5. The last time we saw Brenner, he was bleeding out in the desert after the military stormed the compound of the Nevada Project looking for Eleven.
We thought Brenner had died, but this dude is a cat. He’s got more lives than Hopper. I thought, for sure, we'd see him return in the season finale. There was a moment when Eleven has a flashback while at the Hawkins Lab where we hear Brenner's voice, but we don't actually see him on screen.
Honestly, it would have been great if Brenner had been included in this season. He could have cleared up a lot of this exotic matter, wormhole, and Abyss business in no time at all. Instead, we got Dustin and Steve to put together a makeshift plan to save the world. I mean, it worked, so it's fine, but Dr. Brenner could have been very helpful to the crew.
Dr. Brenner is so central to this story, what the Upside Down is, and how the Mind Flayer made contact with Henry for the first time, too. We know now that, thanks to Stranger Things: The First Shadow, that this is all Dr. Brenner’s dad’s fault, basically.
For those who don’t know, Dr. Brenner’s father led an expedition into the Abyss when they were doing experiments in the 1940s to make Navy ships invisible, basically. Dr. Brenner’s father was probably the one of the first human victims of the Mind Flayer, or at the very least, the first person to see what the Mind Flayer is capable of.
Eddie Munson
Since his death in the season 4 finale, Eddie Munson was the character fans wanted to return. There were so many theories about how Vecna could bring Eddie back from the dead as a vampire, but ultimately, those theories did not end up to be true.
After years of denying Joseph Quinn would return as Eddie, it turns out the Duffers and others involved with the show were not actually lying after all. Like with Dr. Brenner, I thought we'd see Eddie in a flashback or some key moment when Dustin needed to keep going. Ultimately, it didn't happen.
Honestly, the set-up for it to happen was right there. Dustin basically did exactly what Eddie said he was going to do at graduation. He flips off the Principal Higgins, grabs his diploma, and turns the place into a party. It would have great for Dustin to take a second and remember that moment with Eddie while he was giving his speech, but it didn't happen. Fans will have to live with their last memories of Eddie from season 4.
Dr. Owens
Last but not least, Dr. Owens, played by Paul Reiser, definitely seemed like he'd be turning up in the Stranger Things finale. He'd always turned up when he was needed before. Remember, in season 2, he sticks around and makes sure the others get out of the Hawkins Lab. Well, everyone except Bob Newby (Sean Astin).
Then, in season 3, Dr. Owens shows up to the Starcourt Mall with the military after Hopper and Joyce call him. Sadly, he arrives just a little too late to save Hopper and stop the Russians. In season 4, he rights most of his wrongs when he helps Eleven get her powers back, but the last we see him, he's locked to a pipe in the base in the Nevada desert.
And, as far as I know, we don't know what actually happened to him. It would have made so much sense, if he was still alive, to roll into the MAC-Z at the end and take over for Dr. Kay, but that didn't happen either.
Overall, I don't think it's a bad thing that these three characters didn't make it in the series finale, but things could have been wrapped up a little bit nicer had they been included.