Could this be possible?

SpoilerGeneral Discussion

After watching volume 1 of S5 something dawned on me...

Could Kali/008 be the mastermind / mindflayer or even Lolth from the D&D universe?

I'm sure this theory is all kinds of flawed, but based on a hunch and very limited knowledge of the D&D universe, I'm wondering if there is a connection.

Here's why:

  • Her ability to control visions / the mind seems rather different from the "standard" powers that the others possess. We can assume she may have gotten her powers from Henry, but do we know this for sure?
  • She was seemingly the only other child, besides 011 of course, that survived Henry's rampage at Hawkins Lab - unless she escaped before it even happened
  • She made Axel believe he was covered in spiders (teaser or possibly just a coincidence as he was afraid of them)
  • She seems to have at least a couple of similarities to the character Lolth (appetite for chaos, power of deception)
  • The name Kali translates to "the black one" in Hindi (this one is certainly a reach or possibly just a coincidence)

If so:

  • Her being at the Hawkins Lab in the first place, could she have been there to scout the talent?
  • Vecna's affinity for spiders would have even greater meaning as Lolth has the form of a Spider and is the goddess of the darkness, corruption, demonweb pits / upside down, all things bad (according to research)
  • Could she be behind what caused Henry to freeze and tremble in fear outside the cave? The issue with this might be her being locked up in the base at the time it happened, so maybe not.

Conflicting & final thought:

  • Why bring her back after what felt like a random arc in season 2? Could it be to help 011 and crew save the day? Or was it to help get Vecna back on his feet?

Would love to hear thoughts on this as I'm sure I'm missing plenty of details and it's more likely she's just back to help 011 (and now Will). Either way, thanks for humoring me - can't wait to see the rest of the series!

Posted Nov 28, 2025, 5:50 PM UTC

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