[epic music playing]
Cara Buono: Karen Wheeler is about to kick some ass. You didn't see that coming in Season 1, did ya? [chuckles] Or did you?
Matt Duffer: This season, Cara's been doing a really amazing job showing the audience who Karen really is, that she's not who we thought she was at the beginning of the show.
Cara Buono: Karen Wheeler is dedicated to being the anchor of the home. She loves her kids.
[CLIP] Karen Wheeler: Say, "Who are you gonna call?"
Cara Buono: She's had no idea, really, what the heck ever happened in Hawkins.
Ross Duffer: We knew, this being our final season, we're gonna do something big at the Wheeler house.
Matt Duffer: Once monsters breach that house, it changes everything for Karen. We decided this is time for Karen to come face to face with these monsters.
Cara Buono: I just love that the Duffers decided, Karen's gonna be part of this, and she's gonna save the day. I thought I would be more nervous, but I'm just ready. I'm just ready to kick some ass.
Matt Duffer: "The Demogorgon lunges, blocking their exit."
Cara Buono (as Karen Wheeler): "Stay back, baby."
Matt Duffer: "She turns back to face the Demogorgon. Karen is a sight to behold here. She's breathing hard. Her hair is a wild, tangled mess, and dark eyeliner streaks her face like war paint. Karen smashes a wine bottle against the counter, leaving its end spiked with razor-sharp glass."
Cara Buono (as Karen Wheeler): “Stay away … from my daughter!”
Cara Buono: She just goes into that natural mama instinct of, "Don't mess with my kid." And Karen lets it out in a really ferocious way. She actually has almost like a fist fight with her wine bottle.
[Cara screaming]
Man: [Offscreen] Cut!
Cara Buono: See, it came in handy. All that drinking just has a really good payoff. We are at the start of the last day of the Karen Wheeler–Demo fight.
Joe Chrest: Seeing Cara with all the effects makeup, it was a real gut punch and kind of overwhelming.
Cara Buono: I love getting things like this done to me. It's super fun. There's that adrenaline thing, if you're gonna survive and save your kid. Like, you save your last breath to make sure that she's OK. For all the moms out there, you're gonna do anything to defend your kid, especially on your territory.
[CLIP] Karen Wheeler: If you think I'm gonna stay in bed, you're out of your goddamn mind. Let's go.
Cara Buono: I think the fans are gonna think she's just done. That happened, and we're moving on. And the fact that she comes back, that's been a really fun secret to keep this whole year. The kids are in the hospital, and she's like, "Ah, bad shit's happening. I gotta go deal with it."
[explosion]
Matt Duffer: "The room is on fire, and the dogs are scattered about in charred pieces. Dead, very, very dead. Then out of the curtain of black smoke, a figure. Karen fucking Wheeler."
[group cheering]
Cara Buono: "Karen dot fucking dot Wheeler." My favorite stage direction ever.
Shawn Levy: Yeah, Karen fucking Wheeler. All I saw was this kind of badass Cara Buono coming through those doors. I did not realize she was banging out a set of push-ups on the other side.
Man: [Offscreen] Roll camera.
Woman: [Offscreen] We're rolling.
Cara Buono: It was fun just to go in there, push the doors open.
Caleb McLaughlin: Hero music comes on. It was just her silhouette. She's limping, and then you had the heroic music playing, and it felt real. This was my favorite part. It was pretty sick.
Maya Hawke: It was such a badass moment. She has been waiting to get involved in all of this for 10 years.
[CLIP] Karen Wheeler: Here we go.
Amybeth McNulty: Oh my God, she's the coolest woman in the whole world.
Cara Buono: Karen fucking Wheeler is a Demo destroyer.
[CLIP] Robin Buckley: Mrs. Wheeler came and did the laundry.
[CLIP] Mike Wheeler: Holy shit, Mom.
Shawn Levy: Karen Wheeler reveals her own heroism and the nobility of that character. The thing that unites all of these characters is how far they're willing to go to protect someone they love.
Matt Duffer: She shares so many qualities with Nancy. That strength, that courage, the bravery. So we wanted to see that ferocity within her unleashed.
[Karen yells]
[CLIP] Karen Wheeler: I'm proud of you. You're a fighter. I don't know where you get it from.
[CLIP] Nancy Wheeler: I get it from you.
[dramatic music playing]
[music ends]
“It’s Vecna or us. And we’re not gonna stop until we have saved the world.”
Every party member plays a part.
“It wasn’t that bad. I thought it’d be worse. I thought I'd be cringing more.”
“Wow, I forgot about that outfit.”
“Do I look exactly the same? I think I look exactly the same.”
“Yeah, that’s crazy. By the way, I have no memory of that.”
“I’m definitely proud of that version of me.”
“I just think it’s incredibly important that it all ends for her.”
“This is about this group of characters saying goodbye to their childhood.”
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