In season five of Stranger Things, we met a mysterious new villain called Dr Kay. While we wait for the next batch of episodes, Netflix viewers have been busy combing through past episodes for clues about who she actually is, and how she might impact the show’s ending.
A big reveal is definitely coming. The actor who portrays Dr Kay, Linda Hamilton, told Entertainment Weekly: “She’s got her own itinerary, and there are some driving forces that we don’t see right away. She has her mysteries, which is great.”
Here are the three most compelling theories that the internet has to offer about who Dr Kay is in Stranger Things. I’m convinced the answer must be one of these.
Theory #1: Dr Kay is related to Eddie
This sounds random, but wait until you see the evidence. Do you remember in the season five episode Chapter One: The Crawl, when Dustin visits Eddie Munson’s memorial? Next to Eddie’s tombstone is the grave of more Munson relatives. The inscription is for a Raymond Mark, who lived from 1930 to 1974, then a Cheryl Kay, who lived from 1934 to 1976. It says “Always Together” underneath.
I rest my case
(Image via Netflix)
The camera lingers on this grave. Most of the other tombstones in the scene don’t have writing on. The prop department must have had their reasons, right?
Eddie lived with his uncle. His parents didn’t seem to be in the picture in season four. Season five of Stranger Things is meant to take place in autumn 1987. So, if Cheryl Kay Munson was still alive, she’d be 53 – a feasible age to be Eddie’s mother. (Although Linda Hamilton is currently 69).
So, could Dr Kay be Eddie’s long-lost mother, who faked her death for some reason? This feels pretty likely.
Theory #2: Dr Kay is Dr Brenner’s sister
We know from the Stranger Things stage show that Dr Brenner is an evil scientist nepo baby. He began researching Dimension X because his dad Captain Brenner did. Dr Kay seems to have inherited the same role, and she has an extra special interest in Dr Brenner’s protégé Eleven.
Near the start of the season five episode Chapter Four: Sorcerer, a family watches The Sword in the Stone. This Disney film came out in 1963, so feels like a pretty random pop culture reference, unless it has a hidden connection to the plot. The movie focuses on King Arthur’s childhood and his foster brother Kay. In Arthurian legend, Kay (or Cei/Cai/Kei/Caius) is a warrior, who is sometimes a rival to Arthur, but eventually helps him rule.
Well, why else would you pick this one out of the whole Disney canon?
(Image via Netflix)
The Sword in the Stone might have just been picked to foreground Will’s hidden powers, or because the Duffer brothers were fans. But maybe it’s a cheeky hint to Dr Kay being Dr Brenner (or somebody else’s) sibling.
Theory #3: Dr Kay is El… from the future
You may laugh, but here me out! Since day one, Stranger Things viewers have theorised about how the Upside Down could be used for time travel, and the show could get all wibbly wobbly timey wimey. All the references to A Wrinkle in Time throughout season five make this likelier. Could El use the Upside Down or other dimensions to hop backwards and forwards in time?
Dr Kay and Eleven (who could be one and the same)
(Image via Netflix)
Stranger Things viewers have taken this theory a step further, and wondered if Dr Kay could be El from the future, returned to Hawkins in 1987 to fix something.
Dr Kay is definitely fixated on Eleven. She ordered her military minions to bring El to her alive (even though other soldiers are keen to just shoot her on sight). She says to El, “Not the sharpest, are we?” Maybe the “we” isn’t just snark, but is more literal. Above all, “K” is the eleventh letter of the English alphabet.
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Featured image via Netflix.
