Kali Prasad, better known as Eight, is a recurring character in the second season of the sci-fi horror series Stranger Things. She is portrayed by Linnea Berthelsen.
Like Eleven, Kali was among the kids who were under human experimentation in the Hawkins lab. She sought vengeance for the abuses she endured there ever since she managed to escape from the Hawkins lab.
The show is set in the 1980s and follows a set of strange and paranormal activities in the town of Hawkins, Indiana, when a portal to another realm called the Upside Down is unintentionally opened in a human experimentation lab near the town. This results in several attacks, deaths, and disappearances of the townspeople. In the fourth season, the Upside Down is revealed to be an evil realm unknowingly opened by Eleven while trying to stop Vecna, the ruler of the Upside Down.
Kali’s character in Stranger Things
Kali is a strong woman who uses her abilities to rob people and exact revenge. She is homeless and considers herself an outcast, given her traumatic past. She feels that the people who took her away have damaged her life, and she sought justice. Despite her cold personality and traumatic upbringing, Kali shows a different side to Eleven and her friends.
She welcomes all fellow outcasts, regardless of whether they are "gifted" or not. She accepted Eleven into the gang once the latter demonstrated that she was gifted, and she even taught her how to use her past trauma to strengthen her telekinesis. However, since she leads a survivalist lifestyle, Kali isn't beyond using others to further her agenda, as she did with Eleven.
Kali’s background in Stranger Things
Kali was born in 1964 and lived in London until she was abducted at the age of five. She was then taken to the Hawkins National Laboratory. Kali was assigned the number "008" in the lab, where she was tested alongside Eleven and other kids with similar skills. She would play with Eleven in the "Rainbow Room," an area in the lab.
Kali wanted to flee the lab since she was sick of the mistreatment she was subjected to. Soon, she escaped the lab using her powers. Eleven lost the dim recollections she had of Kali after she overexerted herself by banishing One to the Upside Down.
Meanwhile, Kali found a new home and family, but they were unable to support her because of her powers, so she ultimately lost them. She then started using her abilities to get revenge on the lab employees. She eventually met Funshine, Axel, Mick, and Dottie. The gang would hunt down and murder anybody who had harmed them in the past.
Kali's powers in Stranger Things
Kali's power was quite different from Eleven's telekinesis ability. She could manipulate her victim's mind into seeing things that were not real. She used these powers as a means of survival and protecting her newfound family.
What happened to Kali?
There is no information about Kali's present whereabouts after her role in season 2. Kali played a crucial role in the second season, having her tale revealed in a separate episode that projected the dark reality of the human experimentation in the Hawkins lab. She didn't appear again after the season finale.
FAQs about Kali in Stranger Things
A. Kali Prasad, better known as Eight, was among the kids who were experimented on in the Hawkins lab. At some point, she managed to escape using her powers.
A. Though not related, Kali is seen as a sister figure for Eleven.
A. Kali’s personality appeared to be resentful, however, she wasn’t evil. She merely did things she did to survive and exact revenge on people who tortured her in the lab.
A. As of April 2025, Linnea Berthelsen is 31 years old.
