Linda Hamilton’s Dr. Kay Should be a Villain in Stranger Things Season 5

Linda Hamilton is headed to Hawkins in Stranger Things Season 5, which means we could see the Terminator star do an about-face and play someone who is full-on evil.

The first trailer for the Netflix’s show’s final season, which was released yesterday, gives us our first look at Hamilton’s Stranger Things character; however, not much is known about Dr. Kay at this time. How does she factor into the story? Is she going to help Eleven and the others on her quest? Maybe she knows some exciting new secrets about the Upside Down?

Given that Hamilton has often played badass protagonists in a number of her past projects, it’d make sense that she’s playing some sort of scrappy hero in Stranger Things Season 5. Having said that, the idea of her playing a truly wicked villain could be a whole lot of fun.

Linda Hamilton’s Dr. Kay could be the replacement for Dr. Brenner in Stranger Things Season 5

There are a lot of different villains who have shown up throughout the course of Stranger Things: Vecna, the Demogorgon, the Russians, etc. But let’s take a second to appreciate Matthew Modine’s Dr. Brenner. He definitely wasn’t a kind fellow, given that he experimented on children and all of that. But he was a menacing, uncomfortable figure whose presence was most definitely felt, even during the seasons that he wasn’t in.

Dr. Brenner didn’t make it out of Stranger Things Season 4 alive, meaning Season 5 now needs to fill that void — the gang can’t just be fighting monsters the whole time, as the human threat is also vital to Stranger Things. And how better to fill that role than Hamilton?

In a recent interview with ComingSoon, Hamilton teased some really “big scenes” she was filming during her first week of production. “I mean, I was there getting ready before that, but my first week of shooting was like huge,” she said. “I looked at what they were on the schedule, and I was like, “No way are we doing that. I haven’t even spoken words from the character yet.” They don’t start with Episode 1. We’re heavy into Episode 2, and then I realized that every single day they shoot, it’s that huge.”

While that comment doesn’t give away anything about her Stranger Things character, it does imply she’ll be involved in some major set pieces — set pieces that, hopefully, will see her go full-villain mode.

We love the irony in Hamilton stalking the gang as a Terminator-like villain

Imagine, for a second, a scene that homages Terminator 2: Judgment Day (and we all know that Stranger Things LOVES homages). Hamilton’s character could initially present himself as a friend in the first episode, but then, maybe, the gang finds themselves in a tight spot in episode two. Hamilton could turn a corner and look like she’s about to offer some aid, but rather, she pulls out a gun and starts opening fire. 

It’d be an awesome remix of the scene where Arnold Schwarzenegger looks like he’s about to kill Sarah Connor, but then offers to help her instead — and, then, after the heroes get away, she could go full-on T-1000 and start stalking them with all the firepower she can muster.

Given that it’s the last season of Stranger Things, there probably won’t be any big cliffhangers, meaning that they’ll have to resolve Hamilton’s arc by the time it ends. But giving Hamilton the chance to have a cool, intense death scene? 

Yeah, we’re in for that. We’re definitely in for that.