Cara Buono Might Have Let Slip a Major Stranger Things Ending Before Volume 2 Arrives

File this under: actors saying quiet parts out loud. Cara Buono, aka Karen Wheeler on Stranger Things, might have just tipped the show’s hand about Karen’s fate ahead of Volume 2.

What Cara Buono just hinted

'I would be curious to see what happens after all this for Karen as the 90s begin and where she goes from here, especially after encountering a Demogorgon. As she is going on with her life — to me, that’s an interesting story.'

That was Buono to US Weekly, and yeah, that sure sounds like she expects Karen to make it out of the endgame. She also floated the idea that once Holly is in college, Karen might finally chase some long-postponed dreams and even move to New York. On top of that, she said she’s excited to dig deeper into Karen’s past as the show peels back more of Henry Creel’s history in Volume 2 and the series finale.

To be clear: actors speculate all the time. But talking about Karen’s life in the 90s after battling a Demogorgon is pretty specific.

Quick refresher: where Karen is in Season 5

• Season 5 opens with Karen still living that suburban routine, now with the Byers clan camped at the Wheeler house.
• Episode 2, aptly titled 'The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler', blows that up: a Demogorgon attacks, knocks Ted Wheeler out cold, and grabs Holly.
• Karen actually throws down. She goes at the thing with a broken wine bottle, wounds it, and tries to stop the abduction. The Demogorgon still drags Holly into the Upside Down and leaves Karen badly hurt.
• Buono told US Weekly she wanted Karen 'off the couch and into a fight' this season, and she got it.
• After the attack, both parents are alive: Ted is put in an induced coma; Karen is seriously injured and can’t speak.
• Even so, Karen helps Nancy and Mike piece together what Holly’s imaginary friends were really pointing to — and who took her.
• The Demogorgon was hurt badly enough in Karen’s scuffle that its blood trail becomes a breadcrumb path Eleven uses in the Upside Down to track Holly.
• As of now, Karen’s ultimate fate in the finale is unknown. Given Buono’s comments, though, it’s not hard to picture Karen and Holly eventually getting out of Hawkins entirely.

Buono on the finale: big feelings, clean landings

Buono is also in full praise mode for creators Matt and Ross Duffer. She told The Hollywood Reporter that ending a show like this is a no-win game — you can’t please everybody — but she believes the Duffers found a way to make it satisfying and to do right by the characters and the story. She called it one of the most meaningful endings she’s worked on, saying it feels like closing a chapter with a family she grew up with. Expect heavy emotions; the cast and creators have been echoing that.

One more bit of context: Karen has been around since the series started, but she’s mostly been kept in the dark about Hawkins’ monster problem until Season 5 Volume 1. Now she’s literally in the fight — and, if Buono’s not just spitballing, around to see the 90s on the other side of it.

Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix. How do you think this wraps up?