
Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1 are ahead!
The first four episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 were released last week, giving Netflix subscribers plenty to discuss. Key moments included Will Byers finally understanding and using his powers, and the reappearance of Kali, also known as Eight. While these were highlights of the first half of the season, I’m hoping the show will eventually explain what happened to Dr. Sam Owens, played by Paul Reiser, before the story concludes.

Where We Last Saw Dr. Owens
Dr. Owens first appeared in Season 2 of Stranger Things and had a brief role in the Season 3 finale. He returned as a key character in Season 4, working with Dr. Martin Brenner on Project NINA, an effort to restore Eleven’s powers. They succeeded, but their progress was complicated by the arrival of Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan.
Convinced that Eleven was behind the killings in Hawkins, Indiana, Sullivan and his soldiers raided the NINA facility with the intention of finding and eliminating her. Despite Owens’s attempts to protect Eleven, Sullivan ordered her to be killed after one of his snipers shot Brenner. Eleven, regaining control of her powers, used telekinesis to bring down the sniper’s helicopter, causing Brenner’s death and allowing her to escape with Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle (who won’t be returning for Season 5). The fate of Owens, however, remains unknown.

Why I Want Dr. Owens To Return
Dr. Owens is a significant character, and it seems unlikely the show would have killed him off without showing it. So, what did happen to him? It’s possible Sullivan arrested him, but has he just been in jail ever since? Or is Owens too valuable to simply imprison? Perhaps he’s being forced to work for Dr. Kay, either at her base in the Upside Down or somewhere else under close watch.
I really need to find out what happened to Dr. Owens. The storyline involving him has been left unresolved for too long, and he’s one of the few government characters on Stranger Things who feels genuinely good. He’s made errors and hasn’t always been perfect, but he’s largely been a helpful ally to the kids. He deserves a proper conclusion, not just being left as one of those characters whose fate we never learn.
With four episodes remaining in the final season of Stranger Things, and a finale that’s over two hours long, there’s still a chance we’ll see Sam Owens return. I’ll be speculating about that possibility until the episodes air. Volume 2 will be released on Christmas Day, with the final episode arriving on New Year’s Eve.
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2025-12-02 17:40