The parents of Stranger Things have always been a little out there. Whether it is ignoring their children or just being generally in the dark about anything going on in Hawkins. But one thing has always been clear about the Wheelers: They should get a divorce.
**Spoilers for season 5 volume 1 of Stranger Things lie ahead**
Since season 1 of Stranger Things, Ted Wheeler (Joe Chrest) and his wife, Karen (Cara Buono), have felt mixed matched. She has always been a lively, fun woman and Ted is often just sitting in a chair in front of the television. But season 5 makes it very clear that Ted and Karen are destined for one thing and one thing only: Divorce.
Back in season 3, it was seemingly as if the two were heading towards a break-up. Especially when Karen started to flirt with Billy (Dacre Montgomery). Even if she decided to pivot back to being a loving and devoted wife, she toyed with the idea of another relationship. Since, Karen has not been exactly warm to Ted.
But in season 5, we get to see the two fighting over what is going on with Holly (Nell Fisher) and leads to Ted mocking Karen’s drinking, her fighting back at him, and the two being very much at odds with each other. And then, the unthinkable happens: A demogoron breaks into their home to try to kidnap Holly and ends up wounding both Ted and Karen in the process.
Throughout most the season thus far, the two are just in the hospital and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) break into Karen’s room to ask her questions about Holly’s “imaginary” friend but even with their life on the line, I think that the Wheelers come out of this and get divorced.
It’s just not a marriage anyone is happy in!
One of my fears heading into the rest of Stranger Things is that the Wheelers will either survive and stay together because their life and death situation reminded them what’s “important” or one of them will die and they’ll be free of the other anyway. Neither is great because both kind of shows their kids that it is better to be miserable to keep up the “idea” of marriage until death do you part.
But watching the two fight at the start of the season really wasn’t surprising but was a reminder that the two don’t really need to stay together, even if it is the 80s. Karen is not happy and neither is Ted. I do think that in this divorce, Karen would thrive and Ted would be that single dad who is just kind of…hanging out in his home with his free time. Still though.
We don’t know what the future holds for the Wheeler parents. And while I understands Holly’s fear of her parents getting divorced (been there, girl), I do think that your parents being miserable isn’t fun either. It is fun though seeing Karen Wheeler take a wine bath while listening to ABBA. That ruled.
So Stranger Things season 5, do the right thing. Let the Wheelers get divorced on this next Christmas drop.
(featured image: Netflix)
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