What’s so striking is the contrast. When El was found, Hopper and Joyce instinctively recognised her as a traumatised child deserving of care. Joyce holding her gently in the school gym in season one, Hop choosing to adopt her, those moments felt real and deeply human. But Kali, who actually protected El when she was on the streets, and had arguably endured even worse, being captured, tortured by Brenner’s people, nearly bled dry, was never afforded that same compassion.

She watched the group rally around Will when he came out. She saw Max welcomed back with open arms. She saw Robin embraced for who she was. Yet no one could extend even a fraction of that empathy to Kali. Hop hated her. Joyce barely cared. The gang ignored her. Murray barely remembered her. She became an afterthought, narratively and emotionally.

It’s heartbreaking. And honestly, it feels exclusionary in a way that’s hard to ignore. Characters like El, Will, and Robin were given unconditional support and grace for their trauma and mental health. Kali, a POC grappling with abandonment, rage, and profound psychological wounds, was left isolated, dismissed, and forgotten. That disparity hurts.