So even though the finale of Stranger Things Season 5 tried to wrap up most of its subplots and character arcs, it still failed to answer many questions that left viewers with a bitter taste. [Spoiler Alert] And one such question is, what happened to evil scientist Dr. Kay, and why did the military pull out of Hawkins? Okay, so the reason behind their sudden departure could be better explained through the motive behind why they arrived in Hawkins in the first place. The US military, under the leadership of Dr. Kay, sanctioned a top-secret mission whose sole purpose was to hunt down the test subjects of Dr. Martin Brenner’s Project MKUltra and use them to create more supersoldiers, who can control other-worldly monsters which will give them an upper hand in the ongoing Cold War.
As soon as Dr. Kay found out that a few of Dr. Brenner’s test subjects had survived the destruction of the Hawkins Lab; she and her team embarked on a mission to locate all these special kids. They somehow located Kali and used their new sonic device to capture her and extract her blood, which was infected with extraterrestrial particles, to create more psychic children like her. But Kali’s blood wasn’t powerful enough to yield any considerable results, which was why Dr. Kay set her gaze on Brenner’s favorite and, as a matter of fact, most powerful psychic kid, Eleven, the pursuit of whom ultimately brought her and her team to Hawkins. And while Dr. Kay’s team was trying to locate El, she herself had been busy conducting a number of experiments of her own inside a sweet little lab in the Upside Down. She had been experimenting upon the tendrils, a biological lifeform from another dimension, in order to control them so she could use them as a weapon against the Russians. Well, long story short, she was looking for anything that could be turned into a weapon, but to her misfortune, she had to leave empty handed.
In season 5’s ending, not only did the Upside Down collapse into a void, but it also took El and Kali away with it, or at least that’s what the finale of the show wants the US military to believe. We know that Mike has a theory that Kali used her powers to fake El’s death because it was the only way to end the vicious cycle. If El or any other psychic kid had still been alive, then the military would have hunted them down and used their blood to experiment upon innocent mothers and their unborn babies to create another Eleven in the lab, but with all the psychic kids probably dead, the military would likely give up their futile attempts at creating super soldiers. I mean, I know that doesn’t sound very realistic. It’s more of a fairy tale fantasy because it wouldn’t take the government agencies and military too long to sanction another inhumane experiment and create similar bioweapons to strengthen their army. So this vicious loop is never going to end, and the only silver lining here is that at least El was able to escape it. So, as soon as all the rifts and gates disappeared, and with El presumably dead, Dr. Kay and her team packed up their bags and left Hawkins, because there was nothing left for them there to experiment upon. Yes, you heard that right. None of the kids or adults were charged with treason for conspiring against the military, and the soldiers just left town as if nothing ever happened there. And I know the rifts and the gates connected to the wormhole couldn’t just magically disappear, but that’s one of the plot holes that the season 5 finale refused to address. All we got was an 18-month time jump through which the Duffer brothers left everything to the viewers’ imagination. Hell of a move.
Nevertheless, if you ask me about where she could be right now, then I’d say she’s probably out there somewhere running after another supernatural phenomenon so she can harness its powers to make her country stronger. However, wherever she is, or whatever she is doing, I don’t think she and El will ever cross paths again (considering Mike’s theory is correct and El’s still alive), because that’s the happy ending that the Season 5 finale wants us to believe in. However, there’s a possibility that Dr. Kay might return in a future spin-off of the show. You heard that Jim Hopper had been offered a new job as the Chief of Police in Montauk, and a simple internet search would make you aware that there are numerous conspiracy theories centered around the Montauk Project. So, what I am trying to say here is that it’s likely the Hawk gang or a few of them can reunite to sort out another mess created by one of the US top secret projects, just like the Philadelphia Experiment, the Nevada Experiment, and Project MKUltra. Well, the possibilities are endless, and I would like to know your thoughts on the matter. So hit me up with your theories on what you think happened after Dr. Kay witnessed El’s death and why the military left Hawkins in the end.
