If they can put Max in a wheelchair and wheel her out, why not do the same for Karen?
Yes, exactly.
Even if she had to be on a gurney and laying down, you take her with you.
Right. Although, she would’ve just started walking. She would have had some stumbling issues, but I think that adrenaline would’ve fueled her the whole way.
Tell me about the scene you had with Finn Wolfhard as Mike when she’s begging him to let her go, and he wants her to take it easy. Obviously, we don’t know if it’s the last one-on-one scene you’ll have with him, but you’ve known Finn since he was a kid. What was that moment like for you?
Well, it’s always been the reverse. It’s always been Karen comforting Mike and giving him advice throughout the show. Now he’s giving her advice, saying, “I’m going to take care of it, Mom, and you need to listen to me.” And now I’m staring up at him instead of looking down because he was so little when we started. It was very emotional. I’m already a very nostalgic person, so while we were in the scenes, it wasn’t lost on me that this was a final scene of us having this kind of emotional exchange. It was challenging in the sense…it was that reversal of roles that happens when your child gets older and they end up taking care of you. He’s such a great actor, so it was nice to have this scene together as one of our last scenes.
Absolutely. Is there a moment or a scene throughout the previous seasons that felt inconsequential at the time, but now you look back and realize the importance?
Oh, that the connection of Holly becoming a bigger character, when Vecna comes for Holly in season one when we go to Joyce’s house. Vecna reaches out through the wall for her, and it connects back. And then also, the scene in season three when Karen’s talking to Nancy about working at the newspaper because Nancy’s upset about being treated poorly. And Karen says, “You’ve always been a fighter. I don’t know where you get it from.” And Nancy goes, “I get it from you, Mom.” I wondered if that was a bit of a foreshadow for season five of, I’m actually fighting the Demogorgon at the end. I did look back on that scene, and I think the Duffers are really smart about planting these seeds and connecting the dots.