"Buono has played the character with compassion, verve, and just enough attitude to make viewers wonder how much of what's going on in Hawkins she's picking up on from behind all her evening and nighttime glasses of wine. (That wine is a character trait Buono herself suggested early on in the series to justify why Karen didn't seem to realize her family was perpetually in mortal danger.)"
"Karen has loved her children unconditionally, but aside from a season-three flirtation with younger lifeguard Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery), she has mostly been a tertiary character. Buono had no expectations for anything bigger, which was why she was so surprised and pleased to learn that Karen would get a heroic "badass mom" arc in this first half of Stranger Things 's final season."
Karen Wheeler engages a Demogorgon in episode two, repeatedly stabbing the creature with a broken wine bottle to try to save her youngest child, Holly, who is nevertheless taken into the Upside Down. Karen is left near death but identifies who took Holly, which gives Nancy and Mike crucial information that moves their group closer to defeating Vecna. Karen has long been portrayed as a supportive but somewhat oblivious mother, with evening wine as an established character trait. Cara Buono's portrayal balances compassion and attitude, and Buono was surprised and pleased by Karen's heroic arc.
Read at Vulture
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