Karen Wheeler was out of the loop for many of Stranger Things‘ early adventures, but season 5 immediately threw her right into the action and somewhat made her cooler. Now, even after being brutally attacked by the Demogorgon in Stranger Things season 5 Volume 1, Karen is continuing to prove that she can hold her own as well as any other member of the Hawkins gang.

Initially, it seemed that the Demogorgon attack, which landed both Ted and Karen in the hospital, served to sideline the Wheeler parents while the rest of the monster fighters continued their hunt for Vecna. Yet Stranger Things season 5 Volume 2 continued to bring the fight to the hospital, proving that the elder Wheelers — or at least Karen — are more than mere oblivious townsfolk.

Karen Wheeler Gets Another Heroic Moment In Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2

Karen Wheeler seemed to be out of harm’s way while recovering in the hospital, but her heroic maternal instincts saved the day once again when Vecna set his sights on the comatose Max. By spying through Will’s mind, Vecna learned the location of Max’s physical body, and promptly sent a herd of Demodogs to wipe out the girl who has been plaguing him in Camazotz.

Will and El managed to give the others enough warning that Lucas, Robin, and Vickie were able to flee to the basement with the lifeless Max. But the Demodogs closed in as Lucas refused to turn off Kate Bush, insisting (rightly) that Max was moments away from finding her way back into her body.

As the kids fled the monsters, Karen sat up in her hospital bed, recognizing the flickering lights as a sign of bad things to come. She followed the drama down to the basement, though it seemed impossible that the injured, limping mom could find a way to help.

This time, though, she fought smarter, not harder, by loading an oxygen tank into a dryer. The sound lured the Demodogs over to the machine, which promptly exploded, taking the monsters down with it.

Karen’s Hospital Scene Is Even More Impressive Than The Demogorgon Fight

Image via Netflix

The extent of Karen’s bravery in Volume 1 was fully revealed when she looked the Demogorgon in the face and refused to back down, but this scene shows that that experience only sharpened her mental toughness. Karen now knows exactly what her family is up against and changes her tactics to embrace this bizarre, incomprehensible foe.

Throughout much of the series, Mike and Nancy left their parents out of their dangerous expeditions, leading Karen to seem like most other Hawkins residents — blissfully unaware of the horrors beneath the town’s surface. Yet the Demogorgon fight showed how quickly she could wrap her mind around it all, and this scene cemented that that moment was far from a fluke.

The grave injuries she sustained in Volume 1 put her in a position to be underestimated once again, but her life-saving quick thinking in the hospital proved that Karen is not to be ignored. It showed that her fight in Volume 1 wasn’t a one-off moment meant to leave Mike and Nancy to fend for themselves. Rather, it was setting the stage for this scene, where Karen would become a key player in her own right.

After killing three Demodogs in one fell swoop, Karen will likely be a major asset to the team in the final chapters of Stranger Things.