Unfortunately, it won’t quite be the justice fans were hoping the fan-favorite character, played in Season 1 by Shannon Purser, would receive. During a Stranger Things Season 5 set visit, Time Magazine spotted Barb’s body, which was described as being “covered in inky black vines made partly of spray-painted pool noodles, the dummy’s lips purple and slightly agape with a giant bleeding gash on her neck,” and “half buried in the ground.” Speaking with Time, the Duffers admitted that they never understood why audiences cared so much about Barb. “The one note that we consistently got back was, ‘What about Barb?’ And we’re like, ‘It’s a show about Will,'” said Ross Duffer as he rolled his eyes.

In Stranger Things Season 1, Nancy’s friend Barb was pulled into the Upside Down, like one of the main protagonists, Will Byers; however, she never made it out. Fans sympathized with the character, leading to the start of the #JusticeForBarb movement, which in turn inspired Nancy’s first story arc in Season 2, where she addressed the fact that nobody cared about her deceased best friend. However, fans still weren’t satisfied with how Stranger Things kept avoiding Barb, leading to her return in the final season.

“Netflix kept harassing us about it. And it turns out they were right,” Matt Duffer noted. “We neglected her, and as such, Hawkins neglected her, and it made her that much more famous,” added Ross. It remains to be seen whether Barb’s body will be an important part of the final season’s story or is simply set dressing disguised as an Easter egg for die-hard fans to spot. However, some fans have already taken to the social media platform X to express their disappointment at Barb’s return being spoiled ahead of time.

Stranger Things Is Finally Ending After 9 Years

Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

As #JusticeForBarb proved, the first season of Stranger Things took the world (and pop culture) by storm, becoming a major hit for Netflix. Even after Stranger Things stopped releasing a new season annually after Season 2, which was done to prevent the Duffer Brothers from further burnout, the series has only continued to grow in popularity, with its fourth season breaking countless viewership records for a Netflix original. With the beloved series now coming to a close after almost a decade, fans will likely be tuning in on Day 1 to binge the first four episodes, which will be released on Thanksgiving (Nov. 26). Netflix will also release the remaining four episodes during the holidays, with Episodes 5 through 7 debuting on Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and the series finale arriving on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31).

Stranger Things Season 5 will take place in the fall of 1987. “Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time,” reads the synopsis for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.