Main Cast (The Party | Adults | Teens) | Supporting Cast | Hawkins | Hawkins National Laboratory | The Upside Down | Outsiders
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Hawkins National Laboratory
In General
A laboratory ostensibly under the auspices of the United States Department of Energy, Hawkins Lab has long been conducting experiments on creating a Human Weapon with supernatural abilities.
- Anti-Hero: What they become in Season 2. Yes, they may still be pretty ruthless, but they're actually trying to clean up their previous messes and are legitimately on the side of the protagonists this time around (more or less).
- The Cavalry: Surprisingly, yes, in "Dig Dug". A bunch of Faceless Goons with flamethrowers follow Joyce and Bob into the tunnels below the pumpkin patch as they rush to rescue Hopper. Their presence is revealed in a Jump Scare, but they immediately urge the civilians to safety and attack the Mind Flayer's tentacles.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: They were able to incite Psychic Powers in subjects through various forms of psychological and physical torture, helped along by a wide variety of drug and hallucinogenics.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: They are on the receiving end of this a lot, as seen below.
- Dug Too Deep: Their experiments led to Eleven's accidental encounter with the first Demogorgon in the Void.
- Expy: They're pretty clearly based on "The Shop" from Stephen King's Firestarter.
- Government Conspiracy: Hawkins Lab is officially run by the US Department of Energy, but the conspiracy is in full effect: Brenner is able to steal children for use in his experiments, has one woman's mind (and possibly others) destroyed when she tries to expose him, and the only way Hopper, Joyce, and the kids are allowed to live after the events of Season 1 is by making a deal to keep quiet. A major subplot of Season 2 is Nancy and Jonathan's decision to expose them.
- Heel–Face Turn: Of a sort in Season 2. Brenner's death/disappearance eliminated much of the nastier aspects of the lab, however they're still perfectly content to threaten those in the know to keep them quiet. That said, they are attempting to fix the mess they caused in the first season, Owens is much more of a Reasonable Authority Figure and willing to work with the others once he realizes Hopper's assertions about the lab are right, and they genuinely attempt to help Will after his possession by the Mind Flayer.
- Light Is Not Good: They're often associated with clean and sterile white surfaces (as those seen in their laboratories), and even after their Heel–Face Turn in Season 2 they're pretty far from heroes. Their vans are even marked "Hawkins Power And Light," evoking this trope; painted white, having "Light" in the name, but also "Power," and power corrupts...
- The Men in Black: They have a host of them on their payroll, such as Connie Frazier, and are secretly monitoring the surrounding town of Hawkins via agents in their ubiquitous white Hawkins Electric vans, and even tapping the telephone network in blatant violation of the Constitution.
- Mooks: Their scientists, agents, and soldiers seem to be at great occupational risk of dying a lot, either at the hands of Eleven or the Demogorgon, and their boss Brenner does not care one bit.
- Psychic Powers: The main goal of their organization is learning how to incite these in their test subjects.
- Redshirt Army: They unfortunately become this in Season 2 with the more reasonable Owens in charge, and everyone (save for him) are all killed by the Demogorgons when they are unleashed upon the lab by the Mind Flayer, after most of their soldiers were lured into a trap by Will.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Hawkins Lab is essentially responsible for the entire story. Brenner's attempts to have Eleven contact it directly not only led to the opening of the portal between our world and the Upside-Down, but also to alerting the Demogorgon of the existence of the other world. Worse yet: Season 2 indicates that the Demogorgon is an extension of the Mind Flayer's Hive Mind. Revealing the existence of the other world to the Demogorgon also means the Mind Flayer now knows about it as well.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: Their operations and goals are heavily inspired by Project MKUltra
, an experimental US governmental project created with the goal of developing "psychic soldiers" for the United States during the Cold War. Justified since In-Universe they're pretty much an actual continuation of MKUltra (which is because in the Stranger Things universe, MKUltra actually provided successful results). - Well-Intentioned Extremist: Their horrific experiments were started with the goal of creating Super Soldiers to aid the United States in the Cold War and prevent the spread of Communism.
Leadership
Martin Brenner
Dr. Martin Brenner
"Incredible."
Played By: Matthew Modine
Debut: "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" (1x01)
"Will you trust me?"
The mysterious lead researcher and owner of the Hawkins' "Department of Energy" research facility.
- Abusive Dad: To Eleven; he's not her real father, just a father figure, but is abusive all the same. He submits her to Training from Hell, torture, confinement and traumatic punishments. Season 4 shows that he's a parental figure towards many other children his goons had captured on his behalf, but when the children break rules that he has put in place, he shows no qualms about torturing them as punishment.
- Admiring the Abomination:
- He reacts in awe the first time Eleven discovers the Monster. He reacts similarly when he sees it firsthand, seconds before it lunges at him.
- He has a similar response when Eleven kills two orderlies with her powers.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: He dies in Season 4 sincerely and emotionally begging Eleven to tell him that she understands that he loves her and that he only ever did what he thought was right for her. While sad over his death, Eleven denies him this final peace, instead telling him goodbye before walking away.
- Alas, Poor Villain: He shockingly gets this treatment in Season 4, where he dies trying to save Eleven. Although he fails to convince her that everything he did was "for her own good", it's still a somewhat heroic death despite everything he'd done to her, with Eleven giving him a tearful goodbye.
- Anti-Hero: In Season 4. He's still ruthless and unethical, but he does work with Dr. Owens to help Eleven regain her powers.
- Arc Villain: He's the instigator of the entire series's conflict with the Mind Flayer, but only serves as a prominent threat in the first and fourth seasons.
- Asshole Victim: It's hard to feel bad for him when he gets mauled by the Demogorgon. This happens again in Season 4, although it's a more downplayed example as there is the possibility that Brenner was genuinely trying to do things right. He dies doing perhaps the most unambiguously heroic thing he has done in the series, which is trying to help Eleven escape the army. It doesn't end well for him.
- The Atoner: A non-moral example as he is creepily self-convinced that he is a noble and infallible person regardless of his actions. During her "The Reason You Suck" Speech towards him, Eleven makes it clear she believes Brenner only had her look for the Upside Down (aside from trying to spy on the Soviets and essentially kick-starting the entire plot of the series) because he wanted to find One/Henry Creel and atone for essentially screwing him over, because he can't bear feeling guilt over his actions. And while this could be assumed, judging from Brenner's tears after Eleven's rant, there's a possible truth to it.
- Bad Boss: Dr. Brenner couldn't care less about the safety of his underlings. He routinely puts them at risk from both Eleven and the Demogorgon and is willing to sacrifice as many of them as it takes to achieve his goal.
- Big Bad Ensemble: With the Demogorgon in season 1. Dr. Brenner is the researcher responsible for cultivating and manipulating Eleven and her powers, with his facility hunting her being a major part of the season. Brenner's reckless experiments also caused the Demogorgon to find our dimension, making him indirectly responsible for the monster's attacks.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Ultimately, despite Brenner's obsession with controlling and harnessing supernatural forces, it becomes increasingly clear that he is far out of his league when compared to Vecna and the Mind Flayer, with the former outright mocking him as such. It's telling that, of the series' three overarching villains, Brenner is the first to die.Vecna: Papa did hurt me. But he was no monster. He was just a man. An ordinary, mediocre man.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Does this to his subjects when they step out of line, as well as Eleven's mother when she went investigating.
- Control Freak: Everything in the series happens due to his obsessive need to control others. His first subject was a young psychic boy that he couldn't control. So instead, he created more psychic children and raised them in an abusive environment to gain control over them. When Eight escapes and One subject goes on a rampage that kills all the other kids except Eleven, he takes his abusive treatment of her up to eleven (no pun intended) in an effort to gain more control, which leads to the gate opening up.
- Death Equals Redemption: He's gunned down by the military while trying to carry Eleven to safety. In his final moments, he frees her from his electroshock collar and tells her that she's his "family". Played with, as while Eleven grieves for him, she does not accede to his begging that she tell him she understands why he did what he did — she might care about him despite what he did, but she refuses to absolve him.
- Disc-One Final Boss: In spite of being responsible for most of the conflict, including unleashing the Demogorgon, Brenner is dealt with by the monster, which goes on to become the Final Boss.
- Disney Death: He gets mauled by the Demogorgon in Season 1 and is presumed dead, but returns in Season 4 alive and well. How he managed to survive is never addressed, except that he bears a scar on his face when he comes back. Presumably the Demogorgon got distracted right after pouncing on him. Possible
Fridge Brilliance with the reveal at the end of Season 4 that One has been behind all of the invaders from the Upside Down going straight back to the Season 1 Demogorgon, meaning that One may have been controlling it and let Brenner live intentionally, or directed it to ignore him when he realized Eleven was nearby. - Dying Alone: After being shot multiple times while trying to save Eleven, he uses his final moments to try and convince her that he did everything "for her own good". El sees right through his Never My Fault mentality and merely gives him a tearful "goodbye", leaving him to bleed to death alone in the desert.
- Enemy Mine: Forms one with Dr. Owens in Season 4, when Brenner's first experiment resurfaces and the military starts hunting Eleven.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: As awful as his treatment of the children is, Brenner seems to genuinely care for them in some way. When conducting tests with Ten, he speaks to him politely, doesn't try to force him to push beyond his limits and laughs when he mistakes his dog drawing for a cow. In addition, Brenner is beyond horrified after seeing that One has violently massacred them all as shown in "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab", even cradling Ten's body in his arms and running towards the screams of the other children, reacting with pure anger upon seeing Eleven and believing she had killed them all. He also defends Eleven after Two hurts her. Deconstructed, however. At the end of the day his love is still a possessive and objectifying type of love; where his capacity to regard the test subjects as trophies outweighs that of regarding them as individuals and humans.
- Even Evil Has Standards: His treatment of Eleven and the other children, as abusive as it was, was saintly compared to how One treated them.
- Evil Is Bigger: He's the main villain of the series and stands at an imposing 6'4, towering over almost every other character. The fact that he spends most of his time around children just makes his height even more noticeable.
- Faux Affably Evil: He has a rather gentle, fatherly tone of voice that's entirely at odds with the rest of his personality. To the credit of the heroic characters (other than Eleven), they all detect that's there's something fundamentally wrong when Brenner attempts to shmooze them.
- Foil: To Jim Hopper. Both of them are high-ranking authority figures within Hawkins (Brenner in the National Laboratory, Hopper in the town itself) and have a flawed paternal relationship with Eleven, whom they are very protective of. However, at the end of the day, Brenner is primarily interested in developing Eleven's powers and using them for the greater good, whereas Hopper genuinely cares about Eleven's safety and sees her as a person first and foremost.
- For Science!: The use of Eleven's powers that he likely sold to the government was taking advantage of her telepathy to eavesdrop on the thoughts and communications of Russian forces and perhaps finding a way to weaponise her telekinesis. Having her "make contact" with an extra-dimensional being with the aforementioned telepathy? Much less practical and infinitely more ill-advised.
- Godzilla Threshold: His collaboration with Dr.Owens on the NINA project and the restoration of El's powers is merely professional, it's all but directly stated that if Brenner weren't just that good at his job, Sam would outright refuse to work with such a dangerous, amoral sociopath.
- Greater-Scope Villain: While the Mind Flayer or Vecna may be the greatest threat in the series, virtually every threat of the show can be traced back to Brenner. The first contact with the Demogorgon? His idea. Then, the Demogorgon is revealed to be just a scout for a hive mind: enter the Mind Flayer. The Russians then steal his idea and begin operating in Hawkins. Vecna? His first apprentice and experiment, and creator/controller of the Mind Flayer.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: In Season 4, he started working with Dr. Owens to reawaken Eleven's powers as a means to prepare her for a climactic battle with Vecna. However, he still uses unethical methods and made no real effort to better himself as a person since he is convinced he isn't to blame for anything.
- Horrifying the Horror: Brenner himself is an abusive and immoral Mad Scientist. But seeing the mutilated corpses of all his test subjects after One's rampage is the only point in the series where he drops his soft-spoken façade and reacts with genuine horror.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Basically, in a show populated with Eldritch Abominations, this man manages to be one of the cruelest characters who ever appeared in the series.
- I Did What I Had to Do: His justification for electrocuting Eleven's mother into insanity. Eleven doesn't buy it.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Vecna indicates that the only reason he abducted, experimented on, and abused the children in the facility wasn’t because he was raising them to serve as guardians for the USA, but so he could live vicariously through their capacities for and demonstrations of Psychic Powers; in order to compensate for his lack of “specialness”. Given how possessive he is of the children along with his nightmarish disregard for the people he claims to serve and protect, this may very well be the case.
- Kick the Dog:
- In season 1, after Eleven failed an experiment, Brenner had her dragged off to be tortured as punishment.
- In season 2, it's revealed that he kidnapped Eleven from her mother, Terry, for use in experiments. When Terry broke into the lab to rescue Eleven, rather than simply killing, detaining, or trying to bribe her, Brenner resorts to using electroshock therapy on her brain until she can no longer think or communicate properly, leaving her in a near-catatonic state for the rest of her life.
- Killed Off for Real: He’s gunned down by the U.S. Military when he tries to escape with Eleven and eventually succumbs to his wounds.
- Knight Templar Parent: Claims that everything he does for Eleven, regardless of how cruel and abusive it is.
- Lack of Empathy: One of his defining traits. Although he does have some sort of regard for the children in the facility and makes an effort to present himself as a doting father figure, it becomes more and more apparent that his “regard” is reminiscent of an overly controlling pet owner; wanting to keep them as intact as possible without any regard for their psychological development or wellbeing - living trophies to live through and exploit for his own legacy. Whenever he is confronted about his treatment or worldview (either by other characters or his own thoughts alone) he always has to twist it to contextualize himself as a well-intentioned victim of circumstance regardless of how hollow it rings. Taken even further with those he doesn’t consider worthy as test subjects. He treats anyone who isn’t his “son” or “daughter” as either disposable instruments at best or annoying obstacles at worst.
- Large and in Charge: He's 6'4, towering over most of his subordinates.
- Moral Sociopathy: While he is capable of showing concern for others, he doesn't actually empathize with anyone or see them as anything beyond what they mean to him and his own agenda. His morality emerges in Season 4, where his reaction to the deaths of his subjects is one of genuine horror, with him even cradling one of their bodies. He also does care for Eleven and dies protecting her from the military. He is shown to be less of a sociopath and more of a Narcissist, who cannot ever accept blame or embrace feelings of remorse.
- Never Found the Body: We only briefly see the Demogorgon jumping on him, but there is no confirmation that he died. He has been replaced by Owens in the second season, but the lab employee Eleven and Kali attack claims that he is still alive. Sure enough, he returns in Season 4.
- Never My Fault: A huge part of his character is his inability to accept blame, remorse or guilt for his actions, as he is constantly deluding himself into thinking he's a Well-Intentioned Extremist who only does what is necessary, which includes shifting blame onto others frequently. Even when he lies dying at Eleven's feet after saving her, he begs her to say that she understands his actions, not once owning up to how terrible they were.
- Nightmare Fetishist: He's delighted when Eleven kills two orderlies with her powers. And, the expression on his face is a complicated mix of frustration and pride after she flips the van in front of him. Worse: the way he acts like a fascinated (if detached) school boy over anything to do with the Demogorgon.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Much of Brenner's role in the plot consists of his background of abusing Eleven and his careless experiments releasing the Demogorgon upon the world. Even when he directly confronts people, he always stays unarmed and lets his Mooks handle the weapons.
- Not So Stoic: While he's mostly calm and collected, he has some of these moments when he was attacked by the Demogorgon, and in a flashback scene where he holds the dead body of Ten with a shocked look on his face.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Seems to believe that his experiments are for the greater good and attempts to convince Hopper that he's trying to save the town from the Demogorgon. However, given how appalling and unethical his experiments are, combined with the fact that he was responsible for the Demogorgon entering Hawkins to begin with, he comes across as a delusional madman trying to justify his crimes.
- Oh, Crap!: His face just before the Demogorgon jumps on him.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: He punishes Two in front of every other test subject for having bullied Eleven. However, it is still portrayed as a cruel act, since Two is painfully electrocuted, and he forces Eleven and his other "children" to witness the scene to hammer in what the consequences for lying are.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He agrees to Hopper's demands not to harm Mike, Dustin, and Lucas when he sends the agents to the school to capture El. This isn't out of any altruism on his part, but because he recognizes that killing the kids would draw unwanted attention from Hawkins residents and would be hard to cover up. He also probably realizes that having Connie kill Benny in the first episode was the mistake that caused Hopper to begin investigating the Lab in the first place.
- Red Scare: Like many people in America at the time, Martin Brenner was very afraid of the threat the USSR posed to his country, which fueled his motivation for experimenting on the children under his care. He even flat-out tells Eleven that the abilities of her and her "siblings" would be incredibly helpful in helping America get an edge against "the Commies".
- Sanity Has Advantages: Or, at least "being a socially functional human being rather than a detached berk" does. What about the whole set-up he's helped develop screams "Good Idea"? Or "sane", for that matter? It certainly does him no favors when trying to interact with others as to find Eleven and the boys. Let alone correctly get into the head of the Demogorgon. For all he thinks he knows a bit of what's going on, he's not very good at judging what others will do.
- Scars Are Forever: In season 4 he has scars on his forehead and his left cheek, possibly a memento of his encounter with the Demogorgon in the season 1 finale.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He orders the facility to be unmanned when Joyce and Hopper venture into the Upside Down, trying to avoid the risk and thinking that the Demogorgon will take care of them. It serves him little purpose in the end, as the Demogorgon is lured to the school where the agents and him converge to retrieve Eleven.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: Speaks in a quiet, soft rasp. He also experiments on children and tortured Eleven's mom into insanity.
- Token Evil Teammate: It's eventually revealed that he survived and has been collaborating with Dr. Owens on restoring El's powers, although it's made abundantly clear that Sam does not enjoy working with him and positively loathed everything about him, and that their partnership is borne merely of pragmatism and the fact that Brenner is the only one who has any clue how to handle her powers.
- Too Dumb to Live: [[spoiler:Even though he knew what Henry had done to his family, and that he could not control him, he still kept him around the other psychics as an orderly in the lab. To Brenner's credit, he did place a chip inside of Henry that negated his powers, but Henry being The Sociopath sociopath that he is, easily manipulates one of the kids into freeing him, resulting in the massacre.
- Unexplained Recovery: We never learn just how he survived the Demogorgon attack, and even after his return in Season 4, he dies for real before he can say. It's implied that Vecna/One, whose dialogue implies he was more involved in the events of season 1 than he appeared to be, had a hand in it note .
- Uriah Gambit: In the novel Suspicious Minds, he has Terry's boyfriend and Eleven's father Andrew drafted into the Vietnam War, causing his death.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Pretty much the show's plot can be blamed on him-: He was the one who pushed Eleven to find the Upside Down since he wanted to find One (who Eleven sent there accidentally) and try to help him after all the abuse he put him through. All it did was instead lead to Eleven opening up the first Gate, leading to the events of the show and the aftermaths of it.
- The Voiceless: Downplayed, but over his initial appearances he speaks very infrequently; for context, he has maybe three lines of dialogue in the first three episodes, and most of those are monosyllabic in nature.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: His actions in season 4 certainly fall under this given that he believes the fate of the entire world depends on Eleven being able to defeat One, and he's quite possibly very right in that assumption. His belief that Eleven is not ready to face One near the end of the season ends up being quite correct, as when they finally clash One easily overpowers her, and is only defeated due to help from all of the other heroes.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Eleven's father figure who abused her more or less constantly for her whole life, with distinctive white hair.
- Would Hurt a Child: He is more than willing to use children for his ruthless experiments. He also inflicts Electric Torture on Two for bullying El.
Sam Owens
Dr. Sam Owens
Played By: Paul Reiser
Debut: "Chapter One: MADMAX" (2x01)
The new head of Hawkins's "Department of Energy" research facility.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When Sullivan finally catches up to him, he pleads for him not to kill Eleven. He even offers a compromise where he puts Eleven under to wait and see if the Hawkin's killings continue without her, but the Colonel doesn't listen and tells a sharpshooter to gun her down anyway.
- Ambiguously Evil: At first, it's hard to tell how noble Owens is when he forces Hopper, Jonathan, and Nancy to keep the truth while acting affable to Will. It's averted when we see he's quite noble, being the only person in the facility that cares about Will's well-being, and he even stays back to guide Bob, Hopper, Joyce, Will, and Mike to safety.
- Big Good: Or at least, he is the closest thing the series has to one. He is leading the effort to stop the Upside Down, organized Will's rescue and helps Eleven and her allies by covering up the incidents at Hawkins for their safety, arranges Eleven's adoption and her relocation with the Byers, and works to give Eleven her powers back to fight the Upside Down in Season 4.
- Character Tic: When thinking, he squeezes a blue stress ball.
- Demoted to Extra: In Season 3, he only gets a single scene and no lines as part of The Cavalry Arrives Late at the Russian base. He eventually returns to a greater role in Season 4.
- Enemy Mine: Forms one with Brenner in season 4, when Vecna begins terrorizing Hawkins and the military starts hunting down Eleven.
- Establishing Character Moment: Owens's first few lines have him cheerfully break the ice with Will by striking up a conversation about candy, establishing him as a much, much different sort of person than Brenner was.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- Expresses disgust towards Brenner's experiments and methods. While he does end up working with Brenner in season 4, it's only for pragmatic reasons, and he is still wary of the man's treatment of Eleven.
- He shows genuine concern towards Will's safety and well-being. After Will is possessed by the Mind Flayer, Owens' colleagues suggest they simply kill the boy. Owens immediately shuts that idea down.
- Fall Guy: Season 4 reveals that he got fired over the Russians trying to invade Hawkins in Season 3. He really wasn't to blame but it happened on his watch.
- Good Counterpart: To Dr. Brenner. While Owens is still responsible for keeping The Masquerade by concealing the paranormal events in Hawkins, he isn't a ruthless Mad Scientist engaged in new, cruel human experimentation, doesn't use lethal force to silence witnesses, and is more than willing to try and save Will's life however possible, and grant Eleven her freedom as soon as the whole portal crisis is taken care of. He may not be actively tracking down all of Brenner's still-burning fires (it's unclear if he knows about all of them, for starters), but he certainly tries to put them out in a reasonable and humane way when they come across his desk.
- Good All Along: He appears to be a friendly and moral scientist, but it's initially unclear if he actually is or is just faking it like Brenner. This isn't helped by him threatening Nancy and Jonathan when they investigate the lab. As season 2 goes on, it becomes clear that Owens really is a Nice Guy and a Reasonable Authority Figure, if a somewhat immoral one at times.
- Nice Guy: He's very friendly and affable to Will when he introduces himself, trying to calm him down with a chat about Halloween candy. Surprisingly, it turns out this isn't an act; he's genuinely concerned about Will's safety, and is reluctant to carry out a plan that could risk getting the boy killed.
- "No. Just… No" Reaction:
- He gets visibly offended at one of his staff members, who suggests that they should just off Will.
- This is implied to be his reaction upon seeing that the Russians nearly opened the Gate, nearly causing the Upside-Down to enter our world again.
- Oh, Crap!: Sports this expression, staring at the still-glowing seem on the wall in the Russian test chamber.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He calls Brenner out for focusing more on indulging in his memories of the past with Eleven rather than focusing on what they are actually trying to accomplish.Owens: We're running out of time here, Martin. Hawkins is running out of time.
Brenner: I understand the stakes quite well.
Owens: You know, sometimes I wonder if you really do. Or maybe you've just done all this 'cause you missed your daddy-daughter time. I've given you everything you asked for, I've compromised my principles, I've risked my life, my family's life, all because you assured me this would work, that this was the only way. But I don't see any progress out there, Martin. You know what I see? I see a frightened, traumatized little girl. Good for us. - Reasonable Authority Figure: Shockingly, he turns out to be this. At first he's hesitant to test the contaminated soil but once he realizes something is going on, he is focused on solving the problem. He refuses to burn the tunnels under Hawkins, as it would kill Will and only temporarily slow down the growth of the tunnels. He later stays behind to guide Bob to safety, and even creates fake documents so Eleven can live her life in peace after Hopper saved his life. He also gets the charges against Eleven dropped as thanks for her heroics in Hawkins.
- Redeeming Replacement: As he points out to Jonathan and Nancy, most of his current job is taken up with trying to control or fix Brenner's past mistakes and the mess he left behind, even if this still means keeping it all secret for reasons of national security.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: With the rest of the Nina facility, he goes under Col. Sullivan's nose and becomes an enemy of the state to both protect Eleven and get her back to her full potential to save Hawkins.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: His partnership with Dr. Brenner in Season 4. It's clear that he is disturbed by their methods and lack of morals, but still teams up with them because it seems like the only viable option.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich: At a diner, he orders a club sandwich and Eggo waffles for himself and El respectively, only to leave just as the waitress delivers their orders to their table. At the very least, he does leave money to pay for the order.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: His appearance in the Season 3 finale. He does this expression upon seeing that the Gate's been locked once more after the Russians attempted to open it.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist:
- He genuinely believes it's for the best to keep the truth about the portal to the Upside-Down and the related deaths in secret, and he does have valid points. How successful he will turn out to be... well, that has yet to be determined. He's got uphill work.
- In season 4, he teams up with Dr. Brenner and lures Eleven back to her former abuser. However, given the circumstances of Vecna's rampage in Hawkins (with Eleven being the only person powerful enough to stop him) and the military being completely unhelpful, his reasons are understandable.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Last he's seen in season 4, he's handcuffed in a backroom of the Nina facility. Whether he's arrested by Sullivan, left down there, or somehow managed to escape isn't revealed.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: In another stark contrast to Brenner, his treatment of Will is completely humane and comforting, with him outright refusing to kill him once he is possessed by the Mind Flayer.
Agents
Connie Frazier
Agent Connie Frazier
Played By: Catherine Dyer
Debut: "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" (1x01)
A mysterious woman and a crony of Dr. Brenner. Assumes various false identities on the show.
- Asshole Victim: After seeing what she's willing to do in the name of government secrecy, her death at El's powers is very satisfying.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: First appears in the guise of being a kind social worker, and looks the part. Seconds later, she shoots an innocent man in the head.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: El kills Connie, along with a dozen other government agents, by telekinetically scrambling their brains inside their skulls, causing blood to leak from their eyes. One might presume that if Connie hadn't murdered Benny in cold blood right in front of El, her fate would have been more humane.
- Dark Action Girl: Seemingly the only female member of the government agency, who carries out the murder of Benny in Episode 1.
- The Dragon: To Brenner, who tasks her with most of the dirty work in their operation.
- Faux Action Girl: Ultimately, murdering an innocent man is the only thing she ever accomplishes.
- Hate Sink: She isn't a Big Bad like Brenner, yet somehow is more detestable than him. Not only murdered an innocent man in cold blood (a very unnecessary murder), she was more than willing to kill the Party. And for bonus, she is also a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing. Yep, nothing about what's Beneath the Mask are remotely sympathetic or cool.
- Impersonating an Officer: She seems to specialize in this. She first impersonates a social services worker to gain access into Benny's Diner and kill him whilst searching for El, then a member of the County Education Board to get Mr. Clarke to give her the names of the boys under the guise of starting a county-wide AV club. She also flashes NSA credentials to the Wheelers before a small army of agents descend on their house to search it, but given the nature of the operations the government is running, it wouldn't be hard to believe she actually does work for the NSA.
- Kick the Dog: She murders Benny, a kind and benevolent restaurant owner, in her first scene on the show.
- Sanity Has Advantages: Whatever her issues, it's pretty darn clear she's let the power trip of being part of a government secret agency go to her head. When you shoot first and don't even bother asking questions about the appropriateness of the level of violence given the situation, you are a liability who should be fired.
- Stupid Evil: Had she not blown Benny's brains out while trying to recover Eleven, Connie could have easily recaptured Eleven in the very first episode, and saved her group a lot of time and effort with no real downside.
- Tranquil Fury: She looks completely incensed when Karen starts asking too many questions about what the "government agents" want with her son. Luckily for the target of her anger, Dr. Brenner steps in.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The downfall of the research team can be traced to Frazier's execution of Benny Hammond; in retribution for the death of a man that was nothing but kind to her in her time of need, Eleven kills Connie in anger alongside the government agents tracking her, leaving a bloodbath behind that lures the Demogorgon to the school, who then decimates the rest of the pursuing agents plus Dr. Brenner. Nice job, Connie. Kudos.
- Villain Ball: There was absolutely no good reason for her to kill Benny Hammond, who bought her cover and was being 100% cooperative, other than to (possibly) intimidate Eleven. Ultimately, as mentioned above, this act becomes her undoing. Not the only rash act of hers onscreen. But, definitely the biggest.
- Would Hurt a Child: It is implied that she wanted to kill the Party.
Ellen Stinson
Agent Ellen Stinson
Played By: Paris Benjamin
Debut: "Chapter Three: The Monster and the Superhero" (4x03)
An agent serving under Owens in Season 4.
- '50s Hair: Wears her dark hair up in a old-fashioned "roll" updo, likely a holdover from when she first started working as an agent.
- Lady in a Power Suit: She's introduced via a slow upward pan, revealing killer heels as she steps out of her patrol car, and she sports a boxy and professional suit with broad shoulders at all times, befitting the era and her profession.
- The Lancer: Has a professional and friendly relationship with Owens and actively does his bidding.
Agent Harmon
Agent Harmon
“I shoot. You run.”
Played By: Ira Amyx
Debut: "Chapter Three: The Monster and the Superhero" (4x03)
An agent serving under Owens in Season 4.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: He wears a typical Men in Black suit and saves the kids during a gunfight with some soldiers.
- Doomed Hurt Guy: He's wounded in one episode and dies in the next a few hours after fleeing the fight that wounded him.
- One-Man Army: He's a middle-aged dude with a beer gut, a double-chin, and only a handgun for protection. To top it off, his partner is immediately incapacitated at the start of the firefight. But Harmon keeps calm and methodically guns down several heavily armed soldiers while shepherding the boys to safety.
- Underestimating Badassery: Initially, he appears to be a lazy agent who's just there to babysit Mike, Jonathan, and Will while watching TV. However, when Colonel Sullivan's men show up to the house with the intention of killing everyone there, he manages to put up an impressive fight against the soldiers while getting the teenagers to safety. It's primarily because of his actions that Mike, Will, and Jonathan are able to escape and survive.
Agent Wallace
Agent Wallace
Played By: Kendrick Cross
Debut: "Chapter Three: The Monster and the Superhero" (4x03)
One of the agents serving under Owens along with Harmon.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Pleads with Sullivan not to kill Eleven when the Colonel's torture finally breaks him and he reveals her location.
- Agonizing Stomach Wound: He is shot in the stomach by one of Sullivan's soldiers, which takes him out of commission for the entire firefight in the Byers's house.
- Made of Iron: Initially, he seems somewhat ineffective when he is shot right away by Sullivan's men, but he proves to be able to withstand their attempts to torture him for an impressively long time.
Scientists
Shepard
Shepard
Played By: Christopher Cody Robinson
Debut: "Chapter Four: The Body" (1x04)
A scientist who made an ill-fated journey into the Upside Down.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: When the Demogorgon finishes with him, all that's left is a bloody scrap of clothing.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Shepherd appears solely to show the dangers of exploring the Upside Down even when the searcher has official equipment.
Elevator Scientist
Elevator Scientist
Played By: Andrew Benator
Debut: "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" (1x01)
One of Brenner's assistants.
- Bald of Evil: He isn't too evil, but he stands by while El is put in a sensory deprivation tank and the only hair on his head is on the sides of it.
- Death by Looking Up: He hears the Demogorgon above him and looks up in the elevator before he is dragged upwards to his death.
- No Name Given: He is never identified by name in any of his few scenes, and he is credited simply as "Elevator Scientist".
- Personal Mook: He stands in the 2 flashbacks alongside Dr. Brenner and the Senior Scientist, which means he's an assistant to one or both of them.
- Pursued Protagonist: The first scene of the series shows him desperately running through a hall and pounding on an elevator button. Unfortunately for him, his pursuer is inside the elevator. His protagonist characterization is sketchy though.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: The first scene of the series is him fleeing through the lab from the Mind Flayer and losing the chase. Afterward, he only appears in a couple of flashbacks.
Nerdy Tech
Nerdy Tech
Played By: Joe Davison
Debut: "Chapter One: MADMAX" (2x01)
One of the scientists serving under Owens in Season 2.
- Geek Physiques: He's rather heavyset and also a "nerdy" scientist.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: He reacts to the demodogs starting to break through their protective cell by muttering "Mary, mother of Joseph..."
- Mauve Shirt: He's given the most focus of the scientists monitoring the Upside Down in season 2, but he still gets killed with the rest in the elevator.
- No Name Given: He's never named in any of his scenes, and is credited only as the "Nerdy Tech".
Orderlies
Ray Carroll
Ray Carroll
Played By: Pruitt Taylor Vince
Debut: "Chapter Five: Dig Dug" (2x05)
A retired orderly who was in charge of "treating" the test subjects.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He has two daughters who are hiding in their room in fear when their father is being tortured. When El realizes this, she ultimately decides not to kill him, and prevents Kali from doing so as well.
- Fat Bastard: He was one during his time at Hawkins Energy Lab, torturing Kali with a cattle prod.
- Just Following Orders: This is the excuse he uses when El and Kali confront him over his past sins. Kali coldly calls him out on it, and tells Carroll that he knew what he was doing was evil.
- Karma Houdini: Eleven decides to spare him and stops Kali shooting him for the sake of his children, so the most punishment he gets for his crimes at Hawkins Lab is being bashed around a bit and robbed.
- Retired Monster: Is possibly this since despite shocking both children and a woman to the point of being driven insane, ever since retiring he's had a quiet life with his own children.
- Wardens Are Evil: Kali's flashback shows him torturing her with a Shock Stick. He is also seen giving Terry painful electroshocks.
The Orderly (Spoilers)
See here for more info.
Subjects
Two
Number Two
Played By: Tristan Spohn
Debut: "Chapter One: The Hellfire Club" (4x01)
Another of Dr. Brenner's subjects, and apparently one of the most talented, who bullies Eleven in their time on the lab.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Although he was a bully and a Hate Sink, his death is brutal and disturbing, with even Eleven being horrified by it despite all he did to her. Not to mention, like Eleven, he was kidnapped as a baby and raised in a lab, so it's kinda hard to blame him for something Brenner is responsible for.
- Asshole Victim: While his death is horrific, you won't find many people crying for him. He belittles, bullies, assaults and finally threatens to murder Eleven: needless to say, he had it coming.
- Bad Liar: A Justified example, since Two lacks the social skills to lie convincingly. He still tries.
- Big Jerk on Campus: In this case, the "campus" is the Hawkins Laboratory, and Two pretty much sees himself as the most powerful of Brenner's subjects, and therefore the most popular out of all the kids.
- The Bully: The first of many Eleven would have to encounter.
- Didn't Think This Through: After El beats him in a training match, Two and his cronies beat El to a pulp when the security cameras are down in the Rainbow Room, warning her that she will suffer even more pain if she tells Dr. Brenner about what happened. Problem is, the damage Two inflicted on her is so bad that it's blatantly obvious that she couldn't have done it to herself. Combine that with his rather poor lying skills, and Brenner doesn't even need the security footage to know that he was responsible for her injuries.
- Dirty Coward: When he attacks Eleven after losing a training match against her, he does so with three other students, despite dismissing her as "weak". He also pathetically begs for mercy when Brenner punishes him for this incident.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His only redeeming quality is that he adores Brenner as a father figure.
- Gang of Bullies: He leads one with some of his fellow psychic children.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Bullies Eleven for getting Brenner's attention, and because El managed to beat him in one of Brenner's games.
- Mirror Character: Much like Angela earlier in the series, Two bullies Eleven in a public place then insists someone must have snitched when he's punished. Unlike Angela who got off relatively scott-free, he suffers brutal Electric Torture for it and then while he's recovering he's brutally killed in One's massacre.
- Remember the New Guy?: Like most people she knew prior to the massacre, Eleven doesn't remember him until she's forced to relive those memories to gain her powers back.
- Smug Snake: He seems to think he's the most powerful subject at Hawkins Lab. One outclasses him in a matter of seconds.
- Sore Loser: Eleven beats him in a telekinetic sparring match. Two takes the loss so badly, he ambushes Eleven in the Rainbow Room with three other students, thrashes her around the room and threatens to kill her if she tells anyone.
- Stupid Evil: He arrogantly attacks El when he thinks none of the orderlies and guards are watching, which results in El getting noticeable injuries that Dr. Brenner immediately sees and correctly guesses what happened to her. When Brenner confronts Two about this, and makes it clear that he's aware Two was behind the attack on El, Two makes the idiotic decision to lie to Brenner about what happened, which results in Brenner torturing him as punishment.
- Unskilled, but Strong: What his abilities essentially amount to. Two is powerful, however whereas other psychics such as 11 demonstrate more finesse in the application of their telekinetic abilities, all Two ever applies with his powers is a telekinetic punch to overwhelm his target with force. This also means he's inflexible when meeting someone who can outclass him.
- Would Hurt a Child: Two is an adolescent, and one of the oldest children in Hawkings Lab, and had no issue injuring and threatening to kill the then eight-year old Eleven.
Eight
See Outsiders for her tropes.
Eleven
See The Party for her tropes.
