As a huge, soundtrack-is-on-my-phone and I’m-going-to-probably-rewatch-season-one-very-soon fan of “Stranger Things,” I still don’t quite get the internet’s fawning over Barb. Yes, the wholesomeness of the character played by Shannon Purser was endearing, and it was tragic when she died, but that was also exactly the point. It was a creative decision by Matt and Ross Duffer that gave the supernatural series real stakes — no one was safe from the Demorgorgon. However, the social media world howled, and now it’s a thing that must be addressed in some way, but if you think you’ll be seeing Barb again in season two, it’s best to let go of those hopes right now.
“…I can assure you, if you think Barb is coming back, she’s fully dead,” David Harbour, who plays Police Chief Jim Hopper, said on “The Tonight Show.” And he too is a bit baffled by the Barb phenomenon.
“The internet rage over Barb, like, who knew? [Actress] Shannon [Purser] is amazing, but the character’s in like two episodes, barely,” he said. “And the internet rage at Chief Hopper over not caring about Barb, I’m sorry. I have a little boy I have to save!”
All that being said, Harbour confirmed at New York Comic Con that Barb will be dealt with in some way in the second season.
“We will tell you that we do deal with the loose ends in season 2, and we do deal with some of the internet rage over Barb’s death,” Harbour said. “We will have justice for Barb’s death in some sense.”
“Stranger Things” season 2 arrives next year, and frankly, I’m more excited to see what the Duffers do next, rather than how they’ll deal with the minor fallout from a tangential character from season one. [EW/Polygon]
