Season 1 of Stranger Things left us with many questions: but a cast member has just said the most important question we had will be answered, and that concerned avenging Barb. Gaten Matarazzo, the 15-year-old actor who plays Dustin, has delighted fans of Netflix's science fiction thriller by confirming that in Stranger Things Season 2, 'There will be justice for Barb.'
After Barb's short-lived appearance and soon-forgotten death at the hands of the murderous Demogorgon monster on the show, Twitter was inundated with cries of #JusticeForBarb - no one understood why Barb's disappearance was swept over while the whole town of Hawkins continued to search for missing boy Will Byers. Even Barb's 'best friend' Nancy Wheeler, played by Natalia Dyer, seemed to be too busy fighting demons to care about her death. WTF.
Everyone thought Barb's character - the relatable, sensible, sassy schoolgirl played by Shannon Purser - was owed a bit more explanation. Luckily Matarazzo's saved the day again by promising next season will bring us more background on Barb, saying 'We get into her story a lot.'
Sadly, he put to bed rumours and the glimmer of hope that Barb might be back: he stated 'She has passed. She is dead', and added that bringing her back from the Upside Down might be 'a little far-fetched.' As if the monsters-pulling-children-into-alternate-dimensions thing wasn't far beyond fetched anyway.
Matarazzo explains that the real reason for Barb's inclusion in the show was to show that nobody was safe all along: 'The character was written to die. The character was written to have a defenseless underdog be killed to show the gruesomeness of everything, and to show that nobody is safe. That was what the character was, and I think that bringing her back would kind of defeat the purpose. So I think it really shows the danger of the show, and it shows the danger of everything that's going on.'
Like we didn't pity Barb enough.
Barb was such a hit with the show that she now has her own figurine, Justice For Barb merchandise, and even a book: you can buy The Book of Barb, the unofficial Barb guide by Nadia Bailey which hails the character as an 'iconic wing woman', from Amazon and other book shops for under a tenner. Barb's legacy lives on.
The Stranger Things 2 trailer was uploaded by Netflix in July, and pretty much confirms what we knew from the end of Season 1 - that the Demogorgon isn't finished with Will yet. It also shows that Eleven will be back, and makes pretty awesome use of Michael Jackson's Thriller.
Season 2 of Stranger Things, fulfilling all your Barb needs, will be airing on Netflix on October 27, 2017 - brought forward from its previous release date of Halloween.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.