At long last, Ted and Karen Wheeler are in on the action.
Spoilers ahead for “Stranger Things” Season 5, Volume 1.
In the first four episodes of “Stranger Things” Season 5, now streaming on Netflix, Ted and Karen Wheeler finally learn about the supernatural threats around them.
“When I read the first script [for Season 5] I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is going on!’ And then it just kept going and going and going. It was like a feeling of an upside down roller coaster, just reading the script,” Chrest exclusively told The Post.
“Stranger Things,” which is currently airing its fifth and final season, first premiered in 2016. The plot follows various friends and family members in Hawkins, Indiana, as they deal with supernatural monsters in the ‘80s.
Ted (Joe Chrest) and Karen (Cara Buono), who are the parents of Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Holly (Nell Fisher), have been the beacons of normalcy.
An ordinary suburban couple, the Wheeler parents have been oblivious to the sci-fi happenings in their town — until now.
When reading the Season 5 script, Chrest had to put the it down to quickly “call Cara [Buono], and then debrief,” he recalled.
In Season 5, a Demogorgon, which is a monster from the Upside Down, comes to the Wheeler household, attacks Ted and Karen, and abducts their youngest child, Holly.
At the beginning of the thrilling action sequence, Ted is ignoring his family as usual, hitting golf balls in the yard, oblivious to the danger. Karen is drinking wine and taking a bath. Poor Holly is fighting for her life as the monster invades her room, while her parents are absorbed in their own activities and unaware of what’s happening.
However, when the monster rampages through their house and comes into the kitchen, Ted and Karen can’t ignore it. Finally, they’re exposed to the sci-fi monsters that Mike and Nancy have been dealing with for five seasons.
“That was really awesome getting to do that,” said Chrest.
Despite their efforts fighting back, Holly ultimately gets abducted and taken to the Upside Down. Ted and Karen are badly wounded but still alive. They both end up in the hospital, while Mike and Nancy are frantic.
“Cara is one of those people I’ve gotten very close to, over the years,” Chrest said. “Man, I love working with her.”
The onscreen couple both have a theater background. And now that they’re finished with their decade-long stint on “Stranger Things,” he hopes they can share the stage together in the future.
“Stranger Things” Season 5 will have 8 episodes, dropping on Netflix in three volumes, releasing on Nov. 26, Dec. 25, and Dec. 31.
