Warning: This story features spoilers for Season 5, Volume 1 of “Stranger Things.”
Cara Buono, who plays the Wheeler matriarch on “Stranger Things,” reacted to fans praising her Season 5 fight scene with a Demogorgon by joking about her “training” for the show.
The actress took to X on Thursday after her onscreen battle went viral, garnering over 9 million views on the social media site. She wrote, “I trained for this moment by opening jars no one else in the house could open.”
While Buono gave a lighthearted response to the intense action scene — which saw her character, the mother of Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Holly (Nell Fisher), break a wine bottle and repeatedly stab the vicious Upside Down monster — fans praised her for the TV moment and called her character the “hero” of Vol. 1.
she has no powers, she was drunk as fvck, she'd never seen a demogorgon up close, she only had a wine bottle and yet she defended her daughter tooth and nail, HERO IN MY BOOKS #StrangerThings5 pic.twitter.com/RXMKH03kxz
— tamara / st s5 spoilers (@tamifleita99) November 27, 2025
“she has no powers, she was drunk as f–k, she’d never seen a demogorgon up close, she only had a wine bottle and yet she defended her daughter tooth and nail,” one fan wrote on X. “HERO IN MY BOOKS.”
Another penned, “Respect for Karen Wheeler definitely went up with this scene for sure.” A third commented, “You were so badass! Loved your performance!”
Meanwhile, a fourth praised, “Always knew Karen was low key badass. That moment really leveled-up the character. Well done!”
Several additional comments praised Mrs. Wheeler as the “GOAT,” also known as the “greatest of all time.”
Buono further joked about her character’s wine bottle-wielding faceoff with the Demogorgon on Instagram Friday, writing, “The most dangerous thing in Hawkins isn’t the Upside Down, it’s a mother who’s finally done being polite.”
She also uploaded a video of herself pouring a glass of white wine and giving the camera a knowing look. The comments on the post were also glowing, with the official “Stranger Things” Instagram account even writing, “HELL YEAH MRS WHEELER.”
The first volume of “Stranger Things 5” is available on Netflix now. The second volume premieres on Christmas Day at 5 p.m. PT. The final episode of the series will premiere at 5 p.m. PT on New Year’s Eve.
