Never forget: #justiceforbarb. It was the hashtag of last year, as ‘Stranger Things’ fans couldn’t stop talking about the seemingly unjust slaying of Nancy’s best friend, the level-headed Barb. While Nancy (Natalia Dyer) was *ahem* showing off her “new bra” to popular douche Steve (Joe Keery), Barb (Shannon Purser) passed her time, oh, getting eaten by the Demogorgon! Viewers were upset that the voice of reason on the show was silenced, but have no fear, Barb may be gone, but she’s not forgotten.
Nancy herself, Dyer said:
“Especially this season, Barb’s a big part of Nancy’s story line and that drive to — I don’t know how to say it otherwise — to find justice. There are a lot of loose ends there that Nancy feels need to be addressed.”
As you’ll recall, it wasn’t as though Nancy simply shrugged off her bestie’s disappearance. While everyone was looking for the missing Will, Nancy mounted her own campaign to find Barb, even after the Hawkins National Laboratory attempted to cover it up.
The show’s co-creators, the Duffer Brothers also chimed in. As Ross Duffer said:
“We wanted to show that’s something that Nancy didn’t really deal with last year.”
Nancy’s not the only one that has noticed that the Trapper Keeper-enthusiast is missing.
“You met her mom briefly last year but we introduce her dad. The only thing that bothered me about the Barb criticism was people saying her parents didn’t care about her — of course they care. In their mind, Hopper has been slacking off and he’s a joke of a chief.”
Cynthia Barrett played Barb’s mother. Beyond the main characters, however, the castings for Season Two haven’t been revealed, so it’s unknown if Barrett returned or who played Barb’s father. It’s also unknown if Purser herself returned for flashbacks or some other form of appearance.
Purser has since moved from Hawkins, Indiana to ‘Riverdale’ (whatever state that’s in) to play another straight-laced wallflower, Ethel Muggs on The CW’s hit comic book series. ‘Riverdale’ made a playful reference to Purser’s ‘Stranger Things’ role in one episode, with the line “#justiceforethel.”
After a long wait, ‘Stranger Things 2’ returns to Netflix on October 27.
Source: Entertainment Weekly