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Without you, we can't win this war.
— Dr. Sam Owens to Eleven, 1986

Dr. Samuel "Sam" Owens, portrayed by Paul Reiser, is a main character in Stranger Things. Owens is introduced in the second season, and returns to play a major role in the fourth season; he also makes a guest appearance in the third season's finale.

Owens was a high-ranking member within the US Department of Energy tasked with containing the strange events that took place in Hawkins, Indiana in 1983, replacing Dr. Martin Brenner as Director of Operations at Hawkins Lab.[1]

In 1984, Owens oversaw the study and management of the Mothergate, but despite his best efforts, was unable to stop the Upside Down's incursion, or prevent the Mind Flayer from possessing Will Byers. He oversaw a failed mission to destroy part of the Hawkins tunnels, which led to a pack of adolescent Demogorgons invading and attacking the lab; Owens was the only known surviving staff member.

After Dr. Brenner's escaped child test subject, Eleven, used her psychokinetic abilities to seal the Mothergate, the ordeal at Hawkins Lab finally came to an end. One month later, the lab had been shut down, partly due to an exposé published by Murray Bauman, Nancy Wheeler, and Jonathan Byers. Around the same time, Owens helped Jim Hopper officially adopt Eleven, handing him a forged birth certificate. Following the lab's closure, Owens became an official within the U.S. Military, attaining an unspecified position and rank.

In July 1985, Owens received a distress call from Hopper; he was informed that the Soviet Union had infiltrated Hawkins, having built a secret underground base beneath the town's brand-new shopping mall. Owens and a military squadron then travelled to Hawkins and launched an assault on the secret base, though found the facility had been swiftly abandoned. While there, Owens surveyed the wreckage of the Soviets's experimental machine, and a corresponding remnant of a gate to the Upside Down. Owens proceeded to cover up the Russian invasion, the Upside Down’s presence and various deaths by allowing a fire in the mall's food court to spread, which ultimately destroyed the mall in its entirety. In the months that followed, Owens was fired due to his failure to detect the invasion; Owens also helped the Byers family and Eleven relocate to Lenora Hills, California.

Upon learning that Eleven had lost access to her abilities, Owens began working with Dr. Brenner on a experimental scheme that could restore them; the two scientists repurposed an ICBM silo in Nevada and made it the "Nina Project" facility, housing a customised sensory deprivation tank called "NINA". In March 1986, Owens informed Eleven he had found a means to restore her powers, and that a "war" with the Upside Down was fast approaching. Eleven agreed to participate, but was shocked to re-encounter Brenner. After "re-experiencing" several repressed memories inside the NINA tank and regaining her powers, Eleven insisted on travelling to Hawkins, seeking to stop Henry Creel and the Upside Down's incursion, despite Brenner's wishes. A sympathetic Dr. Owens arranged transportation for Hawkins; however, Brenner sabotaged their plans and incapacitated both Owens and Eleven. The situation at the facility soon devolved further when the erratic Lt. Col. Sullivan launched a full-scale military attack, intent on killing Eleven. However, Eleven quickly overpowered Sullivan's forces and escaped with the aid of Mike Wheeler, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle; Dr. Brenner perished in the attack, though Owens seemingly survived.

History

Background

When Dr. Martin Brenner's fate was left unknown after the events of 1983, Dr. Sam Owens was appointed the Director of Operations at Hawkins Lab where he mostly spent his time investigating and preventing the Gate to the Upside Down from spreading.

1984

Trying to Ease Tensions

Owens port 01

Dr. Owens during an appointment with Will.

On October 30, 1984, Joyce Byers was alarmed when she was informed by the school of a weird drawing made by her son Will. She brought him to the Hawkins National Laboratory for a routine exam with Owens. After doing some tests, Owens assured Joyce that his readings were normal. He then asked Will several questions about his zombie drawing, making light of Will's imagination. Owens stated that Will's fascination with zombies was normal. Owens saw them out before returning to the lab.

The day before Halloween, Will had an appointment with Dr. Owens to check his health due to him having more episodes. After a small chat to make him comfortable, Owens asked Will about the episode at the arcade, who was unaware that their conversation was being recorded and monitored by lab personnel. As Will tried to explain to Owens about feeling an evil force, Will's brainwaves started to increase activity. When Owens asked him about the evil's desire to kill, Will revealed that it intended to kill not him, but everyone else.

However, when the session ended, Owens told Joyce and Chief Jim Hopper that Will was experiencing extreme PTSD which was getting worse due to the "Anniversary Effect" but stated that Will will get over it eventually. He also assured them that he was on their side and advised to trust him.

S2E4-Owens admitting the lab's deeds

Dr. Owens showing Nancy and Jonathan the Mothergate, and explaining the lab's former misdeeds.

On October 31, Owens met with Will's older brother, Jonathan and his friend Nancy Wheeler after they were brought to the lab when they arranged a meeting with Marsha Holland to tell her of her daughter Barbara's death. Being cordial with the older teens, Owens admitted how nefarious his predecessors' deeds were, but he wanted them to be kept a secret from the public. As Owens showed Jonathan and Nancy the Gate, Owens admitted he cannot fix his predecessors' mistakes, but he can stop them from spreading, giving off the example of what would happen if the Soviet Union learned about the Upside Down and tried to open a portal to the dimension. As they watched a lab worker named Teddy burn some vines seeping from the Gate, Owens remained optimistic that he gave the two older teens a valid point in why the Upside Down must be kept a secret before releasing them, unaware that they secretly recorded his confession so they could expose the lab to the public.

The Mind Flayer's attack

November

Will was hospitalized at the lab after his severe convulsion and was brought to Dr. Owens. When Will woke up, he seemed to have no memory of Joyce's boyfriend Bob Newby. Owens tested Will's memories and found that he couldn't recognize him, Hopper, Bob or the events regarding him saving Hopper, but could only recognize his best friend, Mike Wheeler and his mother, Joyce. He also remembered that the soldiers hurt him when they burnt the tendrils in the Hawkins Tunnel System. Owens prompted to test a theory by burning a tendril to observe Will's reaction. But Will responded in pain. Owens then concluded that there was a hive mind virus that connected all the hosts and that, Will was somehow connected to it.

Owens then took Hopper to show the extent of the Gate which has grown into the network of tunnels and revealed to him that there was a complication for which the burning was stopped.

At a meeting between Owens and several other scientists, they discussed the reason behind Will's brain being altered by the Shadow Monster. The doctors all argued that it was impossible for them to save Will and suggested to start the burning to control the spread. Owens refused and let Will use the photos of his map to locate a place that the shadow monster was trying to hide from him.

Dr

Dr. Owens injured by the Demodogs.

As Dr. Owens sent some soldiers to investigate the location Will revealed, he and Hopper surveyed from the control room. However, in the Upside Down-infected tunnels, the soldiers were horrifically massacred by a group of Demodogs. They also witnessed the Demodogs uniting and heading towards the lab. Before they could do anything, the Demodogs reached the lab and attempted to break through the glass. Dr. Owens sounded the alarm, warning everyone at the lab, and took Hopper with him through the stairs to escape. As the Demodogs began to close in, Hopper took Joyce, Mike, Will, Bob and Owens to a security room, where they were trapped due to a power outage. After Bob successfully restored the system, Dr. Owens decided to stay behind, and guided Hopper, Joyce, Mike and Bob out of the lab.

Later, Hopper returned with Eleven back to the lab in order to close the Gate and found Dr. Owens badly wounded by the Demodogs. He was patched up by Hopper who revealed that he had been protecting Eleven for a year and convinced Dr. Owens to help her lead a better, happier life.

Helping Eleven and Hopper

December
Hopper receives a birth certificate for Eleven stating her as his father from Dr

Owens giving Hopper a forged birth certificate.

A month later, after the Gate had been closed, Hopper met Dr. Owens at a bar called Hideaway. By then, Hawkins Lab had been shut down by Nancy, Jonathan and conspiracy theorist Murray Bauman by stating that Barbara Holland had died due to a chemical leak from the lab; and so, Owens was no longer in duty at the lab. Owens provided Hopper a forged birth certificate for Eleven, which stated that she's now officially Hopper's daughter, named as "Jane Hopper", though he reminded Hopper to wait another year to be safe. However, Hopper ultimately managed to convince him to give Eleven a night out to go to the Snow Ball with her friends.

1984-1985

Sometime after the events of November, 1984, Dr. Owens started working for the United States Military due to the Hawkins Lab being shut down.

1985

The Russian Infiltration

S03E08-Sam Owens at the Key

Dr. Owens looking at the Soviets' gate.

On July 4, 1985, in response to a distress call made by Hopper and Joyce about the Soviets' endeavor in opening a new gate underneath Starcourt Mall, Dr. Owens brought the U.S. military at the mall, much later than intended. By the time they arrived, the Soviet soldiers had already escaped. After taking over the Russian base beneath the mall, Owens took a look at the gate, which had seemingly closed.

With the help of his colleagues in the Department of Energy and the military, the incidents involving the Spider Monster and the Russians at Starcourt were covered up, falsifying a claim that the mall had simply burnt down with Hopper being a victim of the fire. Forged images depicting a minor fire and police department presence in response to the alleged fire were released, as opposed to the full scale response of the U.S. military that actually occurred.

October

Owens later helped the Byers family in relocating to Lenora Hills, California.

1984-1986

Sometime after the events of 1984, Dr. Owens had moved to a new house in Ruth, Nevada.

1986

The Nina Project

By 1986, Owens had been fired from his unspecified position in the military for being unable to stop the Soviet invasion in Hawkins the previous year.

Owens and Brenner also established the Nina Project, situated at a top secret facility in the Nevada desert. The project was conceived in response to Eleven's stroke at the Battle of Starcourt, in which she lost access to her psychokinetic abilities. The project was designed to reactivate her powers through a combination of experimental drugs, sensory deprivation and audiovisual stimulation. Brenner and Owens hoped that by restoring Eleven's powers, they could stave off the continued threat posed by the interdimensional breach.

However, mistrust was brewing between Brenner and Owens's government faction and the US Military. Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan was aware of Eleven's existence, and that she had survived the events of November 1983 (which Brenner and Owens denied). Sullivan had heard explanations about the Upside Down, but suspected it was a cover story; he believed Eleven was "going rogue", committing horrific acts of violence.[2]

On the evening of March 22, 1986, Sullivan visited Owens at his home in Ruth, Nevada. He informed Owens of a mysterious killer currently active in Hawkins. Sullivan showed him images of Chrissy Cunningham's mutilated corpse; though he suppressed his reaction, Owens recognised her murder as the work of Henry Creel. Sullivan questioned Owens about Eleven's whereabouts, but Owens continued to deny that Eleven was alive. After Sullivan's departure, Owens realised he was rapidly running out of time to execute his plan and could delay no longer. Owens sent an encrypted message to Brenner and his colleagues via his personal computer, informing them it was finally time to initiate the next stage of the Nina Project.

Owens at the cafe 2

Owens explaining the situation to Eleven.

On March 23, Owens left with his agents Ellen Stinson, Wallace and Harmon. They intercepted a police vehicle carrying Eleven after she assaulted her bully Angela with a roller skate at Rink-O-Mania. Owens brought Eleven to a diner, where he explained that there were murders happening in Hawkins, that Hawkins needs her, and that he has a way that Eleven's powers could be returned. After Eleven agreed, they left the diner abruptly together, and arrived at the Nina Project in the middle of the Nevada desert. However, upon seeing Dr. Brenner, Eleven attempted to flee the facility, but was drugged and held down by guards and a nurse. Upon awakening, Eleven agreed to stay to get her powers back. She was submerged in the sensory deprivation tank in the building, and with the combination of injected drugs and CCTV footage, she was transported to Hawkins Lab in 1979 via her subconscious. After experiencing some of her memories, Dr. Brenner took her out of the tank after much persuasion from Owens. Eleven once again tried to flee, and she realized she had regained some of her powers. Once again, she decided to stay.

S4E5-Owens witnessing El wake up

Owens watching Eleven after one of her re-experience sessions.

Throughout the following two days, Eleven re-experienced several traumatic moments, such as being bullied by test subject 002. She also re-experienced her planning to escape the lab with 001.

On March 26, Eleven submerged herself in the sensory deprivation tank for one last time. She re-experienced her fight with 001, and this time, she fully regained her strength. In front of Dr. Owens and Dr. Brenner, she lifted the sensory deprivation tank and set it back down.

After Eleven used the Void to spy on her friends in Hawkins, she grew concerned for Max, and wanted to help in their fight against Vecna. However, Brenner sought to continue the Nina experiments, wanting to push Eleven's abilities beyond their previous limit. Brenner and Owens began to argue when Eleven insisted on returning to Hawkins, which provoked Brenner to forcefully incapacitate both Eleven and Owens; guards loyal to Brenner chained Owens to a rail inside the observation room, while Brenner personally sedated and collared Eleven.

Shortly after this, Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan launched a full-scale military attack on the facility, deploying vehicles, weaponry and a helicopter. They burst down the door to the facility with a bomb and charged inside, killing the guards. Most, if not all, of the scientists attempted to escape through a hidden escape hatch, but were all apparently shot and killed by the helicopter's sniper. After locating Owens and ignoring his pleas to spare Eleven, Sullivan ordered his men to execute her. However, Eleven used her telekinetic powers to crash the helicopter into the facility. Brenner died, while Eleven was rescued by her friends; Sullivan and his men were seen emerging from the facility, but it is unknown what came to be of Dr. Owens.

Personality

Owens shares his predecessor's commitment to secrecy, as shown when he pressured Jonathan and Nancy against divulging the truth about Barbara Holland's death. However, he makes a legitimate point about the need for secrecy: that the deadly nature of the Upside Down portal, if replicated in the hands of an authoritarian government, would create even greater disaster, which is why it must be kept secret.

Owens is much more amiable and open-minded than Dr. Brenner, showing a good bedside manner to Will during their exams and refusing to immediately put the Upside Down tunnels through a full burn if it meant killing Will in the process. He is never shown treating anyone with deliberate cruelty.

He puts himself at risk of death in staying in the Labs during the lock-down to keep an eye out on the security cameras for Joyce, Hopper, and Bob and guide them out of the lab, ultimately becoming injured in the process. Following the closure of the Hawkins Laboratory, he cheerfully greets Hopper as "Chief-O", and helped arrange his adoption of Eleven by providing him a birth certificate of her, suggesting that despite their previous adversity, they have become friends.

Abilities

  • High Intelligence: Being a doctor and member of the Department of Energy, Dr. Owens had a high understanding about psychological diseases and ecological evolution, as well extremely significant knowledge of the Upside Down and its inhabitants.
  • Government Rank: Dr. Owens was first the Director of Hawkins National Laboratory and a high-ranking member of the Department of Energy. Later, he also had some rank in the military, although he was fired from this position.
  • Persuasion: Due to his unusual amiability as opposed to Dr. Martin Brenner, Dr. Owens was able to make Eleven agree to come with him to the Nina Project to get her powers back.

Relationships

Familial

At some point, Dr. Owens married his wife Cathy. They seemed to be a happy couple, and they presumably have a son.

Non-Familial

As the Demodogs began to close in, Hopper took Joyce, Mike, Will, Bob and Owens to a security room, where they were trapped due to a power outage. After Bob successfully restored the system, Dr. Owens decided to stay behind, and guided Hopper, Joyce, Mike and Bob out of the lab.

Later, Hopper returned with Eleven back to the lab in order to close the Gate and found Dr. Owens badly wounded by the Demodogs. He was patched up by Hopper who revealed that he had been protecting Eleven for a year and convinced Dr. Owens to help her lead a better, happier life.

A month later, after the Gate had been closed, Hopper met Dr. Owens at a bar. Owens provided him a forged birth certificate for Eleven, which stated that she's now officially Hopper's daughter, named as "Jane Hopper", though he reminded Hopper to wait another year to be safe. However, Hopper ultimately managed to convince him to give Eleven a night out to go to the Snow Ball with her friends.

Owens and Hopper had a rough start, Owens refusing to help Hopper investigate the Hawkins Tunnel System. However, later, Owens very nearly sacrificed himself to help Hopper, Joyce, Will, Mike, and (failed) Bob out of the lab. Hopper found Owens injured on a stairwell and (offscreen) helped him out of the lab. They seemed on somewhat friendlier terms after the demodogs' massacre of Hawkins Lab and its aftermath.

One day, Joyce Byers was alarmed when she was informed by the school of a weird drawing made by Will. She brought him to the Hawkins National Laboratory for a routine exam with Owens. After doing some tests, Owens assured Joyce that his readings were normal. He then asked Will several questions about his zombie drawing, making light of Will's imagination. Owens stated that Will's fascination with zombies was normal. Owens saw them out before returning to the lab.[3]

However, when the session ended, Owens told Joyce and Hopper that Will was experiencing extreme PTSD which was getting worse due to the "Anniversary Effect" but stated that Will will get over it eventually. He also assured them that he was on their side and advised to trust him.

Throughout seasons 3 and 4, Joyce had been trying to contact Owens to help them in their unfortunate situations. Owens arrived too late at Starcourt Mall after being contacted by Joyce to help them. In season 4, Agent Stinson helped Joyce and Hopper back to Hopper's cabin.

While Joyce initially did not trust Owens, who was trying to convince Joyce to believe that Will was simply going through a mental dilemma, she treated him as her main source of governmental aid in lots of her crises.

The day before Halloween, Will had an appointment with Dr. Owens to check his health due to him having more episodes. After a small chat to make him comfortable, Owens asked Will about the episode at the arcade, who was unaware that their conversation was being recorded and monitored by lab personnel. As Will tried to explain to Owens about feeling an evil force, Will's brainwaves started to increase activity. When Owens asked him about the evil's desire to kill, Will revealed that it intended to kill not him, but everyone else.

Will was hospitalized at the lab after his severe convulsion and was brought to Dr. Owens. When Will woke up, he seemed to have no memory of Bob. Owens tested Will's memories and found that he couldn't recognize him, Hopper, Bob or the events regarding him saving Hopper, but could only recognize his best friend, Mike and his mother, Joyce. He also remembered that the soldiers hurt him when they burnt the tendrils. Owens prompted to test a theory by burning a tentacle to observe Will's reaction. But Will responded in pain. Owens then concluded that there was a hive mind virus that connected all the hosts and that, Will was somehow connected to it.

Owens then took Hopper to show the extent of the Gate which has grown into a network of tunnels and revealed to him that there was a complication for which the burning was stopped.

At a meeting between Owens and several other scientists, they discussed the reason behind Will's brain being altered by the shadow monster. The doctors all argued that it was impossible for them to save Will and suggested to start the burning to control the spread. Owens refused and let Will use the photos of his map to locate a place that the shadow monster was trying to hide from him.

Owens later tried to helped Will, Joyce, Hopper, Mike, and Bob out of the lab, very nearly sacrificing himself in the process.

The exact relationship between Owens and Will is unknown, but Will presumably trusted Owens, enough to tell him exactly what he felt and saw during his episodes with the visions of the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer.

By spring of 1986, Owens aids the Byers family in relocating to Lenora Hills, California.

Later, Owens intercepted a police vehicle transporting Eleven to prison for assaulting her bully, Angela. He explained that with a new danger present in Hawkins, Vecna, Eleven and her powers were needed once again to save the world. Owens then revealed that there was a possibility of Eleven regaining her powers with his help. With her consent, he took her to the Nina Project, where Eleven discovered Brenner was alive and working with Owens. After attempting to escape twice, she realized that regaining her powers was worth remaining in Brenner's care, and didn't attempt to leave again until she believed that her powers were as strong as they could be in time to save Max. Owens supported Eleven and confronted Brenner on her behalf, letting her make her own decision and readily agreeing to take her to Hawkins with him. Brenner incarcerated Owens, however, and U.S. military commander Lt. Col. Sullivan arrived and found Owens, but Eleven did not go back to the building to rescue him.

It is unknown how Eleven felt towards Owens personally, since nearly in all instances she worked with him for her own gain or to help her loved ones, and did not try to help Owens after her goal in the Nina Project had been reached.

Brenner and Dr. Sam Owens had established the Nina Project, situated at a top secret facility in the Nevada desert. The project was conceived in response to Eleven losing access to her psychokinetic abilities, and was designed to reactivate her powers via an experimental procedure. Brenner and Owens wished to use Eleven's abilities to stave off the continued existential threat posed by the Upside Down. After some initial hesitation, Eleven participated and ultimately regained her abilities. Later, after Owens confronted her regarding Eleven's freedom, Brenner incarcerated him and threatened Eleven that he would kill him.

It seems as though Owens only worked with Brenner because he knew that he would have to to return Eleven's powers. He did not support his cruel methods, admitting that he is going against his conscience working with Brenner. Brenner clearly has no friendliness with Owens, and only allied with him for his own personal gain. After his goal had been reached, Owens turned out to be a thorn on his path, and he easily used him as a tool to keep Eleven in the Nina Project (which ultimately failed).

Appearances

Season Two appearances
MADMAX Trick or Treat, Freak The Pollywog
Will the Wise Dig Dug The Spy
The Lost Sister The Mind Flayer The Gate
Season Three appearances
Suzie, Do You Copy? The Mall Rats The Case of the Missing Lifeguard The Sauna Test
The Flayed E Pluribus Unum The Bite The Battle of Starcourt*
Season Four appearances
The Hellfire Club Vecna's Curse The Monster and the Superhero
Dear Billy The Nina Project The Dive
The Massacre at Hawkins Lab Papa The Piggyback

*Does not have speaking lines in "The Battle of Starcourt".

Video games

Video game appearances
Stranger Things: The Game Stranger Things 3: The Game Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales Stranger Things: The VR Experience
Dead by Daylight Fortnite Smite Roblox


Memorable Quotes

  • "Chief-O."
  • "Sorry about that. Hospitality's not our strong suit."
  • "Abundant mistakes, but, the men involved with those mistakes, the ones responsible for what happened to your brother and Miss Holland's death, they're gone. They're gone, and for better or for worse, I'm the schmuck they brought in to make things better."
  • "I'd call it one hell of a mistake. Wouldn't you? See, the thing is, we can't seem to erase our mistake... but we can stop it from spreading. Like, it's like pulling weeds. But imagine for a moment, if a foreign state, let's say, the Soviets... If they heard about our mistake, do you think they would even consider that a mistake? What if they tried to replicate that? The more attention we bring to ourselves, the more... the more people like the Hollands know the truth, the more likely that scenario becomes."
  • "All living organisms develop defense mechanisms against attack. They adapt. They find some way to survive."
  • "Never too late in the day for breakfast, that's what I say."
  • "A war is coming to Hawkins."
  • "We can't win this war without you."
  • "We agreed this was not going to be a prison. We'll show her what this is, what we can offer, and then it is her choice whether she wants to stay or go. Right, doc? Well you may not agree with it, but there she is, standing before us, making a choice."
  • "Well, that went very well, I thought. You eased her into it, nice and gentle, just like we talked about, not ominous at all..."

Behind the scenes

The Duffer Brothers said in an interview that one of the new adult characters in Season Two is involved in Joyce's life, whereas the other is involved in the labs.[4] The identity of the character involved with the labs and the casting of Paul Reiser was announced on November 7, 2016.[5] Reiser previously played the villainous character Burke in Aliens, a 1986 James Cameron film that the Duffer Brothers named as an influence for Season 2.[6]

Gallery

View Gallery For this subject's gallery, see Sam Owens/Gallery.


Trivia

  • In "MADMAX", during Owens's regular check-up on Will's symptoms, Owens notably uses the term "the Upside Down" when discussing the other world with Will. This is the series' only instance where a government official adopts the Party's terminology to describe the supernatural.
  • "The Lost Sister" is the only episode of the second season that Owens does not appear in.

References

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