Caution: Spoilers for Stranger Things season three, now streaming on Netflix, ahead.

Forget the Russians, the Mind Flayer, and the rats—one of the most interesting storylines at the beginning of Stranger Things season three is the flirtation between Cara Buono's Mrs. Wheeler and Dacre Montgomery's Billy. Their chemistry, which was first introduced in a brief scene in season two, could have easily defeated every threat to Hawkins and then some.

Okay, that might be an exaggeration. Still, it was fascinating to see another side of Karen Wheeler explored as she contemplates having an affair with Billy. Though the two don't ultimately get together, it's hard not to imagine what could have happened. Of course, as Cara Buono points out to Glamour, Stranger Things is a show for all ages. In other words, there was a limit to how far things could go with Billy and Karen.

"When we inch toward each other at the pool and things become more intimate, it was a real line to toe because it's still a family show," Buono says about the scene where Billy invites Karen to join him for "private swim lessons."

"Billy and Karen do have great chemistry—this very sexual attraction—so you balance that with the fact that there are other people around, other moms around, Karen's daughter Holly is in the pool, and there's an audience watching." Buono says her goal was to contain the heightened attraction rather than play into it. "That way it's thrilling to watch, but not uncomfortable."

Billy persuades Karen to meet him later that night at a local motel, and she returns home to prepare. She spends a considerable amount of time applying makeup, teasing her hair, and finding the perfect outfit; it's clear in the scene that Karen—who, it's implied, has been sexually unfilled in her marriage to Ted—relishes the opportunity to dress up for someone who will appreciate the effort. "Of course you want to see her fulfilled," Dacre Montgomery (Billy) tells Glamour. "It's like the fantasy."

But that fantasy ends for Karen when she comes down the stairs and sees Ted asleep in a recliner with their daughter Holly in his arms. In the following episode, we learn that's all it takes for Karen to decide it's not worth going through with the date.