Did Eleven really die in the Stranger Things finale? Nerds will probably argue about her ending until the sun explodes. Here are all the super-specific niche details hidden in the Stranger Things finale which Netflix viewers are taking as evidence Eleven is dead or alive.
All the evidence Eleven is just dead (soz):
1. Kali looked pretty screwed
Will’s theory – that Kali helped Eleven fake her death – all hinges on Kali still being alive. She was shot in the abdomen, and was bleeding heavily. Although it’s possible to survive injuries like this, Hopper seemed pretty convinced he was a goner. Since he used to be a solider, then a police officer, I trust his judgement on this. Even if she hadn’t yet died when Eleven and co. exited the Upside Down, faking El’s death would be a far more complex illusion that we’ve ever seen her do, and at a much greater distance. It seems unlikely she could pull that off on her deathbed.
She didn’t look great
(Image via Netflix)
2. Kali’s illusions don’t last when touched
After someone touches Kali’s illusions, they weaken and collapse. Presumably, a person subconsciously clocks that something isn’t right, and it becomes harder for Kali to convince them otherwise. We saw this happen to the butterfly she conjured for El in season two, and when Vecna broke through the illusions in his mind. El and Hopper both held Kali once she’d been shot. The extent of her injuries probably weren’t an illusion.
3. The ‘kryptonite’ might not work how Mike thinks
Mike’s big brainwave was that the military surrounded them with the “kryptonite” speakers. He reckons El couldn’t have used her powers on him, and it must be an illusion. But we don’t actually know if a sonic blast in the normal world would affect El in the Upside Down.
All the evidence Eleven is alive at the end of Stranger Things:
1. She really does just vanish from the truck
If you watch back the crucial scene in slow-mo, there’s no obvious way Eleven could have got from the truck to the Upside Down without being seen (or Kali making her invisible).
2. No nosebleed
All clear!
(Image via Netflix)
After five seasons of non-stop nosebleeds, it does seem sus Eleven’s nostrils would be clear after messing with Mike’s mind (unless that was all an illusion. Or she had some tissues on-hand).
3. The song ‘Heroes’
The first song in the credits is David Bowie’s Heroes. This played twice before in Stranger Things – when the police found a fake body for Will in season one, and when everyone thought Hopper had died after season three. Is this song a hint Eleven’s death was also fake?
4. The parallels with season one
Nawwww
(Image via Netflix)
The final episode of Stranger Things mirrored the end of season one. Remember, the kids all played DnD in Mike’s basement, and he narrated a story which eerily mirrored the plot of future seasons. The gang weren’t sure what happened to El… but she was fine. It would make sense for the same to be true of the season five ending.
5. Money
Erm, are we sure Netflix would permanently kill off the most iconic character from their most iconic show? Maybe in ten years Millie Bobby-Brown (sorry, Millie Bonnie Bongiovi) will decide she fancies another farm, and Eleven will pop up in one of the many, many planned Stranger Things spin-offs.
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Featured image credit: Netflix
