Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ inches towards its end as the residents of Hawkins prepare to fight Vecna in a battle that will decide the fate of the whole world. It all started with the secret government experiments conducted by Dr. Brenner and his team, leading to the creation of kids like Eleven, with Vecna, aka Henry, emerging as the ultimate villain. While it is Will’s disappearance that kickstarts the events, it turns out to be Eleven’s show through and through. Being the hero on whom hinges the fate of Hawkins, one would think that Eleven has enough plot armor to survive till the end. However, the arrival of Kali, who returns from Season 2, leads Eleven to a devastating realisation. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Kali’s Revelation Sets Up Eleven’s Death in Stranger Things Finale
The first half of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 ends with Eleven and Hopper discovering Kali, who is held captive in the secret lab run by Dr. Kay in the Upside Down. She reveals that she was captured by Kay, all her friends were killed, and she was brought to the lab where Kay propped her up as a blood bag. For a long time, Kali didn’t know what was being done with her blood, but when she attempted to escape, she discovered that Kay was trying to revive Brenner’s program. She was using Kali’s blood to make more superpowered beings like her and Eleven. However, her experiment didn’t produce results, which is why her mind is now set on Eleven. When Eleven talks about defeating Vecna, saving Hawkins, and running away to a life of anonymity for good, Kali points out that Vecna’s death will stop the interdimensional monsters, but not the human monsters who will continue to look for them.
Kali’s words strike a chord with Eleven, who is forced to confront the reality that as long as she is around, people like Brenner and Kay will never stop looking for her. They will attempt to capture her and exploit her for their own benefit. Even if she succeeds in closing the bridge between her world and the Abyss now, the evil scientists can always use her to open another gate and repeat the same thing all over again. It is a cycle that will never come to an end, unless people like her are gone for good. So, Kali proposes a plan. Their priority is to defeat Vecna, which includes destroying the bridge, aka the Upside Down. When that happens, she and Eleven must stay back so that they, too, are killed with the Upside Down, and the world never has to come close to being destroyed again.
At first, Eleven is appalled by this, but by the end of the seventh episode, it seems that she has prepared herself for it. The look she shares with Kali suggests that she is seriously considering this possibility. She isn’t the only one who has been thinking about it. Considering the danger that lies ahead, Hopper has considered sacrificing himself multiple times. He almost does it while breaking into the lab, and while Eleven doesn’t like what he is doing, his actions do set a precedent for her. She knows that things could get really ugly when Vecna finally rains hell on Hawkins, and if it takes her death to end it once and for all, then she will not hesitate to make that choice. With this, the finale seems all set up to end Eleven’s story with a tragedy, but it’s not the only way things could go.
Eleven’s Might Not Die, But She Might Also Not Get a Happy Ending
As fun as ‘Stranger Things’ has been, it has also been rife with tragic deaths since Season 1. While the core group may have gone unscathed so far, every season has seen the deaths of very important and deeply beloved characters. So far, no major character has died in Season 5, which means that bodies are due to drop in the finale, and Eleven’s death could really do the trick for the series finale. What lends credence to this theory is an allegedly leaked photo from the finale, which features Hopper (in his police uniform) and Mike on a park bench, engaging in a conversation that appears emotionally heavy. Perhaps this is after Vecna has been defeated and the dust of the final battle has settled. With no Eleven in the picture, there is a possibility that the duo could be connecting over their shared loss of Eleven. While it wouldn’t be surprising to watch Eleven sacrifice herself to save everyone, it would also be deeply unfair to the character who has never known a moment of peace in her life.
Since she escaped from Brenner’s lab, Eleven has had a tough time. While having friends and a found family made it easier, there was barely any time when she actually felt safe and didn’t have to think about ways to defeat interdimensional monsters. If there is anyone who deserves a happy ending in ‘Stranger Things,’ it is her, which is why, if she dies, it would not only be incredibly heartbreaking, but it would also make the fans very, very mad, especially when the conflict related to her can be resolved in other ways. Since Kali’s concerns about the lingering threat of evil government agents are valid, Eleven will need to die, at least in the eyes of the world. So, there is a possibility that she might let the world, including her friends, think that she has died. She might choose to leave Hawkins for good and start a new life somewhere else, away from her friends.
She wouldn’t want them to get in danger because of her, and she wouldn’t want to be found through them, as the government would surely keep an eye on them. Another reason that her death seems unlikely is that Hopper appears to know what is going on in Kali’s mind, and he has already expressed his resolve to kill her if she tries to mess up Eleven’s head. While he has no issues sacrificing himself, there is no way he is going to let Eleven do it, even if that means fighting the government and evil scientists for the rest of his life. Moreover, there is also the possibility that Eleven might be stripped of her powers. It could be due to Vecna’s death and the destruction of the Upside Down, or because she exhausts every drop of it to win the war against the monster. If that happens, there would be no reason for anyone to come after her, and she would finally be able to live her life without any conflict or bloodshed.
Read More: Stranger Things: Why Does Will Come Out? Do Mike and Will Get Together?
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