Eleven losing her powers at the end of Stranger Things 3 could have been an interesting storyline, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Season 4 gives us a reason why she lost them, with unresolved trauma being a core issue. And then did almost nothing with it.
The show has her leave Hawkins for California, and isolates her from the main threat. What could have been a devastating character arc for Eleven never materializes.
The explanation is solid, the execution isn’t
To the show’s credit, Season 4 does give us some insight into how Eleven’s abilities work. They’re neurological in nature, tied to her capacity to draw power from feeling extreme emotions. At the end of season 3, Eleven removed a fragment of the Mind Flayer’s from her leg. The action triggered something in her subconscious that was so traumatic, her mind blocked the pathways she used to access her powers.
Removing the fragment reminded Eleven of her confrontation with Henry Creel, right before she banished him to the Upside Down. She repressed the memories of the massacre, Henry’s manipulations, her role in creating Vecna. But she also blocked out the foundation of her abilities.
The Nina Project forces her to relive those memories and reconnect with the emotional intensity that fuel her powers in the first place. It’s a psychological excavation.
The problem is season 4 never uses it to drive the story forward in a meaningful way.
Eleven is isolated from the main plotline
The way the Duffer Brothers handled Eleven losing her powers is lackluster. She’s in California getting bullied while Vecna is murdering teenagers in Hawkins. She’s separated from her best friend Max, who’s been marked by the humanoid psychopath. El wonders who she is without her powers and where she fits in with the world.
The show tries to explore her identity crisis through the Nina Project, but it exists in a vacuum. There’s no urgency, no immediate danger. The audience doesn’t feel the weight of her powerlessness.
What season 4 should have done
Imagine if Eleven had stayed in Hawkins instead of moving to California. She’d be back in Vecna’s web with no way to protect herself and her friends.
The episode Dear Billy would’ve hit differently if Eleven was there to see Max under Vecna’s trance, completely helpless to do anything. That scene would have broken her in a way the bullying subplot never could. That moment would’ve made El desperate to get her powers back at any cost. It would have added more weight to her decision to trust Dr. Brenner with the Nina Project, despite all the pain he’s inflicted on her.
Instead, Eleven’s powerlessness is treated like a problem no needs to fix before the finale, not a crisis that reshapes who she is.
Why the Duffer Brothers made this choice
There are reasons the Duffers wrote season 4 the way they did. The cast was split across multiple locations. Having Eleven away from Hawkins gave them a chance to reveal her connection with Veca/Henry/One. They also needed her at full strength in time to fight Vecna in the finale.
But the alternative would have been stronger. Having Eleven face the dangers of the Upside Down without her powers could have been great character development. The experience would have taught El she is more than just a girl with powers. She would see that her personality, her values, her morals are separate from the abilities Brenner gave her. They don’t define who she is or who she wants to be. It could have opened the door for Eleven to challenge how she sees herself and lead to some much needed healing for the girl.
It also would have addressed one of the biggest complaints the show had at the time.
For the first three seasons, fans and critics complained the show was overly reliant on Eleven saving the day. While later seasons did prove the Party is capable of defending themselves against supernatural threats, it would’ve been nice to see them adapt to having a powerless Eleven during Vecna’s rampage. There are a lot of ways the creators of Stranger Things could’ve addressed the subject. Which makes the convenient restoration of Eleven’s powers all the more disappointing. The show never lets her loss matter the way it should have.
