Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown) lost her powers in Stranger Things season three on Netflix after taking on the Mind Flayer. Stranger Things fans were left wondering why Eleven lost her powers in series three, despite retaining them after doing huge tasks like closing The Gate in the previous season. Netflix viewers have also been speculating about whether her powers will return in Stranger Things season four.
Why did Eleven lose her powers?
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 3
According to the events of Stranger Things season three, episode eight, The Battle of Starcourt Mall, Eleven lost her powers after she pulled part of the Mind Flayer out of her body.
However, three months later, the show revealed she still did not have her powers.
This left some fans bemused – after all, if Eleven got her powers back after the mammoth task of closing The Gate to the Upside Down, then why had they not returned after the relatively small task of pulling some goo out of her leg?
However, one theory goes that by entering her body, the Mind Flayer absorbed her powers.
As such, when the force behind the Mind Flayer was trapped in the Upside Down following the second closing of The Gate, her powers were trapped with it.
Also, as one user on the Stranger Things Reddit page pointed out, Eleven losing her powers has useful implications for the plot of seasons three and four.
They wrote that Eleven losing her powers meant that: “Eleven’s ability to “search” and locate anyone in the world at any time is eliminated.”
This means that Eleven is not able to search for and locate Jim Hopper (David Harbour) keeping the mystery of if he’s alive and where he is going.
Will Eleven get her powers back?
Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) certainly seems to think that Eleven will get her powers back, telling her in the season three finale: “They’ll come back, I know they will.”
However, there are a number of reasons why Stranger Things showrunners The Duffer Brothers may want to keep Eleven without her powers for a while.
Season three’s post-credits scene hinted both Hopper and Eleven’s “papa” Dr Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine) were still alive, if she had her powers she could find them in a few minutes.
However, without her powers, The Duffer Brothers can spread this story out, making Stranger Things season four an international hunt for the two figures, leading to what a Redditor called: “Papa vs Papa. Papabowl.”
This was hinted at in an interview with the brothers in Entertainment Weekly.
Matt Duffer said: “I think the biggest thing that’s going to happen [in season four] is it’s going to open up a little bit.
“Not necessarily in terms of scale, in terms of special effects, but open up in terms of allowing plotlines into areas outside of Hawkins.”
Stranger Things seasons 1-3 are streaming on Netflix now
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