Spoiler Warning: Stranger Things Seasons 3-4
It’s been over two weeks since Netflix dropped the much-awaited volume one of the fourth season ofStranger Things. This paranormal horror 1980s extravaganza has become one of Netflix’s most ambitious shows yet, with run times for each episode going well over an hour. Despite that, most of us binged these seven episodes in one go. After all, we have waited three years for this season to drop. Now, we have a list of questions for every character. However, there’s one question that we need an answer to, and that is how did Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) lose her powers?
In the first three seasons, we only saw Eleven’s powers consistently growing, especially in seasons two and three. However, after the big fight sequence between her and the Mind Flayer in the Starcourt Mall, she realized she could not use her powers. It was only during the epilogue section of season three, when we see her pack for Lenora Hills, that it becomes clear that her powers had gone for good. So, what happened? How did she end up losing her powers? Let’s break this down.
Eleven Loses Her Powers
Eleven losing her telekinetic powers so suddenly has been a major problem for the party this season, who are split across various locations – Hawkins, Lenora Hills, and Kamchatka. Moreover, losing her powers has also been a huge embarrassment for Eleven, whose entire personality revolved around these psionic powers.
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We see Eleven move with the Byers to Lenora Hills in season three. In the fourth season, we see how life for her had completely changed after moving there without her powers. She was heavily bullied and had no friends other than Will (Noah Schnapp) at school. In one instance, she physically attacked her bully, which led her to being arrested. While she was in the police van, she was kidnapped midway, only to be given the option of working towards getting her powers back to fight against Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), who was on the rise and killing so many people. Eleven was the only one capable of fighting against Vecna, and so she decided she wanted to do everything to get her powers back.
After she was taken to a secret bunker in Nevada to help regain her powers, she came face to face with her “Papa,” Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine), the scientist responsible for conducting all those inhuman experiments on psychic children as we saw in the first season. While in the bunker, she was put through a series of sensory deprivation tank trials thrusting her back to all those traumatic events she experienced at the Hawkins National Lab. Though Eleven was initially against the idea of working with Dr. Brenner again, she decided to give in and rely on his expertise by the sixth episode titled “The Dive.” In this episode, we understand how and why she lost her powers.
In the episode, Dr. Brenner asks her:
“Do you know what happens when someone has a stroke? The blood supply to the brain is cut off. It scrambles the signals in the brain to the point where the mind can forget how to do things. To eat. To speak. To walk. When you were attacked last year, I believe that your signals were scrambled in much the same way. But just as a stroke victim can learn to walk again, I believe you, too, can return to your full power. Your abilities are still in [your head]. You just need to remember.”
In all those sensory deprivation tank trials, she relived every memory and slowly and steadily uncovered the truth and how she had initially unlocked the full potential of her powers that was unanswered in the first season. It was finally revealed in the seventh episode how she fully achieved her powers that day, which also served as the biggest story reveal of the show.
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Is Eleven Powerful Enough to Fight Vecna?
Based on the seventh episode, it looks like Eleven has finally regained her powers. But is she powerful enoughto stop Vecna? Surprisingly, many fan theories state her powers aren’t strong enough to defeat Vecna. In fact, fans think Eleven might even lose to Vecna in an epic fight. But this loss may result in the resurrection of a character whose story was left incomplete, Kali, a.k.a. Eight (Linnea Berthelsen). Considering her storyline was left unfinished, this theory does hold some merit. However, only time will tell what will happen in the season 4 finale.
That said, based on everything executive producer Shawn Levy and showrunner Duffer Brother haveteased about the finaleso far, we’re definitely going be at the edge of our seat when the last two episodes release, especially considering episode nine is going to be a whoppingtwo hours and 35 minutes long!
you may watchStranger ThingsSeason 4: Volume IonNetflix.Volume IIis set to premiere on August 05, 2025.
