When the Duffer brothers explained why Eleven couldn’t have stayed in their custody at the end of the Stranger Things plot, social media erupted. The two said that since Eleven’s departure was essential to the characters’ growth and resolution, there could never have been a situation in which she remained in Hawkins with her pals.
Since Eleven was portrayed as more of a problem than the hero who repeatedly saved everyone, many fans disapproved of the explanation.
The Duffer Brothers Explain Their Decision on Eleven’s Fate
Eleven was never supposed to be left “hanging out with the gang” at the end of the series, according to Ross Duffer.
Ross Duffer stated, “There was never a version of the story where Eleven was hanging out with the gang at the end.”
He added that since Eleven represents innocence in youth, the team didn’t need to take away her abilities.
We didn’t want to take away her abilities for our writers or ourselves. She is a symbol of childhood enchantment and magic in many ways, he continued.
Eleven’s departure was linked to the Upside Down threat and the conclusion of the Hawkins plot, according to Ross Duffer.
“Eleven had to disappear in order for our characters to move on and for Hawkins and the Upside Down’s story to conclude,” he stated.
It seems that he believed the final scenario was purposefully unclear in order to give the characters—if not the audience—hope for a better conclusion.
He stated, “We thought it would be lovely if our characters continued to believe in that happier ending even if we didn’t give them a clear answer to whether that’s true or not.” “We just felt that it was such a better way to end the story and a better way to represent the closure of this journey and their journey from children to adults because they are believing in it.”
Matt Duffer: Keeping Her “Alive” Meant Keeping Her Unreachable
According to Matt Duffer, there would need to be some distance between Eleven and the other characters if she were still alive.
“If Eleven is out there, the only thing they can hope for is a belief that it’s true because they can’t be in contact with her,” Matt Duffer stated.
He suggested that direct contact might upset the conclusion’s logic.
“If that were the case, everything falls apart,” he remarked.
According to Matt Duffer, the choice was made in order to advance the other characters and save Eleven’s life.
“This is really the best way to keep her alive if that’s the story,” he stated. “And it’s about Mike and everyone figuring out how to put the past behind them.”
Fans Say the Explanation Treats Eleven Like a Burden
The public responded to the comments, with many audience members stating that it was evident from the Duffers’ presentation of the scenario that Eleven was preventing others from getting closure.
“Eleven is the reason the entire cast didn’t end up in the mind flayer’s stomach, and they’re calling her a burden,” someone wrote in response to this.
“Basically implying that the traumatized girl is a burden and that she had to die for everyone to be happy… oh you’re both going to hell,” added another.
“Oh my lord, I had to come back for this,” one viewer wrote, criticizing the conclusion as a literary failure. The conclusion of Eleven is a classic illustration of male writing failure. Another strong female character endures unrelenting pain before being granted a meaningless “sacrifice” in lieu of a life. We are also informed that this is for depth. significance. BS!
“We built a connection with her for ten years, saw her grow up, and at the end, we have to believe either she died or is somewhere alone,” said another commentator, highlighting the emotional bond that viewers had developed over time. Come on, we were entitled to a better conclusion. If you wanted a depressing conclusion, you could have simply killed Will.
Some Viewers Call the Ending Misogynistic and Cruel
In other responses, the authors were accused of repeatedly traumatizing Eleven before removing her from the narrative to allow others to grow.
“Watching male writers put a female lead through endless trauma just to strip her of agency and humanity at the end,” someone commented. This is incredibly misogynistic and harsh. F*** those unattractive males.
Another wrote, “Trying to say that your main female character was an obstacle that needed to be written out for everyone else to get a happy ending when she’s been the one to save them time and time again,” echoing that critique. Duffers, never write about women again.
“Milked Millie and her acting for you to say this about her character when you could’ve just kept her killed off in S1,” another commenter said, linking the criticism to the actor who played the role.
Fans Also Question Whether the Group Would Move On So Quickly
Additionally, some viewers questioned whether the characters could actually move on from losing Eleven, even as time went on.
“And they will never convince me that her friends and family moved on that quickly. If 18 months had passed, they should have been more sad,” someone commented.
Why did they act as though Mike was the only one who gave a damn about her? They belonged to a family.BROTHERS, Y F* YOU DUFFER “F* U F***” U
Some responded more bluntly, referring to it as a “wicked a** ending.”
“Just say you hate women, y’all is weird as f***,” a commenter wrote, accusing the authors of detesting women.
