Here’s Where Eleven’s Been Since That Explosive ‘Stranger Things’ Season 1 Finale

Talk about being a friend — Eleven, who was by far the most interesting part of Stranger Things, sacrificed herself at the end of Stranger Things Season 1 in order to defeat the dreaded Demogorgon from the Upside Down and save Will, and probably their whole little town. But where did Eleven go at the end of Stranger Things Season 1? She used her telekinetic powers and then — boom! It was all over from there.

Eleven (or El, as the boys call her) got her powers through her mother. In the early '70s, Eleven’s presumed mother, Terry Ives, was involved with governmental experiments with psychedelic drugs. But Terry didn’t know she was pregnant during the experiments, and Eleven was born with crazy powers. She was abducted by Dr. Martin Brenner and made into a human guinea pig, and eventually, somehow, she made contact with a creature in another dimension. Will slipped into this dimension — the Upside Down — and she felt responsible for letting it break through to the other side. That’s why, ultimately, Eleven is the one to defeat the Demogorgon. Not only is she the only one who can do it, but she wants to help these people who have been so kind to her. Eleven sacrificed herself and brought herself back to the Upside Down to save everyone else in Season 1, but in Season 2, we have every reason to believe that this adorable bundle of telekinetic power and Eggo waffle consumption is back.

In the very first trailer for Season 2, Eleven’s hand is seen ripping through the gooey ectoplasm of the Upside Down wormhole, meaning she will emerge from the mess, ultimately standing in the hallway of Hawkins Middle School. Hooray for Eleven!

But while it’s great that Eleven has emerged from the Upside Down, there are still problems in Hawkins that she’ll have to deal with. For starters, that Demogorgon may be dunzo, but how do we know that there aren’t more? There are new creatures in the Stranger Things Season 2 trailer, and new creatures mean new battles. It’s also important to remember that just because that Demogorgon is dead, that doesn’t mean Hawkins is all good now — there is still some sort of giant rift in the space-time continuum that allows the Upside Down to terrorize a nice Midwestern town. In the final trailer for Stranger Things Season 2, Eleven is clearly out of the Upside Down but in the woods, scampering in the trees and finding special Eggos in boxes hidden in the forest (presumably from Hopper, the tough sheriff with a heart of gold).

It would be wonderful if this wormhole mess could be put to rest and Eleven could just live a happy life. Her alleged birth mother is in a vegetative state and Eleven doesn't have a birth certificate, anyway (Brenner made sure that Eleven could always be his perfect little experiment), so it would be hard to reunite them. Hopper always seems to care more than he lets on, and if he's the person leaving Eleven Eggos in the forest like I think he is, he cares deeply for this damaged little girl named Eleven. He's damaged, she's damaged — they could really use each other, huh?

Also high on the list of things I'm looking forward to when Eleven makes it out of the Upside Down is her eventual reunion with Mike (especially Mike), Lucas, Will, and Dustin. These kids are the only friends she's ever had, and if she needs to lock down this wormhole to keep Hawkins safe forever, Eleven is certainly going to need all of the help she can get.