Stranger Things 4's Eleven Will Finally Have Something She's Never Had Before
Netflix's "Stranger Things" is set to finally return in late May, and with it comes a number of new things — both good and bad — for Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven and the rest of the Hawkins gang. The much-anticipated fourth season will see the show's longtime group of young stars separated for the first time, with Eleven and the Byers family moving away to California and building a new life following the events of Season 3, including the presumed death of Jim Hopper's (David Harbour). Now that the Upside Down and other evil forces appear to be rearing their ugly heads yet again (as teased in the latest trailer), it's interesting to see how the new environment and living arrangements will affect Eleven and the others moving forward.
According to the official Season 4 synopsis (via The Hollywood Reporter), it's been roughly half a year since the Battle of Starcourt, and with Hopper now out of her life, a lot has changed for Brown's character. Speaking to media outlets during a virtual set visit last year, Brown described how Eleven has finally gotten something in her life that she had never had before, sparking a strong sense of inspiration within her.
Joyce Byers is the first mother figure Eleven has ever had
According to Millie Bobby Brown, the relationship between Eleven and Winona Ryder's Joyce Byers character now that they live together is one that the superpowered teen has never had, and it's ultimately created a mother-daughter dynamic between them.
"Well, as you know, [Eleven] moves away with Joyce, Jonathan, and Will, and naturally, when a woman is in your life, you're inspired by her, especially a mother figure," Brown explained during the virtual set visit attended by Screen Rant, who reported on this story, back in June 2021. She continued, "That's something that Eleven hasn't had yet. So you're going to see that relationship take its natural progression, for sure."
As longtime "Stranger Things" fans know, Eleven's biological mother, Terry Ives (Aimee Mullins), went through grueling experiments at the Hawkins National Laboratory. The experiments left her mentally unwell and eventually put her in a semi-conscious vegetative state. Eleven is abducted after her birth and raised at the Hawkins lab under the care of Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine). She eventually escapes and comes into contact with Chief Hopper, who takes her in until his presumed death in Season 3.
Fans will get to see what Eleven and Joyce's evolving relationship looks like when "Stranger Things 4" debuts on Netflix on May 27.