Stranger Things season 4 has finally arrived on Netflix after nearly three years of anticipation, bringing viewers back to Hawkins for the latest story in Eleven and the gang’s journey.
Millie Bobby Brown’s character is without the characteristic powers that made her such a force to be reckoned with in earlier installments, so there’s something different about her in the new batch of episodes.
Fans who are unfamiliar with the events of season 3 have naturally wondered how Eleven lost her powers and whether she will be able to restore them in Stranger Things season 4.
*Warning: Season 4 of Stranger Things contains spoilers*
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On ‘Stranger Things,’ how did Eleven lose her powers?
In the Stranger Things Season 3 conclusion, Eleven assists in the defeat of the Mind Flayer at the mall battle. But she doesn’t use her abilities since the Mind Flayer implants a worm in her before the season finale. Jonathan slices her leg open so Eleven can use her talents to remove the worm. Her abilities, however, appear to decrease after that.
When the dust settles at the conclusion of Season 3, we discover that Eleven is still unable to use her abilities. With that worm, the Upside Down demon did anything to Eleven that rendered her helpless.
Eleven also doesn’t have her powers at the start of Season 4. Eleven may be living the fantasy of finally being a regular kid, but without her telekinetic abilities, she isn’t herself.
Me when eleven get her powers back. #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/vcu8K0N1gc
— 💖🤎 (@KenWolfe07) May 27, 2022
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Does 11 Get Her Powers Back In Season 4
Eleven regains her powers in Stranger Things 4, but only for a short time.
Eleven is transported to a facility controlled by Dr. Martin Brenner, who was responsible for the experimentation on Eleven when she was a child after she goes several episodes without her talents.
She tries to flee but is sedated, and she subsequently has visions of her younger self and childhood trauma. Brenner has induced them in order for Eleven to relive her past.
Brenner’s latest experiments succeed, as remembering Eleven’s painful past reawakens part of her skills and she regains her powers, if only for a few moments as she battles off the facility’s guards while attempting to flee.
But her talents only last for a brief while because when she tries to use them against Dr. Brenner, nothing happens and he asks threateningly, “You didn’t think it would be so easy, did you?”
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