Sadie Sink Shares Bold Theory on Eleven’s Fate in Stranger Things

The final season of Stranger Things wrapped up with a massive twist, leaving fans scratching their heads over what really happened to Eleven. Sadie Sink, who plays Max Mayfield, recently weighed in on the debate during a chat on The Tonight Show. She didn’t mince words, saying,

“I think she’s dead,”

and went on to suggest that Mike’s story is more of a last hurrah, a way of saying goodbye to being a kid.

Sink’s comments refer to the story Mike tells in the epilogue, set a year and a half after Eleven’s big sacrifice. After the group manages to take down Vecna and make it back to Hawkins, Eleven steps into the gate just as Hopper’s bomb goes off. She gives up her life to stop Dr Kay and the military from opening the gate again.

Mike’s Version of Events

Despite what happened, Mike refuses to accept that Eleven is gone. He comes up with his own version of events, imagining that Kali, though hurt and stuck in the Upside Down, managed to create a hologram of Eleven. This allowed the real Eleven to slip away unnoticed by the guards. In Mike’s mind, she’s out there somewhere, travelling the globe and searching for a place with heaps of waterfalls, just like they once talked about.

It’s a bittersweet take, with Mike clinging to hope and refusing to let go of the past. Sink’s view is that this is Mike’s way of holding onto his childhood, spinning one last yarn before moving on.

The Real Answer Remains a Mystery

As for what actually happened, only Millie Bobby Brown and the Duffer brothers know for sure. Matt Duffer, one of the show’s creators, mentioned on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast that he and his brother Ross have the answer, and Millie’s keeping it under wraps.

With the entire series now available to stream, punters can revisit the finale and draw their own conclusions. For those keen to dig deeper, there are reviews and more articles covering the last season’s twists and turns.