There are a lot of mysteries going on on Netflix's latest new series Stranger Things, but Eleven as a character is the biggest of them all. Personally, every time I think I've figured out who and what she is the show proves me wrong. She is known by that number, because it's tattoo on her arm, but what's Eleven's real name in Stranger Things ? When the boys meet the mysterious young girl, she introduces herself using her tattoo of the number and they even give her a nickname: "El." But, later in the first season, it becomes apparent that Eleven's real name could be Jane.
I'll explain, but it involves spoilers, so you should turn back now if you haven't finished Season 1 of Stranger Things. The Jane theory comes from a scene in Episode 6, called "The Monster." Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Police Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) talk to a woman named Terry Ives, who worked at the Hawkins National Laboratory and volunteered for their experiments. Terry basically watches TV speechless, while her sister Becky (Amy Seimetz) tells Joyce and Hopper that Terry was part of the MK Ultra study, run by the CIA while she was in college and she miscarried a child name Jane in her third trimester. Or did she?
Terry didn't know she was pregnant while she was volunteering for the MK Ultra experiments, which included participants taking psychedelic drugs like LSD and then being placed into tubs. But, according to Becky, Terry still believes that Jane is alive. "She says she's special," Becky says. "Born with abilities...telepathy, telekinesis — you know, sh*t you can do with your mind." That sounds a lot like Eleven, who has proven to have quite a forceful mind. But, Becky claims there's no proof of Jane's birth — no birth certificate and no witnesses. Before Joyce and Hopper leave, Joyce stares knowingly at a catatonic Terry. I think they both know what's going on, but they don't say anything.
Unfortunately, viewers don't get any official confirmation that Eleven is Jane, but much like Joyce, we all know it in our hearts and I think the connection is clear. Those experiments caused Terry to have a very unique and gifted child, who Dr. Martin Brennder didn't want her to have. Jane's birth was covered up and hidden. Jane became "011" at Hawkins and subject to whatever Dr. Brenner wanted to use her for. I wouldn't put it past Dr. Brenner to cover up Jane's birth for his own uses — after all, he's most likely the culprit behind Will's fake death body.
Of course, then there's the theory that Terry's "miscarriage" and telekinetic baby Jane are a total coincidence, but they both originated at Hawkins. So even if Eleven isn't actually Jane, the story of Terry and Jane sheds a lot of light on the horrible treatment of mothers and children at Hawkins. It's totally possible that Terry may or may not be Eleven's mother. If Terry isn't her mom and Eleven isn't Jane, that just means somewhere out there, there's a woman who had Eleven, Dr. Brenner covered it up, and viewers may not find out her name — until Season 2, perhaps.
Images: Netflix (3)
