SPOILER ALERT
This story contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the Stranger Things series finale.
Netflix’s flagship series Stranger Things finally came to a conclusion with the release of the Season 5 finale. In the days since, fans have debated the fate of Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven. Intentionally, her fate was kept ambiguous by the Duffer Brothers, and whether the character is now alive or dead is something that nobody really knows for sure.
Of course, the show’s cast members have their own opinions on what happened with Eleven. Sadie Sink, who played Max, commented on Eleven’s fate during a recent appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show. As far as she sees it, Sink believes Eleven is deceased, insisting that Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) story about her survival is just a “coping” mechanism.
“What do I think? I think she’s dead,” Sink explained, prompting a shocked reaction from the studio audience. “I don’t know, is that a hot take or something? I think Mike’s story is just one last story, and then they say goodbye to childhood, but that’s one final tale and that’s it. It’s just a coping thing. I think it’s stronger, right? That’s my interpretation.”
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In the series finale, Eleven seemingly sacrifices herself by staying in the Upside Down as it’s collapsing; this would keep her friends safe and prevent the military from further attempts to weaponize her abilities. A later scene has Mike telling a story about Eleven surviving and privately finding new life elsewhere in the world. Some fans believe this is ultimately what actually happened with Eleven, though as Sink suggested, it’s just as likely to be a tall tale that Mike developed while grieving the painful loss.
Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix.
