Honourable mentions

Season 1:

• Joyce and Hopper (I feel like I'd put them at 3rd place as well)
• Lucas and Dustin

Season 2:

• Jonathan and Will
• Lucas and Max
• Joyce and Hopper
• Joyce and Bob
• Nancy and Jonathan
• Dustin and Lucas

(Help S2 character dynamics were something else)

Season 3:

• Lucas and Mike
• Murray and Alexei
• Dustin and Steve
• Mike and Eleven

Season 4:

• Eddie and Dustin
• Joyce and Hopper
• Steve and Robin
• Mike and Eleven (after reunion)

Season 5:

• Jonathan and Nancy
• Mike and Will

I personally like all of these more than other duos. Which duos are in your top 3?

They literally fried her brain. Leaving her trapped forever in a hopeless, catatonic loop of her own worst memories, unable to hold her daughter or even speak, is easily one of the most devastating and cruel fates in the entire show. Her eyes are blank, she doesn’t recognize people, and she just endlessly mutters the word loop ("Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow...") like a broken machine. She fought tooth and nail for Jane, and she deserved to actually watch her daughter grow up instead of becoming a living ghost.

And the worst part? Nobody knows why she's like that except El. They all think it's because she's gone crazy. She deserves justice.

We already know Dustin is the smartest in the Party and easily tops them in academics. But who among these four is the smartest/best in academics?

I'm asking in general, not in any specific season.

I think Mike is really intelligent and better at STEM than others. But Lucas comes off as someone who's pretty smart, balanced and focused on growth, which makes him better academically, especially in S4.

The last image where she's a scared lonely little girl 💔

I came across this and and damn...I stopped scrolling after this

This is based off my analysis of each character's physical as well as psychic/supernatural (if any) strength.

In all tiers, I've placed characters from left to right in decreasing order of their power, except tier D.

• I think Vecna was over all more powerful than Eleven because of his ability to create illusions. Later, he even stole her powers to open interdimensional portals, which only she possessed earlier. He often wins by manipulation.
• But when it comes to pure raw telekinesis, Eleven wins. Because we see her snapping limbs and brains within seconds. Notice how Vecna does it slowly. So Eleven's telekinesis is more explosive, especially when there's a trigger.
• Eleven in Vol 1 was very powerful. I think her powers weakened in Vol 2 because of the fear Kali instilled in her mind, since her emotions are tied to her powers.
• And I'm sorry the MF of Abyss was ridiculously nerfed so I can't put it in SS tier.
• Sorcerer Will could defeat flayed Billy through hive mind.
• Flayed Billy could not defeat a demogorgon, because his body is still that of a human and is susceptible to the injuries given by a demogorgon.
• Two, with his Telekinesis could easily defeat flayed Billy and Sorcerer Will.
• Grigori > Hopper(S1-S3), but Hopper(S4)> Grigori
• Looking at Karen, I always get the feeling that she could beat someone to death.
• Max/Nancy> Ted
• I always get the feeling that Robin is more powerful than Nancy or Max, but we get no moment where we see her raw strength.
• I couldn't quite fathom who's stronger than whom for most of them in tier D. But imo Jason,Yuri > Jon, Steve, Lucas > rest of the boys, Eddie > Karen, Erica > Derek
• Correction: Derek and Erica in tier E. Idk why I put them in Tier D

Do you agree? I'd love to know what would you like to add or change. But pls no hate, it's just my opinion

EDIT: Ok guys ignore the list after Tier C, it gets messy afterwards

In my opinion, the claim that 'Mike stopped being the leader after S2' is very ignorant and exaggerated. What did change was the type of leader he's become and the group he's leading.

In S1-2 and S5 Vol1, his leadership is unquestioned. In S3-4 and S5 Vol2, the leadership is shared and distributed, because the cast expands ridiculously.

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Season 3:

I think because season 3 was where the expanding of the cast had started and was huge, people think he isn't leader anymore.

Steve and Dustin have a very different heroic storyline, where Dustin leads. Hopper had his own storyline, and same with Nancy and Jonathan.

Because the narrative was spilt, Mike isn't dominating every major event or decision like he did in S1-2. The leadership was distributed.

But still, he lead the party under pressure. He's proved he's still a leader.

Most of the season, he spends his time focused on El. But focusing on someone who's your top priority doesn't mean your leadership or personality is lost.

In the theatre, he's the one to notice something is wrong with Will, even when Will hadn't expressed anything much.

He's among the first to believe El after she spies on Billy. He pushes the group to treat Billy as a threat rather than dismissing the possibility.

And then, he came up with the Sauna trap. He immediately understood something's wrong with Will and warns Max, saving her.

He was the only one to react immediately and protected Eleven.

He warned everyone that El is exhausting herself. And the season ultimately validated his concern.

I think people often overlook this scene as he's just being overprotective because he's obsessed with her. They miss the depth of his concern which shows he always thinks beyond what's in front.

He does it because it natural for his personality to think more rationally. Once again proving he hasn't lost his core personality traits.

He is definitely the party's tactical leader in S3.

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Season 4:

Many viewers remember Mike mostly as 'Eleven's boyfriend' but if you watch the California storyline closely, he repeatedly takes commands.

In Hawkins, Dustin and Nancy constantly lead the group, discovered things and made plans. Steve and Eddie got heroic action scenes while Lucas carried Max's storyline.

People think Mike has lost his leadership quality because he isn't in Hawkins leading or didn't have any heroic moment. But that's really dismissive.

His leadership quality isn't lost, he's just leading a DIFFERENT group.

Mike took charge immediately after the attack on Byers house

I don't think Will or Jonathan could ever find El by themselves if it wasn't for Mike. Because Will was emotionally overwhelmed, Jonathan distracted and Argyle doesn't know what is even going on. Mike kept them focused and devised their next step.

It was sure a collective effort from all four, and Mike couldn't have done it all alone. Leadership doesn't mean doing things alone, it's coordinating things and devising the next move, which Mike did.

And if they hadn't rescued El in time and got her to the the pizza dough freezer, the Hawkins group would have failed terribly with all of them being dead

And then, his monologue is dismissed as just 'romantic' or 'cheesy confession'. On the surface, it's a romantic declaration.

At a deeper level, it's the culmination of Mike's role throughout the series, in my opinion. And I can definitely back my opinion.

El's real fight isn't with Vecna, it's with herself. Her belief that her worth is confined in her powers. Vecna wins by convincing people that they deserve to lose. His attacks are more psychological than simply physical.

What Mike did, couldn't be done by anyone else. Not Will. Not Jonathan. Not even Max or Hopper.

And I'm not saying this because I ship or not ship Mileven. It has more meaning than romance.

Because the point isn't simply encouragement. Mike knows the exact fear Eleven has hidden since Season 1, because she clearly expressed it during their argument in El's bedroom.

In simple words, her biggest fear is 'If I stop being useful, will anyone still love me?' because, especially in that moment, she had lost the belief in herself that she could beat Vecna and protect Max.

Mike, through his monologue, symbolically says 'Yes' And that answer destroys the foundation of Vecna's manipulation.

His monologue's core message is 'You're worthy of love even when you're powerless.' and 'You are you.' These messages come in disguise as his love confession.

Vecna says your trauma defines you. Mike says your humanity defines you. Those are opposite philosophies and they work cuz the battle is more of ideological.

Ig for fans who think of leadership as just strategy and heroic moments, this monologue can feel underwhelming.

But Stranger Things repeatedly argues that emotional connection is itself a source of strength. Love isn't presented as a side plot, it's portrayed as the opposite of Vecna's worldview.

Just like music anchored Max's strength and escape from her fears, this monologue anchored El's strength.

And I guess the problem isn't the message, the problem is that Mike is giving that encouragement. If anyone other than Mike gave such a monologue (platonic ofc) the view of people would have been different.

Because people constantly dismiss Mike's importance for El as just a romantic love interest and think El shouldn't have an emotional connection to him because he's her boyfriend.

But in S5, it's clearly Lucas's love that anchored Max's second escape, not even her favourite music, she herself says it. But suddenly its different and appreciated.

Anyways, I don't wanna delve deeper into this hypocrisy.

But if it's not leadership and being the 'heart', then I don't know what is. Do people often forget that Eleven is also supposed to be a member of the party?

So yes, I still stick with my opinion that it wasn't just the culmination of Mike's character arc in S4, but the culmination of all his role throughout four seasons, because he didn't just confess his love to his girlfriend, he highlighted that he is indeed the heart.

Man people disliked or felt bored by his character's storyline or initial actions in S4, so they project this on the character's core importance and goodness, completely dismissing it. It's just really unfair.

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Season 5:

Mike Wheeler carried Vol 1 alone imo. And Vol 1 was concluded by Will.

The real problem is with Volume 2.

It's not that JUST him who didn't do anything, basically no one did anything meaningful in Vol 2 except Will saving Max, Lucas protecting Max and Karen blowing off three demos.

It was all about them finding eachother, coming together, explaining everything to each other and devising a plan.

So using Vol 2 to sabotage him and his personality isn't cool when he's done more than any character in volume 1. It's just so forced hatred and idk what, double standards?

People say he's lobotomised. But that's MASSIVELY exaggerated.

I think some people use this sentence as a short hand for saying 'he suddenly lost the intelligence and strategic instincts he'd shown for four seasons.'

And I would definitely believe that claim if he made an irrational decision like Nancy shooting the exotic matter for no reason, or failed to understand things his earlier self would have grasped. But there are no evidence in the series' season 5 that he'd done so.

In my view, he consciously chooses optimism.

That's remarkably consistent for his character. Mike has always been the character who refuses to give up on people, even when logic suggests he should. It's clearly visible across seasons.

This optimism can sometimes look naive because the stakes in S5 are so much larger than before. But optimism isn't the same as stupidity.

That doesn't mean writing choice lands perfectly.

Personally I wanted Mike to have more strategic scenes or more direct influence over the final battle. Many people think that way and that's a fair criticism of the storytelling.

But that's different from saying his personality was erased.

In fact, optimism is Mike's defining leadership trait. His leadership isn't primarily being the smartest person in the room, that's often Dustin.

It has come from convincing people that it's worthy to keep going on and believe. He calmed down Karen in the hospital in the way I don't think anyone could in that moment.

If Mike also became the cynical realist, the group would lose its emotional anchor. His function is to keep everyone moving forward when despair would be the easier choice.

One could say 'we don't find enough evidence to it'. Of course, the whole series isn't about this only so there aren't many moments, but still enough to support this.

That said, it's also fair to say the writers gave him fewer opportunities to demonstrate his strategic intelligence in the later seasons than they did in Seasons 1 and 2.

That can create the impression that he's less capable, even if his core characterization remains consistent.

We have to remember it's an ensemble cast where the smallest moments became the whole personality of some characters.

They did something just twice or thrice during the entire series and suddenly they are famous for it and nobody can beat them in it.

But Mike has constantly proved his leadership throughout series. And suddenly, when the focus shifts from him even for the slightest, people say he lost personality. That's utterly hilarious.

Double standards peaked imo.

"Lobotomized" suggests Mike stopped thinking. "Optimistic" suggests Mike kept believing. The latter fits his characterization across all five seasons much better.

And then in the finale, his arc was ended with being the heart. The party's friendship had gone through a lot in the previous 6 years, many ups and downs. But they all came together at last and that moment did highlight Mike's journey of years as being the heart.

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Who's the real leader?

And finally, some people say Dustin is the real leader of the Party.

Five seasons of Stranger Things doesn't support this statement.

I would, anyone would, definitely agree he's the 'brain' of the party. But definitely not the heart or the leader when he's barely interacted with Will or El after S2 and Max in S5. Mike has interactions with every member in every season.

In Season 3, Dustin is not with the party and in season 5 also, he's struggling with his grief over Eddie, and constantly pushed his friends aside.

Season 4 makes it look like he's the leader. But let's recall the party members once again - Mike, Max, Dustin, El, Lucas and Will.

Three members were in California and three were in Hawkins. Mike led those who were in Cali and Dustin those who were in Hawkins.

So in true sense, nobody led the Party in season 4, instead they lead their respective groups.

In general, Dustin explains complicated ideas to both the audience and the characters. As a result, people remember Dustin explaining things and assume he's leading. But explaining isn't the same as directing.

Dustin is almost always the smartest person in the room. But intelligence doesn't automatically equal leadership.

Mike isn't necessarily the one discovering things, that's often Dustin or Will(through hive mind), but he's the one converting information into action.

Dustin cracks information. Mike decides what everyone does with that information.

Leaders coordinate. One of Mike's defining traits is delegation.

Many of the plans that succeed require both characteristic. Brain of the group figures out how something works, and leader figures out who should do what to turn that knowledge into a coordinated plan.

That's why, the two complement each other rather than replace one another.

Mike is the leader and heart and Dustin is the brain. Lucas is more of an executor while Will imo the emotional compass, especially in the first two and fifth season.

In S1, Mike's was undoubtedly carrying the group emotionally, even Dustin and Lucas. It just got subtler as the series advances.

Because after growing up, his friends are not always gonna rely on him emotionally. It's such a common sense.

Being heart doesn't mean that. Being the heart means always bringing everyone together, which he clearly did in S1 to S3 and S5.

His storyline in S4 just didn't give him a chance to bring everyone together or directly influence all of the party, but still he emotionally anchored El's strength.

The series never provide any evidence that he's not the heart. His decisions and actions, whether right or wrong, always have an impact on most of them.

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My Conclusion:

So, the statement that 'Mike isn't the real leader of the Party after S2' is contradicted by the show itself.

I would rather say that his leadership evolved.

I understand that people had a lot of expectations from Mike in S4 that all went down due to narrative choice and Cali plot. But projecting this frustration on the character to demean him is wrong.

In my opinion three observations are the reasons of this claim that he's not the leader anymore. 1.He spends more time focused on Eleven. 2.The cast becomes much larger. 3.Steve and Nancy receive more action scenes.

These things make him appear less dominant because not everything happens according to his guide, like in S1 which had much smaller cast. Leadership becomes collaborative instead of centered on one person. But that doesn't mean he's not leading anymore as I explained above in this post

Just like other characters, Mike also had his own moments to shine but he can't have all screentime to prove he's worthy (as expected by many) because it's an ensemble cast where everyone needs screentime and moments to drive the plot.

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With all this being said, do I defend show's inconsistent shitty writing? No.

I do criticize writers for not giving Mike better storyline, better arc and action packed heroic moments.

I only defend Mike as a character from mischaracterizations.

I don't disagree that Mike as a character was heavily underutilised, especially in Season 4 and his arcs were only about his relationship with Eleven in S3 and S4.

Many people don't like his character. They think his storyline got boring or annoying to watch after S2. They criticize that his arc was only about Eleven in S3 and S4. And that's completely fine because everyone has their own opinion.

But it is wrong and senseless to demean his character and dismiss the core traits and goodness of his personality because of the narrative choice and storyline.

Saying that he became useless in Season 4 just because he wasn't the part of the Hawkins plot is completely false. Because whatever plot and less screentime he got, he did meaningful things and clearly displayed his strong personality.

He never lost his core personality traits or goodness and definitely his WHOLE personality wasn't reduced to Eleven, it was just his storyline was reduced to Eleven in S4. There's a difference.

Mike's character is HEAVILY objectified and treated as a trophy in ship wars post S4 by fans. And it's partially writing's fault.

Rather than treating him as a character and giving him an independent arc, writers treated him as plot device for El and Will's development. And the writing choice definitely deserves SEVERE criticism for it.

But he hasn't done ANYTHING for which he should be hated. All of his actions in S3 and S4 were clearly understandable by anyone who has even an ounce of media literacy.

Mike's dragged through mud for things that other characters also did and they got away with it.

When Mike does something wrong, nobody ever forgives it even when he corrects all of his mistakes. But when favourite characters do something wrong, people get triggered if someone even just points it out.

Criticism is fair, but criticism includes both good and bad aspects, especially considering the character's perspective. While all I see is people baselessly hating an emotionally oblivious teenager because he didn't get good storyline.

Trust me he doesn't even deserve a quarter of it. They casually go around throwing words like 'toxic', 'lobotomised' instead of reasonable criticism.

It's ridiculous that people expect him to be flawless and suppress all of his emotions and desires just because he is the leader and then proceed to deny the fact that he's the leader.

I wish people had more media literacy. And I also wish people don't treat him with the goddamn hypocrisy and double standards they have.

You're free to dislike and criticize Mike, especially in later seasons. But please stop pretending he has no personality and hating him baselessly.

Thanks for reading.

I love all of her looks

Mine personal fav is S1 cuz that makeup really suits her and it's hella cute and Mike did damn well as a 12 yo boy

S4 makeup is basically mini Joyce, which I think El did by herself and it's freakin adorable

Idk who got her ready for snowball, but they did an amazing job

And I love her punk style

Mine is Snowball Mileven, forever

He had to carry everyone's bullshits alone to the point that in the end even he himself was forced to believe he was the most wrong.

He sure made some mistakes, but was the only one who made attempts to correct them. Meanwhile others went around shitting on him the whole season without realising their own wrong doings.

The way his words always served as a powerful warning for events that actually occurred later was never ever acknowledged by any other character in that season, or say the entire show. The writers never did justice to his character.

He deserved an apology from Max and El for spying on him, Max for calling him things he was not, Hopper for threatening and forcing him (it made him mentally suffer so much) and Will for being insensitive to his feelings.

Mike deserved an apology from everyone around him for constantly portraying as him the only bad guy. Nobody ever understood him.

Eleven's character development is peak and phenomenal in this show. She doesn't simply become more powerful, she becomes human. Eleven follows several arcs at once, with identity arc being the most prominent.

She learns friendship, independence, love, normal life, and self acceptance all while dealing with her insane trauma. All this she used to build her own identity from nothing.

Notice that her arcs are never dependent on anybody, not even on Hopper, Mike, Brenner or anyone. Even her powers are never the focus of her arcs. Each season adds a missing puzzle piece to who she is, stripping away a layer of fear and dependence and replacing it with love and independence.

She transforms from being a lab experiment who has zero knowledge about world and compassion to a selfless young girl who accepted herself and could go to any lengths to protect those she loved.

Many other characters had great development and arcs in this show. But I like hers the most.

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Here's her development season by season:

Season 1: Can someone who has only known abuse learn to trust?

This season is about her learning that she's more than just a weapon.

She starts as a lab experiment, having ZERO knowledge of normal life or childhood, friendship etc. She believes her value comes from obeying orders and using her powers.

It changes when Benny showed her kindness for the first time in her entire life. It's a shame he died so quickly.

And then, she met Mike, Dustin and Lucas. While everyone else saw her as a threat, Mike saw her vulnerability and need to be protected.

Mike's unconditional acceptance made her realise that she deserves love and good treatment without earning it. She experiences friendship, happiness, affection and kindness for the first time.

We also saw her making independent choices, such as refusing Brenner, protecting her friends and sacrificing herself to stop the demogorgon.

And when she wakes up in the UD, she immediately went to Mike's house. This scene breaks my heart.

She must've thought that it was the only place she could return to, as it was where she was introduced to unconditional acceptance, only to find out she doesn't belong there as well because the lab people were still finding her.

So her biggest development this season wasn't just defeating demogorgon, it's about learning that she's a human too and choosing love over fear.

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Season 2: Who am I?

This season, we see her surviving on her own for nearly a month.

We see she initially doesn't trust anyone, she's guarded. But she let's Hopper find her, and she opens up to him. She accepted his love and acceptance.

She's exposed to fatherly love and a figure who could actually protect her. She finally found a place she happily called home.

But with it, her struggle with loneliness, anger, grief and trauma becomes palpable.

She ponders upon where does she belong to. She rejected Hopper when she thought he's controlling and reminded her of Brenner.

She found out about her mother and Kali. She first meets her mother, experiences her memories and realises the depth of love her mother held for her.

She understood the meaning of mother. But she decided to leave after having overheard his aunt's conversation on phone because she believes the place wasn't safe for her.

So she went to Kali. As much as this 'The Lost Sister' is hated, it is one of the MOST important moments in Eleven's life in discovering her indentity.

Kali tempts her towards revenge and she briefly believed that anger and revenge is her future.

And I still hate Kali for how she manipulated Eleven in S2. when she was just 13, instead of treating her as a child should be, she introduced her to the world of crimes and revenge.

But we see her understanding the depth of parental love after she stopped herself from killing that man. It showed that she realises revenge is not life.

Here, she had made the BIGGEST choice of her life. Whether she wants a life where she chases people to kill them, or a life where she's happy with the people she loves. The choice of identity. The choice about who she wants to be.

And she returns to Hawkins, not because someone ordered her, but because she chose love.

It implied her identity isn't assigned, it's chosen. This season was about her exploring autonomy, knowing that she has a choice in EVERYTHING, and realising her choice matters the most.

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Season 3: How do I grow up?

This season starts with El being the happiest she's ever been. But the happiness is limited to the cabin.

She hasn't yet got the chance to discover her life beyond the Cabin, and she thinks its all about Hopper and Mike. This severely affected the development of her social skills and social understanding.

But once again we see her not taking anyone's crap. When she realised Mike was lying to her, she knew who is the person she has to approach.

This shows that even though her life was confined to the Cabin because of the rules made to protect her, she isn't blindly following anything and does break rules when necessary.

And after learning to be a normal child instead of an experiment, she gets to be simply a teenage girl. Max helped her by introducing her to fashion, humor, confidence and made her realise that it's okay to keep aside her needs and wants for some time.

Instead of revolving around Mike and Hopper, Eleven asks what does she want. The best moment is when Max told her that El doesn't need to dress the way Hopper or Mike wanted her to, and encouraged her to choose her how she wanna looks.

But then the tragedy strikes and she loses Hopper, her powers and her home.

The only thing I disliked about her arc in S3 is her never realising that spying was wrong.

However, this season somewhere reinforces the idea in her mind that her worth comes from her powers.

The time when she was finding flayeds, nobody gave her a choice. With all the Nancy's and Max's 'She's her own person and she understands her powers better than anyone' is nonsense in the context of the situation.

Mike's words weren't about guiding her HOW much powers she needs to use.

It was about at least first asking her if she's ready to do what she's doing and having another plan in case Eleven couldn't handle the physical side effects of using her powers so much.

The people around her were not wrong for expecting her to help knowing she has powers, but they trusted her powers BLINDLY, and they did see her as a weapon and armour without caring about her body and mind.

And whether people agree or not, it did instill a feeling in her that she needed others to protect her while putting their lives in danger meanwhile she lost her worth, her powers. This set the stage for her insecurities without her powers in season 4.

That letter of Hopper was one of the most important emotional moment to Eleven, where she learned that growing up means accepting change instead of fearing it.

This season was about her discovering girlhood, life beyond Cabin and Mike, the pain of losing someone dear and growing up. By this time, she had become a normal teenager girl with an unusual past.

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Season 4: Can I forgive myself and accept my past?

Season 4 is her deepest arc.

She discovered familial love. Though, she had already experienced friendship and fatherly love, she got the experience of growing up in a family, with her mother and brothers for the first time.

But despite having her family right beside her, she struggled alone as the people around her failed to understand her mental situation.

She believes that she is nobody without her powers. She's bullied at school and doubts she's a monster after getting the faint memories of bloodied Hawkins lab.

She lied to Mike. It was never in her character. I never saw her lying even once for the 3 seasons straight. But this was different. When she was bullied in the lab by 002 and others, they had threatened her to not tell it to it anyone.

This is the reason she didn't tell anyone anything, not even Joyce or her teacher. Even though Eleven lost her memories, her body remembered that trauma and acted in it's own as a defense mechanism. That's how trauma works. She was in a very destructive state of mind and needed proper therapy.

(Opinion: I think she shouldn't have been sent to normal school. She should've been homeschooled. Not because she was bullied or an outcast. But for her own good, because she was far behind others intellectually in terms of knowledge and studies, with no real help by her side. She should've had someone by her side to help her out in her studies, but she had to deal with it alone. This terribly shattered her confidence and self-esteem.)

This part is often went unnoticed that she learnt, for the first time, that her wrong actions have consequences, when she faced it for hitting Angela fatally. This realisation of consequences is actually important on long term basis for her to develop fully.

And then, the Nina Project forces her to relieve her life's worst memories. She didn't just regain powers, she uncovered the truth.

She realised she was never the monster. In fact, she had saved the world the day she sent Henry to Dimension X.

She learnt that Henry manipulated her, Brenner used her, and that she defeated One with the power of love, not anger or hatred. This is crucial. Her greatest strength isn't telekinesis, it's her heart and the love she holds in it.

She rejected Brenner once again and showed no empathy for her abuser.

By the end, she accepts every part of her past, forgave herself and embraces being both Jane and Eleven. She also realises that her worth is more than her powers. She fights because she CHOOSES to protect her friends. And she reunites with her father.

By this time, she's fully developed. She knows her past, her identity, her wants, her needs and her choice. She's sure of herself.

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Season 5: Can I ever have a normal life?

This season is her weakest season.

She carries the burden of an entire world. She's seen her best friend die and then in coma, believing she's responsible for being not able to protect her.

She's constantly annoyed by the fact Hopper doesn't trust her enough and doesn't let her decide for herself.

Her inability to find Vecna, constant failed crawl missions, and the military hunting her down, all this made her unsure what future holds for her and her loved ones.

But somewhere in between this mess, she seeks comfort in Mike, believing that she could, one day for sure, live happily with him.

His optimism appears as a stark contrast to Hopper's constant worrying, which gives her hope. For the first time ever, she realises that she's fighting not just to protect others, but also to have a future for herself.

She becomes unsure after meeting Kali. Yet when Mike reassured her again, she believed all of it could be fixed. But the moment when Kali mentioned about Mike getting killed, Eleven decided what she's gonna do.

In the end, she sacrificed herself to protect the people she loved. (I believe she's alive)

And this is the worst part according to many people.

If we look from the character's perspective, we see her love fully consuming her and that all these years shaped her to be selfless.

The problem is the poor writing and lack of her humanly interaction with others. After all she's went through, she deserved to be the happiest in the end.

They didn't give her character a proper closure by making her unsure the whole season. They destroyed her personality and years of character development.

I still can't believe the the people who wrote Season 1 to 4 Eleven and the people who wrote Season 5 Eleven are the same. I mean did you just sideline the main character?

Tho, even the other seasons like S4 and S3 aren't very well written for her, they're still far better than S5.

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Throughout seasons, she builds her identity independently. This is what I love the most about her arc. She had understood the difference between manipulative love (Brenner), conditional love (Owens,Kali) and unconditional love (Mike,Hopper,Max). She developed beautifully. It was emotional and personal.

But her character development also lacked many things. She felt really underdeveloped when it came to her personal life such as hobbies, likings and talents.

We never got much interactions of her with others other than some few repetitive people. So in these aspects, the development is really weak.

They had potential to make up for those in S5, but.....This season had a lot of WASTED potential for El's character.

She's a great character failed by season 5 and shitty writing

Here's my personal ranking of seasons with best arcs of Eleven: Season 4> Season 2> Season 3> Season 1> Season 5

EDIT: Are you people angry at that title? Ig it's a bit exaggerated but I wrote that in comparison with other characters of ST (imo)