Eleven's outfit in Stranger Things 3 finale has a heartbreaking detail you missed

17 July 2019, 13:51

By Katie Louise Smith

Eleven wears a lot of shirts in season 3 but the subtle detail in her final outfit is emotional AF.

Throughout Stranger Things 3, there's several easter eggs and pop culture references embedded within the episodes that fans of the show will have no doubt spotted. There's call-backs to season 1, there's a hidden season 4 easter egg within Murray Bauman's phone number and there's even a blink and you'll miss it glimpse of Dustin's iconic red, white and blue hate. (It's in Suzie's bedroom, by the way... he gave it to her. Bless.)

But there's one connection that fans appear to have spotted during that devastating finale scene where Eleven reads Hopper's speech - and it's all to do with the shirt that she's wearing, and what's on her wrist.

READ MORE: Stranger Things season 4: News, spoilers, release date, cast and everything we know

In season 3, we see Eleven undergo a bit of a style transformation when Max opens her eyes to the wonders of The Gap in Starcourt Mall. All season, she wears bold colourful printed shirts and one iconic romper. But in the final scene, El goes back to wearing those dull oversized plaid flannels.

It's a stark contrast to her colourful new wardrobe, but the shirt she wears might actually hold a lot more sentimental value than we originally realised because it's almost identical to the one that reminded her of home, and Hopper, in season 2.

At the start of season 2, we discover that Eleven has been staying in Hopper's cabin. She wears hand me down clothes that include selection of plaid shirts. In season 2, episode 7 (yes, that episode, the one you all thought was bad), Punk Eleven finds one of those particular shirts and it immediately that reminds her of home, with Hopper and Mike.

At the end of season 3, El wears a shirt that is very very similar to that exact one.

It's not the same shirt by the way, because El appeared to leave that one behind in Chicago, but still... it's enough to spark a clear visual reference to that season 2 moment and fans have clocked it too.

If that wasn't enough to make you start crying all over again, Eleven is also wearing the blue hair tie that Hopper gave her ahead of the Snow Ball at the end of season 2. (In case you forgot, the tie used to belong to Hopper's daughter Sara before she died.)

El wears it throughout the entire season and just before her and Hopper go their separate ways at the Mall, Hop fiddles with it on her wrist. And even after his "death", El is still wearing it and can be seen wearing it while reading the letter.

I AM CRYING!