Eleven ’ s powers , therefore , spring from belonging . Which means that the most powerful powers are rooted here , not in anger like for Henry Creel .
This conclusion might also explain the nature of the Upside Down — which seems to represent the inverse of belonging — a world ruled by rage and alienation .
Time travel is still a recent phenomenon in Stranger Things . We ’ ll need more Dustin exposition to work that one out .
The gates — the slime and overtly yonic imagery of the entrance into the Upside Down — connate a kind of birth into this world . Entering this world , as 001 does , suggests a transformation governed by anger , fear , and loss . ( When kids enter the Upside Down , it is because of fear , alienation , and separation from their social group .) The Upside Down isn ’ t just an inversion of the Right-side Up , but rather a kind of magnification of everything perverse and destructive in the Right-side Up . It represents the worst of us .
Eleven ’ s saving memory is also a birth , literally . But it is a happy one . She comes into the world feeling love and belonging .
This contrast also explains why the series focuses so much on bullying and social anxiety . Many of Vecna ’ s victims this season suffer some kind of anxiety — and each victim at one time visited the school counselor , signaling this distress . These are kids who risk isolation from their peers .
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