Even though she barely speaks, Eleven has some great quotes in Netflix’s hit show, Stranger Things. She is very much the face of the series. Millie Bobby Brown’s memorable performance gives Eleven a mysterious quality, while simultaneously earning viewers’ sympathy. The show is Netflix’s most popular series for a reason. The ’80s nostalgia and vibrant aesthetic are huge contributing factors, but it is standout characters like Eleven who really cement Stranger Things‘ reputation.
Eleven has had quite the journey since she first appeared in Stranger Things. From a nearly non-verbal child raised in a lab to a young woman adjusting to a new family and a new high school, Eleven has been forced to evolve in a short amount of time. Her early quotes in the series were typically only one or two words, but her command of language evolved with her character, bringing even more interesting lines to season 4. She doesn’t speak much, so when she does, her words are all the more memorable.
13 “This Is Mr. Fibbly. He Is A Squirrel.”
Season 4, Episode 1 “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club”
When season 4 begins, Eleven, using the name Jane, is a freshman in high school. She has to give a presentation on her hero, and she chooses to give one on Jim Hopper. It’s a hard topic for her to get through given that she still feels guilt and sadness about Hopper sacrificing himself. And the bullies in her class don’t make it easier.
Eleven leads off the presentation with a line about the squirrel that is part of her diorama. It’s meant to provide a little bit of levity for what’s going to be a heavy topic, and while Brown’s delivery is great, the joke doesn’t go as well as Eleven hoped. It’s definitely one of the lighter Eleven quotes from the series.
12 “I’m The Monster.”
Season 1, Episode 6 “Chapter Six: The Monster”
Throughout the first season, Eleven is very tight-lipped about who she is and where she’s come from, leaving the boys guessing. Lucas has suspicions about her, and he’s not afraid to voice them. He calls her a monster when she uses her powers against him, and Mike and Dustin have to agree, despite trying to argue that she made a mistake at the same time.
She scares the boys, and they mistakenly believe that she’s lying to them, leading Eleven to go her own way for a bit. And while Eleven shows how inspiring she is after saving Mike from falling to his death, she tells them the truth — that she opened the Gate, letting the Demogorgon through, thus making her the monster. Mike immediately counters this by pointing out that she just saved his life. Despite valuing the boys as friends, Eleven demonstrates that she understands why others might fear her.
11 “Mouthbreather.”
Season 1, Episode 6 “Chapter Six: The Monster”
Especially in season 1, it’s rare for Eleven to speak. Most of her lines consist of only one word, which is often “no.” However, it appears that being quiet allows her to absorb the information around her, giving the audience this great Eleven quote.
She pays attention and listens carefully to what goes on around her. She hears Mike call one of the bullies a mouthbreather, which Mike explains is “a dumb person, a knucklehead.” Later, when she breaks into a store and steals Eggos, she calls the attendant a mouthbreather in one of her most iconic moments. It’s a great example of just how quickly Eleven learns.
10 “Joyce Says Time Is Funny Like That. Emotions Can Make It Speed Up Or Slow Down. We Are All Time Travelers If You Think About It.”
Season 4, Episode 1 “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club”
Eleven learns a lot in a very short amount of time. She has a lot of catching up to do compared to other teenagers. As she learns more verbal skills while living with the Byers family in California, she’s writing Mike letters. In the letter that narrates the Season 4 premiere’s opening, Eleven tells Mike about Joyce’s perspective on time.
While Eleven doesn’t entirely say that she agrees with Joyce, it certainly sounds like she does. Eleven spends a lot of time eagerly anticipating Mike’s arrival, and a very short amount of time seeing her relationship begin to unravel.
9 “353 Days. I Heard.”
Season 2, Episode 9 “Chapter Nine: The Gate”
Mike and Eleven are separated at the end of Season 1 when Eleven sacrifices herself to get rid of the Demogorgon. Mike proceeds to call her on his walkie-talkie every single day for 353 days. He never gets a response, but he keeps trying.
Eleven can only listen in by transporting herself to the Upside Down, where she can enter an ethereal space and remain unseen. She listens to Mike every day but can’t say anything back, which pains both of them. When they’re finally reunited at the end of Season 2, Mike starts to tell her that he called her every day, but she cuts him off and finishes his sentence for him. Their bond only appears stronger because of that separation.
8 “I Can Fight.”
Season 3, Episode 8 “Chapter Eight: The Battle Of Starcourt”
In season 3, Eleven really learns to control and finesse her powers. This is largely thanks to her little lesson with Kali in Season 2, which taught her a lot, even if fans didn’t love the episode. As a result, Eleven is more confident in her abilities, and she’s ready to use them to defend her friends and the place she’s grown to call home.
In the Battle of Starcourt, Eleven contributes greatly to the fight against the Mind Flayer and to protecting her friends. However, she quickly feels drained. Nevertheless, she insists to Hopper that she should stay and fight, instead of leaving him to save herself. It’s a moment where she truly believes she can do good and wants to help her friends, even though she’s been compromised.
7 “Ghost. Halloween.”
Season 2, Episode 2 “Chapter Two: Trick Or Treat, Freak”
At the start of Season 2, Eleven feels trapped in Hopper’s tiny home. She’s not allowed to go outside or talk to any of her friends, who aren’t even sure if she’s alive. She is more and more frustrated, and as a result, argumentative, when it comes to Hopper.
The season picks up on Halloween when Mike, Will, Dustin, and Max go trick-or-treating. Eleven wants to join in so that she can see her friends, even if she has to be disguised to do so. She dons a sheet and cuts out holes for the eyes, explaining to Hopper that she’s a ghost. Still, he doesn’t let her go out, and Eleven becomes even more frustrated.
6 “What Is ‘Friend?'”
Season 1, Episode 2 “Chapter Two: The Weirder On Maple Street”
Eleven doesn’t know much of the world, having spent her childhood locked up in a laboratory, and this Eleven quote hints at that early in the series. Though she did spend time with children her own age in the seclusion of the lab, she was bullied by Dr. Brenner’s other test subjects. Season 4 also reveals that trauma blocks a lot of her memories of that time as well. What Eleven learns about friendship comes from Mike and the Party.
When he first mentions friends to her, Eleven has to question what a friend is. For viewers, this is a moment to feel bad for Eleven, but when she asks Mike what “friend” means, he doesn’t judge her. He explains that it’s someone you’d do anything for, and someone you’d never lie to. Mike is completely open with Eleven when they first meet, which is what endears him to her and the audience.
5 “Halfway Happy.”
Season 2, Episode 2 “Chapter Two: Trick Or Treat, Freak”
In Season 2, Eleven is still expanding her vocabulary and learning to understand slang. When she is upset that she can’t go trick-or-treating, Hopper decides on a compromise. Eleven has never heard of a compromise, so Hopper explains that it means “halfway happy.”
Eleven uses this term occasionally throughout the season, but it seems more like she’s halfway sad. She doesn’t see the word “compromise” as most people would see it because her concessions always seem to be larger than she wants them to be. It’s understandable then, that she would really understand the term to be something that brings her sadness.
4 “I Dump Your A**!”
Season 3, Episode 2 “Chapter Two: The Mall Rats”
One of Eleven’s most shining moments in Stranger Things is when she dumps Mike in Season 3. It seems like a silly and frivolous thing to do, especially when it’s followed by a shot of Eleven and Max high-fiving on the bus, dripping ice-creams in hand. It’s a necessary change for her character though, and the moment marks one of Eleven’s most excited quotes in the series.
Throughout Season 3, Eleven is trying to figure out who she is, especially without male influences. This moment really cements her rise to autonomy. Having dumped Mike, Eleven is ready to be herself on her own, to make her own choices and do what she wants to do. For better or worse, the series ties Eleven to Mike from the moment he and his friends find her, so it’s important that she develop an identity outside of him.
3 “I Do Not Belong. Anywhere.”
Season 4, Episode 3 “Chapter Three: The Monster And The Superhero”
While Mike and his friends can easily see that Eleven doesn’t entirely fit in when they find her in Hawkins, Eleven learns just how out of place she is in the world as well. The more she experiences, the more she grapples with figuring out her place. That’s especially true after the first season of the series.
She struggles while being kept in the cabin by Hopper because she craves social interaction. And she struggles when she meets up with Kali because the two don’t always see eye to eye. These challenges are further compounded in Season 4 when Eleven experiences public school. Eleven finds herself unable to make friends or connect with others. She also can no longer use her abilities, and it leaves her adrift. Eleven doesn’t believe she belongs, and she voices as much to Mike.
2 “Bitchin’.”
Season 2, Episode 7 “Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister”
Eleven seems to have a pattern of picking up random slang and either misunderstanding it or adopting it into her everyday language. When she goes away in Season 2, Kali and the others give her a makeover. She assumes a new look, caked in dark makeup and cloaked in black clothes. The others call her “bitchin'” and she later repeats the term to Hopper, and later, to Mike.
The moment she first uses the term serves to make the audience smile. When she continues to use it after the fact, it’s a reminder of what Eleven has been through more than anything. In order to learn the term, Eleven had to learn about her past from Kali. In order to keep using the term though, with a hint of nostalgia, Eleven had to return to her newfound family.
1 “Friends Don’t Lie.”
A Repeated Mantra In Stranger Things By Party Members
One of the most important rules in this show is that friends don’t lie to each other. Mike, Lucas, and Dustin establish this almost immediately as they attempt to welcome Eleven into their Party. It takes some time for this to sink in, but eventually, Eleven is telling other people about this rule.
When she thinks that Mike is lying to her about his grandmother, she insists to Max that friends don’t lie, but she retorts that boyfriends do. She also gets upset with Hopper for lying to her about when she can see Mike and the others, but he thinks he’s lying for her own good. Telling the truth to one another is a cardinal rule among members of The Party, and it’s easily the most famous quote from Stranger Things.
