Eleven Paid Homage to Hopper at the End of 'Stranger Things 3,' and Now I'm Crying
SPOILER ALERT! Don't read any further if you want to avoid Stranger Things 3 spoilers.
If Stranger Things 3 taught fans anything more about Sheriff Jim Hopper (who's played by actor David Harbour in the hit Netflix show), it's that he has, at times, been a very hard character to love. But that didn't make his apparent death in the season 3 finale any less sad — in fact, as a self-described Hopper Skeptic, I found the loss of his complicated character to be absolutely gut-wrenching.
Just when I thought I was done crying about that devastating end to season 3, however, a Stranger Things fan on Twitter hit me with this emotional Easter egg from episode 8: When Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is sitting in the empty Byers house reading Hopper's handwritten speech for her and Mike (Finn Wolfhard), her outfit is actually the ultimate tribute to her late dad.
In the emotional scene, Eleven is shown wearing an oversized flannel similar to many of the others she's been seen wearing throughout the show. At first glance, her sartorial choice might not seem like anything remarkable, but eagle-eyed Twitter user @juliafhymluna realized this shirt is actually the very same one that reminded Eleven of home, her friends, and of course, Hopper, when she had run away to Chicago in season 2, episode 7.
Yep, I'm already tearing up. But that isn't even the most heartbreaking part about her look at the end of season 3. Even more emotional is the blue band Eleven is wearing around her wrist while she reads Hopper's letter: Looking back at a few key scenes from season 1, fans will remember that the band is actually a hair tie that belonged to Hopper's late daughter, Sara, which he kept and later passed on to Eleven. Cue the waterworks ...
Of course, rumor has it that Hopper might not actually be gone from the sci-fi series for good: A cryptic line referring to a (supposedly living) "American" in the post-credits clip in the season 3 finale has fans speculating that the sheriff might have made it out of the Hawkins explosion alive, after all.
Only time — and maybe more Stranger Things season 4 spoilers from the Duffer brothers — will tell, but until then, I'll be crying over Eleven's sweet, sweet tribute to her dad, Hop.
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