Top 10 Badass Moments with the Ladies of Stranger Things
#10: Eleven Flips a Van
Stranger Things Season 2: New Monster, Ghostbusters & Eleven is Back!
“Chapter Seven: The Bathtub” When Dustin, Mike, and Lucas find Eleven alone and drenched in the rain, they have no way of knowing just how much their lives will change - and how dangerous hiding her away will be. Eleven’s being actively pursued by a group of agents from Hawkins National Laboratory, led by a man she refers to as “Papa.” When the agents eventually find her, they ambush Mike’s home and chase the kids in multiple white vans. Just when it seems like the vans have them surrounded, El surprises everyone and uses her telekinesis to flip a van, allowing the gang to escape to safety. This was an early indication that Eleven was just beginning to tap into her power.
#9: Joyce Byers Closes the Gate
“Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt” What if saving the world meant risking the life of the one you love? After helping Murray and Hopper infiltrate the underground Russian base at Starcourt Mall, all that’s left to do is put a stop to the machine creating a gate to the Upside Down. Hopper and Joyce are initially meant to carry out the task together, but he's attacked by a Russian soldier. With the window to close the gate narrowing, and Hopper still stuck in harm’s way, it becomes clear to him and Joyce that a tough decision has to be made. Acknowledging the grim reality with a look, Joyce turns the keys, protecting her children - and Earth - in the process.
#8: Max Mayfield Stands up to Billy Hargrove
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“Chapter Nine: The Gate” In season 2, we’re introduced to Max and her step-brother, Billy. While she becomes friendly with Mike, Dustin, Will, and Lucas, Billy’s not quite as friendly, and threatens the gang at every opportunity. Tensions come to a head when Billy’s ordered by his father to find Max and bring her home. When he finds the kids with Steve, he gets into a physical altercation with the “babysitter” and warns Lucas to stay away from his step-sister. Unable to watch silently as Billy brutally beats her friend, Max intervenes, injecting her step-brother with a syringe. This subdues him long enough for her to threaten him with a bat full of nails and prove her allegiance to the troop - and herself.
#7: Eleven Saves Mike Wheeler
“Chapter Four: The Body” & “Chapter Six: The Monster” Friends don’t lie. And friends don’t let friends get beaten up. When Eleven comes to school with the boys, she witnesses first-hand how they get tormented. When Mike tries to stand up to ringleader Troy, she freezes him and forces him to pee himself - humiliating him in front of his peers. (xref) Unfortunately, this public embarrassment only enrages Troy further. While searching for a missing Eleven, Mike and Dustin get cornered on a cliff by Troy and one of his cronies. Just when it seems hopeless, El comes to the rescue in time to levitate Mike to safety and break the arm of their attacker. Mouthbreathers, beware!
#6: Robin Buckley Gets the Interview
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“Chapter Four: Dear Billy” In “Stranger Things”’ fourth season, the teens begin investigating their town’s history, desperate to find something to explain the recent horrifying deaths in Hawkins. Nancy and Robin discover a news story about Victor Creel, whose family was murdered in an eerily similar way. The only catch? Creel himself was blamed and committed for those very murders. They go undercover hoping to interview him and hear his first-hand account of the event. At first, it doesn’t seem like they’ll get far with the stubborn hospital director, but Robin proves to be a master of improv. She impresses him, Nancy - not to mention the audience - with an impassioned speech about the lengths she’s gone to prove herself as a female journalist. Needless to say, Robin gets them access to Creel.
#5: Whenever Nancy Wheeler Gets a Gun
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Various Nancy may seem like just another “girl next door,” but when her friends and family are in danger, she isn’t afraid to take up arms and fight for them. Literally! In the first season of “Stranger Things,” Nancy feels the need to learn how to defend herself when the horrors of the Upside Down begin to wreak havoc in Hawkins. She can frequently be seen brandishing weapons of all sizes against a variety of monstrous creatures - and Steve Harrington once. These harsh realities don’t cause her to back down from the fight, so Demogorgons and Mind Flayers beware.
#4: Eleven Uses Her Powers to Shut the Portal
“Chapter Nine: The Gate” Over the course of season 2, El learns more about her past. She finds out about her birth mother, and meets up with a girl named Kali, or Eight, who also has powers. Although Kali and El have taken very different paths in life, Kali understands her struggles and teaches her how to harness her powers to her advantage. This proves useful in her most stressful task yet, as El saves Hawkins in the season finale. While also staving off the Mind Flayer’s attacks, she closes the gate to the Upside Down, proving that “Stranger Things” has only scratched the surface of her abilities.
#3: Joyce’s Relentless Search
Various Before viewers were introduced to El and her wide array of seemingly supernatural powers, they met a mother willing to do anything to find her son. Joyce Byers’ search for Will begins in the series’ first episode, and ultimately becomes the heart of the show’s introductory season. She refuses to be dissuaded by anyone in her search, be it law enforcement or her ex-husband, and does everything in her power to communicate with her missing child - even at the risk of looking delusional. This commitment to her children continues into the next season, when the now-returned Will begins to see things. Joyce demands answers from doctors confused by his condition, and insists they do more to help him. What a badass mom!
#2: Max Runs Up That Hill
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“Chapter Four: Dear Billy” Max is overwhelmed with grief following Billy’s death the previous season, and begins to isolate from her friends. When the villain Vecna begins picking off teens, Max realizes she shares the same symptoms and may be his next victim. Max’s trauma finally catches up with her, and it seems like she may succumb to Vecna’s wrath. That is, until her friends give her the push she needs by playing her favorite song: Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” Remembering how much her friends care for her, Max is finally able to free herself from Vecna’s grasp, dodging falling projectiles as she runs back to reality. The combination of a powerful character moment, music, and visuals make this one of the series’ best sequences ever. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Eleven Faces Off Against a Possessed Billy, “Chapter Four: The Sauna Test” After the Sauna Fails to Distract the Mind Flayer, El Must Use Her Powers to Subdue Its Host Suzie Helps Find NINA, “Chapter Six: The Dive” A Computer Whiz Before the Internet Was Mainstream, Suzie Determines the Address of NINA El Goes Into the Bath, “Chapter Seven: The Bathtub” She Dips Into a Sensory Deprivation Tank to Find Will & Barb in the Upside Down Erica Sinclair Decimates Murray, “Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt” She Criticizes Murray’s Weak Plan & Refuses to Allow Him to Dismiss Her Based on Age Robin Smack-Talks Her Captor, “Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum” Leave It to Robin to Boast About Figuring Out the Russians’ Plan to Their Face
#1: El Destroys the Demogorgon
Top 10 Stranger Things Moments
“Chapter Eight: The Upside Down” The Demogorgon is the first “big bad” viewers see in “Stranger Things.” In the first season’s finale, the monster chases El’s new friends through their school, intent on attacking them. It seems to be impervious to all of the kids’ attempts to stop it until El finally steps in and is able to subdue it with her powers. El pins the monster against a chalkboard and seemingly sacrifices herself to kill it. Luckily, it wasn’t goodbye for the young heroine, and soon she’d be back to protect Hawkins from the dangers of the Upside Down season after season.
