Welcome back to the Upside Down. The first Stranger Things Season 2 photo was unveiled on Twitter on Thursday, and it seems the Duffer Brothers are taking this upside-down business quite literally these days. Yes, the gravity-defying photo is one the Demogorgon would appreciate, but more importantly it features the one and only Millie Bobby Brown. That's right, Eleven is definitely back for Season 2. Now that Brown's return has been confirmed, it is time to start speculating about more important things — like how and when Eleven will make her Season 2 debut.
Before you get too lost in theorizing, take a moment to appreciate just how adorable the young cast is, even when they are upside down. In addition to Brown, the photo also features every teen and child actor from Season 1, plus new additions to the cast, including Sadie Sink and Dacre Montgomery, who will star as step-siblings Max and Billy. The not-pictured actors who are for sure returning in Season 2 are Winona Ryder and David Harbour. In other words, the gang is all here, and it is time to get psyched.
The Stranger Things Twitter account sneakily avoided revealing which episode the table read was for. The tweet simply reads, "Back in production, see you next year." Since shows rarely film episodes in a linear fashion, the kids could be reading a script from any one of Season 2's confirmed nine episodes. But that does not mean you shouldn't start hoping Eleven's role in Season 2 is not much bigger than fans were initially led to believe.
After Eleven's heroic sacrifice for Mike, Lucas, and Dustin, it was hard to imagine a scenario where she made it out of Season 1 alive. Sure, Hopper left Eggos in a box for Eleven, but at best, it seemed fans were in for cameo appearances by Eleven as the show explored the mythology of the Upside Down in Season 2. Seeing Brown right at the center of the cast photo makes it clear the Duffer Brothers have big things planned for Eleven — but first, they are going to have to explain how she survived the finale.
If the table read is from Episode 1 of Season 2, then Eleven could make her big return way sooner than anyone imagined. There are lots of theories about how Eleven will return floating around the interwebs, but whether she is trapped in the Upside Down, recaptured by the government, or lying low in the woods, it now seems entirely possible she could appear in the season premiere. It doesn't matter to me how Eleven makes her way back into the lives of her friends, I just want to see it happen as soon as possible. Just the thought of Stranger Things without Eleven feels wrong.
Netflix made a smart move by confirming Brown's return with this photo. Now fans can stop obsessing over whether or not they are facing an Eleven-less reality, and instead focus on all the ways she could fit into Season 2. There is so much story left to explore where Eleven is concerned — why the experiments made her so powerful, was she the only test subject, can she ever have a normal life? — and they can only be answered if Brown continues to have a strong presence on the show.
Bring on the answers, Netflix. It looks like Stranger Things Season 2 could be Eleven's time to shine all over again, and that truly is the best news ever.
Images: Netflix; Giphy
