The latest Stranger Things season 4 teaser trailer briefly takes viewers back to Hawkins Lab by showing Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) separated from the other test subjects. The new footage comes over a year since the Netflix series has released an inside look into the upcoming fourth season. The February 2020 teaser focused on the revelation confirming Jim Hopper's (David Harbour) survival despite being imprisoned in Russia. While there's still no confirmed premiere date for season 4, the teaser indicates how Eleven's grim origins will come into play.
With Hopper stuck in Russia, a portion of Stranger Things season 4 will presumably flip back and forth between Kamchatka and the United States. Though Hawkins undoubtedly remains a primary setting, the series will finally unveil where Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) took Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Eleven. As Hopper deals with his situation, a new threat will arise for the others. Aside from all of the familiar faces set to reprise their respective roles, new cast members include Jamie Campbell Bower, Eduardo Franco, Joseph Quinn, and Robert Englund.
Based on the new Stranger Things season 4 teaser, the series confirmed Matthew Modine is back as Dr. Martin Brenner. There was always a popular belief his character would return, but the footage gives concrete proof of his involvement in the upcoming installment. The teaser travels back to when Brenner was leading Project Indigo, an initiative at Hawkins Lab to raise and experiment on children with special abilities. As the rest of the young test subjects are seen playing together in a large common room, Eleven is kept by herself behind a door labeled "11." The separation hints at Eleven's importance to Brenner and his mission in using the kids' powers for his own gain. The scene also touches on Eleven's poor treatment while trapped in the lab and how that will be incorporated into the new season.
In Stranger Things season 1, it was revealed Eleven went through traumatic experiments when mastering her telekinetic abilities. Brenner forced her into a sensory deprivation tank among other tense situations so her psychokinetic skills would emerge. When attempting to use the telekinesis to spy on international figures, Eleven opened a portal into the Upside Down. Because of her intense experimentation and punishment for defying Brenner, it was presumed Eleven was the key for whatever Project Indigo was meant to accomplish. She may have been separated from the rest of the test subjects simply because she was too valuable to encounter the others who were still learning their skills. Keeping her away from the other kids as she got older shows that Brenner never cared for her as a person but instead viewed her purely as a powerful weapon.
Whether or not Eleven was truly the most powerful test subject remains to be seen. That said, diving into her dark origins will bridge some of the gaps left by previous seasons. Stranger Things season 4 could finally introduce more Hawkins Lab test subjects aside from Kali (Linnea Berthelsen), who only appeared in season 2's "Lost Sister." Flashbacks into Eleven's past are intriguing, but it would be even more interesting to have the character reunite with some of the others who experienced horrid treatment at the hands of Brenner. In doing so, the show could shed more light on the purpose of Project Indigo and how it all came crashing down after Eleven was separated from the rest of the group.