One potentially huge theory about Hawkins Lab was just debunked by the screenplay for Stranger Things season 4, episode 7, which is actually better for Eleven’s story. After releasing a few script pages from various episodes of Stranger Things season 4, the series has now put out the full screenplay for the part 1 finale, “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab.” The episode was one of the most shocking installments of Stranger Things season 4, which confirmed the real killer in the mass murder of Eleven’s siblings at the lab in 1979, but still left several mysteries unsolved.
Stranger Things’ flashback to the Hawkins Lab massacre led to much speculation about the characters and events, such as whether another number may have actually survived the killing. After the reveal of Vecna’s true identity, Stranger Things confirmed that three numbers were still alive in season 4’s timeline: One/Henry Creel, Eight/Kali, and Eleven/Jane. However, theories abounded that Ten, the number who Brenner was with during the massacre, may have secretly survived and faked his death. Even more bizarre, there was some speculation that Ten grew up to be Stranger Things season 4’s beloved character Eddie Munson. However, the screenplay for “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab” firmly ends these possibilities.
Stranger Things 4 Script Confirms Ten Is Dead
Theories about Ten, or any other numbers’ survival, have now been debunked by the release of Stranger Things season 4, episode 7’s screenplay. While the details of Ten’s fate were left ambiguous enough on-screen to warrant questions, the script confirms that he was murdered by Number One/Henry Creel: “Inside, [Eleven] sees Brenner, unconscious; Ten’s mangled dead body lies near him.” Ten didn’t have a miraculous resurrection as theorized, instead being one of the 15 children whose life was cut short by One in 1979.
This means that when the final battle against Vecna occurs, the only supernatural child that Eleven will potentially have by her side is Eight. After 15 of their “siblings” were killed at the lab, Eleven survived when banishing One to the Upside Down, while Eight had already escaped from the lab long beforehand. It’s unclear why One still let Eight live after the massacre, though he made sure not to leave any survivors but Eleven and Dr. Brenner back at Hawkins Lab.
Why Eleven Had To Be The Only Hawkins Lab Massacre Survivor
Since Eight was already gone, Eleven is technically the only number who actually survived One’s massacre in Stranger Things’ memory flashbacks. Eleven had to be the only survivor because it proved that she was Vecna's real greatest weakness, as she was taught to embrace love and happy memories in order to strengthen her abilities and defeat him. Additionally, if anyone else had survived the massacre, then Eleven would likely be resented by one of her living “siblings” for being the one who freed Henry Creel from Brenner’s inhibitory Soteria device.
One of the numbers may then have sought revenge on Eleven for her role in unintentionally aiding Henry’s sinister plans, so it’s better for Eleven’s heroic story if the guilt she feels for the tragedy is something she must overcome personally. This also means that Vecna and Eleven’s face-off in Stranger Things season 5 will be a fitting rematch between the only two survivors of the Hawkins Lab massacre. With their expected one-on-one duel, Eleven will be able to more personally redeem her past mistakes by saving the world from One’s wrath, which would also effectively bring the remnants of Brenner’s cruel experiment on the supernatural children to an end.