Stranger Things Theory: Could The Mind Flayer Be 001?

What is the past of the Mind Flayer? Could the monster be the first test subject of the Hawkings lab?!

Netflix’s Stranger Things raised many questions, and a majority of them are still not answered after the third season wrapped up, and the Hawkings kids were separated. But, one thing which stayed in our minds for almost two years now is who the 'Mind Flayer' is. It cannot be just a big red monster walking on its long legs; there needs to be some connection to 'Eleven' for the Mind Flayer to try and kill her.

Watch: The meeting of the Mind Flayer and Eleven

Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is the main protagonist of the Stranger Things series and when the Mind Flayer is defeated in season 2 and Eleven closes the doors to The Upside Down we see the monster hovering over the school where the kids were going to dance at the end of season 2. The monster was not there to take over Will again, but it was there because the monster wanted to kill Eleven.

In season 2 there was an out of place and a pretty lousy episode where we got the introduction to 'Eight', we saw Eight during the start of season 2, but the later episode was where we truly got to meet her. The existence of Eight also opened Stranger Things to various possibilities, and one of such possibility is Mind Flayer being the first test subject of the Hawkings lab and Dr. Brenner.

Watch: Dr. Brenner and his team walk into the Upsidedown

The existence of Eight meant there are nine other numbered people out and about in the world who were experimented on in the lab. Since Eight was bigger than Eleven it is also plausible, the experimentations on children began way before the time period which we were thrust into.

So, maybe the Mind Flayer is the first test subject for the lab, which is why 'Dr. Brenner' asked Eleven to approach the monster. Perhaps it is the first child Dr. Brenner ever brought to the lab, and they turned the child into the monster. Since then, the experimentation on other children may be a way for Brenner to perfect his initial failure and create someone equally powerful. The reason Brenner is so close to Eleven is he realizes she is the only person who can go toe-to-toe against the monster.

Watch: Eleven closes the gate to stop the Mind Flayer from coming out

The power of Eleven equaling Mind Flayer can also be the reason why the monster took an interest in her. When it tried to escape The Upside Down to take over the real world, a worthy adversary closed the doors, and it realized the lab perfected in making someone just like itself. So, the obvious answer is to eliminate the threat before taking over the world.

The other numbers prove there are more secrets hidden inside the lab of Hawkings, and the reason for them trying to open a rift to visit the Upside down can be to get number one. By connecting the Mind Flayer as a quasi-brother/sister to Eleven and other numbers add a sense of family as well as bring a certain amount of horror to the story. The revelation of Mind Flayer as 001 can also help bring the story a full circle.

Maybe in season four Eleven finds more of her brothers and sisters and they all help her regain her power and visit the Upside down where all Dr. Brenner’s children come to face the horrific creation of their father. Also, the Mind Flayer being their brother/sister, but due to Brenner’s recklessness, it turned into a monster can also add an emotional level to the villain. It is easy to kill the monster when all we see a big slab of red met with multiple legs and a mouth but when the same monster is provided with a face and story similar to the ones suffered by the other kidnapped children than the story becomes a little murky.

There are no announcements as of now about if there will be the fourth season of Stranger Things (it’s obvious there will be, but there are no official announcement yet), but there are expectations the announcement will happen soon. Even with the fourth season, there is no clear indication they are going to dive into the back story of the Mind Flayer. But with the Mind Flayer coming in as 001 and bringing the whole story back to Hawkings can be a great way to come full circle and tie up loose ends.

With the creators and the producers saying Stranger Things is a five-season story arc and with season 3 out of the way, it is high time the Duffer brothers started setting themselves up for some answers to the questions they’ve posed through the past three seasons. Mind Flayer’s past would be one of those questions we’d like some answers to.