Fans Are Eager To See This 'Stranger Things' Reunion Happen

Warning: spoilers from Episode 2 ahead! When it was revealed at the end of Episode 1 of Stranger Things Season 2 that Eleven was not only still alive, but out of the Upside Down, it seemed strange that she hadn't reconnected with her old friends. Mike in particular wanted to know what happened to her and they were in the same town, so they could have theoretically crossed paths at any time. So when do Eleven and Mike reunite on Stranger Things? Unfortunately, they don't really interact at all in the first two episodes of the season, though they come very close a few times.

Eleven and Mike had an especially close friendship because she was hiding out in the blanket fort in his basement, and by the end of the first season it was clear a little tween romance was brewing between them. Eleven's defeat of the Demogorgon in the finale left her fate uncertain, but the second season of Stranger Things made it clear that Mike hasn't given up hope that she is OK. In the first episode, he tried to contact her through his walkie talkie, but got little more than static for his trouble. For a moment it seemed like Eleven was responding when Mike heard someone say his name on the line, but he couldn't be certain that it was her.

Throughout the first two episodes of Stranger Things 2, Mike was visibly reeling from Eleven's disappearance, as evidenced by the fact that he was acting out so much that his parents were handing out punishments left and right. He was heading right into the surly stage of being a preteen, but watching your friend get sucked into an alternate universe is a pretty good excuse for being moody. He has no idea if she is alive or dead or trapped in the Upside Down like Will had been for so long, waiting to be rescued.

Eleven is also obviously missing Mike. Episode 2 caught up with her right after her defeat of the monster, when she was transported to the Upside Down and immediately started calling for Mike. She quickly found an escape hatch back to the regular version of Hawkins and Eleven went right to Mike's house, but it was so swarmed with government agents that she couldn't go in. She did peer in the window just in time to overhear Mike being told how dangerous she was to him and his family, which seemed to motivate her to flee the scene. He almost seemed to see her through the glass, but couldn't quite make her out.

It was one of several missed connections between Mike and Eleven in Episodes 1 and 2. He continued to try to talk to her through his walkie talkie and Eleven tried to respond, entering the black void space that allowed her to catch glimpses of people and things in other places. She could see Mike confiding in her and she attempted to reach out to him, but couldn't quite make contact. Mike seemed to sense her anyway, but his hope appeared to be fading fast.

Their first meeting, when it happens, could be difficult. Mike might be upset that Eleven has been hiding from him for the better part of a year, even though she's only doing it to keep both of them safe. Their reunion is going to be a big moment in the narrative, so the show might stretch it out for a few more episodes or even most of the season. However, it can only keep the main characters apart for so long. Mike and Eleven are both in the same town dealing with the same problems, and their journeys are going to have to converge at some point. Pinpointing when is difficult, but it's only a matter of time.

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