

If she had her regular powers, surely she would attempt to reach out to Hopper’s mind despite Joyce saying he’s dead, so it seems like her inability to do so was intended to make her mourning more believable. As fans know, Elle has the ability to see into people’s minds to locate them, but by the end of the season she had exhausted all of her powers and was unable to do even something as simple as moving a teddy bear. But before choosing that particular prisoner as the snack, one guard goes to open another door and the second guard says “not the American.” “The Americans” is how the Russians referred to Murray, Hopper, and Joyce throughout the season, so it’s possible he’s somehow ended up in Russia as a prisoner after surviving the blast.Įleven’s sudden lack of power also lends itself to the “Hopper’s still alive” theory.

We catch a glimpse of a Russian prison, where a man is taken out of a cell and fed to a Demogorgon. The fact that we don’t see it (or at least a pile of clothes and gore), and that Joyce was looking away when she turned the keys to blow up the machine, definitely leaves room for a last-minute escape.Įven more convincing evidence can be found in the scene after the credits. Not only do we not see Hopper’s body, but a scene from episode 1 of the new season, where many Russian workers were killed in a similar explosion, insinuates that his body should have been badly burned but not entirely vaporized. “Wait now I’m 100% convinced that Hopper is still alive bc the number ONE rule in films is that if we don’t see a dead body then they’re not really dead,” tweeted one fan. Despite all of that, many fans believe Hop is still alive, and they have pretty good reasons.įirst of all, there’s no body. All of the other people in the room are also killed, Joyce and Eleven mourn the loss and move away together, along with Will and Jonathan.

At first, it seems like a pretty cut and dry death Hopper’s seemingly vaporized, nowhere to be seen after the explosion.
