Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1 provided a strong insight as to why the military is so obsessed with trying to retrieve Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). Following the wild ending of Stranger Things Season 4, when parts of the Upside Down have seemingly emerged over Hawkins, the military has taken over the town and placed everyone in quarantine.
What made the situation even more complicated is the fact that the military, led by Dr. Ellen Kay (Linda Hamilton), has built a new base called the MAC-Z in the Upside Down. Dr. Kay has one goal: to retrieve Eleven by any means necessary. Episode 1 confirmed that the military has been searching for Eleven for months, but they found no success in trying to obtain her, mainly thanks to the combined efforts of Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers, while they train her to use her powers so that she can be ready during her rematch against Vecna.
Why Is the Military After Eleven In Stranger Things Season 5?
Searching for Eleven in Stranger Things Season 5 has been the military's top priority, to the point that it has even become a full-time job for other personnel, such as Lieutenant Robert Akers (who tragically died in Season 5, Volume 1). Aside from searching for Eleven, the military has also taken control of Hawkins, forcing Jim Hopper, Joyce Byers, and the rest of the crew to protect Eleven by only allowing her to get around the town using underground tunnels.
Dr. Kay's fixation on finding Eleven is eerily similar to Doctor Martin Brenner's obsession with the Hawkins hero. The fact that she is also experimenting on the other creatures from the Upside Down suggests that she has sinister intentions toward Eleven, and Volume 1's ending further hints that she is not part of the good guys.
Stranger Things Season 5, Episode 4 confirmed that Dr. Kay believed that Eleven had something to do with the disappearance of the kids, noting that she could've either been "killing" or "protecting" them, but "the reason doesn't matter:"
Dr. Kay: "Eleven was at the Wheeler house the same night Holly was taken. Twenty-four hours later, we've got three more missing kids. There are 73 children in Hawkins between the ages of nine and ten. If the pattern holds, our next target will be from this group."
Lt. Colonel Sullivan: "And you believe Eleven has taken these kids? For what purpose?"
Dr. Kay: "Killing them, protecting them. The reason doesn't matter."
While Kay also claimed that she wants to capture Eleven to protect the kids, this could be a deceptive reason, especially after the revelation involving 008, a former test subject of Dr. Benner's.
Volume 1's ending then dropped a major twist about what the military is really doing in the Upside Down. It turned out that the military was holding Kali (008), Eleven's sister, first seen in Stranger Things Season 2, in the classified lab room. This is the first hint that the military would also want to utilize Eleven's powers similarly as a way to defeat Vecna or even control her for their own nefarious purposes.
Moreover, the successful capture of Eleven for the military could also allow them to weaponize her and utilize her within the confines of the Upside Down, providing soldiers with easy access to explore and find more resources that could be essential in fighting future wars or conflicts.
If anything, Dr. Kay sees Eleven as the final piece of the Hawkins puzzle, as she views her as the missing link to solving the town's invasion problem. The evil doctor could also be using Eleven as a means of propelling her own career, further cementing how sinister and ruthless she really is (read more about the different spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5).
The Military's Obsession With Eleven Could Be Its Greatest Downfall
The military's obsession with Eleven and the Upside Down has turned them into full-fledged villains, rather than beacons of hope for the town. The army's harsh attitude toward the local townsfolk, combined with Dr. Kay's hidden agenda, only served to amplify the Upside Down's terrifying possibilities.
Volume 1 already revealed the military's dark side, as they actively prevent Mike, Lucas, and Joyce Byers from trying to save the kids from Vecna's minions. While they are framed as the good guys by the local teachers, the animosity toward the Hawkins crew, who only want to do the right things for the town, proves that they are not on the side of good.
Stranger Things Season 5, Episode 4's ending showed that Dr. Kay's obsession with Eleven has gone too far, and it all began with her retrieval of Kali. Given that Kali is already powerful, Kay's continued pursuit of Eleven suggests that she seeks more power, potentially as a means to conquer the Upside Down and utilize it as a key asset for the military and the government.
Still, the military's obsession with Eleven could be its greatest downfall because it could be blinded by it, leading to numerous mistakes. The ending already showed that their recklessness and arrogance toward Vecna led to countless deaths, and this is a preview of their failure that could carry over in the remaining episodes of the final season.
