The newest trailer for season 4 of the TV series ‘Stranger Things’ titled “Welcome to California” was released on November 6th, 2021. In the trailer, we can see El moving to California with the Buyers and starting a new chapter in her life.
The time has come for El to enter high school.
As you can imagine, going to high school as a teenager is already hard as it is, let alone for a teenager with telekinetic powers.
This brings us to the main plot of the Season 4 trailer – the introduction of a new character by the name of Angela.
Even though we can see El talking about how she’s adapting okay and making new friends at the new school in a letter she wrote to Mike back in Hawkins, the trailer shows us a different side of her story.
El seems to be a victim of high school bullying, with Angela being the leader of the bullies.
Fans have pointed out the similarities of the plot with Stephen King’s “Carrie”.
Stephen King’s Influence on “Stranger Things”
Stephen King is one of the most famous short-story and horror fiction writers in the world.
The fans of “Stranger Things” have on many occasions pointed out many similarities between the series and King’s novels.
This isn’t based only on speculation, as the Duffer brothers, the TV series producers, have previously stated that there is a big influence of King on their series.
It’s easy to see these similarities once you get to know King’s writing style and compare the storylines of his novels to some of the “Stranger Things” plot elements.
These included theories about the “Stranger Things” protagonist – El being based on Stephen King’s novel “Firestarter”, to be exact – on the novel’s main character by the name Charlie.
However, in the recently teased trailer for the upcoming season 4 of the TV series, the influence of Stephen King on the writers of “Stranger Things” is more than obvious.
Specifically, the influence of “Carrie”, one of King’s most famous novels.
Carrie & El
The novel, set in the 80s, features a girl called Carrie with telekinetic powers similar to those of El.
The girl sets on a revenge journey after months and years of enduring bullying from her peers.
Fans of the TV series on Reddit have noticed the similarities between this storyline and what we can see in the Season 4 Trailer, pointing out the possibility of El using her powers to get back to Angela.
Fan theories have been spreading across the internet, many in favour of the El-against-bullies theory.
Some fans went even further, explaining that they can’t wait for El to “finally snap”.
“After being held captive, abused, deprived of a normal life… just please, my dark angsty little heart needs this,” one fan said.
Will she stand up to Angela or not?
Is El going to see Hopper and Mike again?
Will her powers come back?
We can’t wait to find out.
