Warning! Spoilers ahead for the final episode of Stranger Things.

In the final episode of Stranger Things, Eleven gives Sara’s bracelet back to Hopper, and that small but important gesture has a much deeper symbolic meaning. Ever since Hopper took El under his wing as his adopted daughter, he’s been fiercely overprotective of her, which has caused a lot of friction in their relationship.

They’ve been reckoning with that friction throughout this fifth and final season. Eleven has been begging Hopper to allow her more independence to make her own decisions, but Hopper’s top priority is making sure El doesn’t get herself killed, so he won’t have to lose another daughter. That conflict came to a head at the end of Stranger Things, when Hopper finally let go.

Eleven Gives Hopper The Bracelet Back Because She’s “Not Sara”

As a way of showing El how much she means to him, Hopper gave her a bracelet that belonged to his late daughter Sara. From Hopper’s perspective, this was a kind gesture to say he loves her as his own. But from Eleven’s perspective, it seemed like Hopper was trying to make her Sara 2.0, and she didn’t want that.

When Eleven gives the bracelet back, she says she’s “not Sara.” El didn’t want Hopper to treat her like she was Sara. She needed Hop to trust her to make the right choice on her own. El knows that Hop raised her and became her dad, but she wants him to acknowledge that there’s a difference between Sara and her fate compared to what’s happening with El.

Vecna Uses Sara’s Fate To Mess With Hopper’s Mind

Vecna ultimately uses Sara’s untimely demise to play with Hopper’s mind. Before the key moment when Eleven returned Sara’s bracelet and made a distinction between herself and Hopper’s firstborn kid, Vecna got in Hopper’s head and used Sara’s death to manipulate him. Vecna uses Sara’s passing, and the Agent Orange detail specifically, to haunt Hopper.

It’s also important to point out that Vecna is the one who uncovers Eleven’s sacrifice plan. From the moment he learns that El might be planning to sacrifice her own life to save everyone else, Hopper is conflicted. He knows that El wants independence, but he doesn’t want to go through this unimaginable loss all over again.

Why Hopper Ends Up Accepting Eleven’s Final Decision

When Hopper finds Mike sitting alone in the town square before the graduation ceremony, they have a heart-to-heart about losing Eleven. Through the advice that Hopper gives Mike, we see how he came to accept Eleven’s final decision. This conversation only happens about halfway through the Stranger Things finale, but it’s one of the most emotional catharses in that final episode.