The internet is obsessed with a good cry face. For whatever reason, there’s something incredibly compelling about watching your favourite on-screen character break down in tears. Maybe we’re all sadists.


Oh let’s face it; the reason for this obsession is how funny/ugly/awkward cry faces can be.

Kourtney Kardashian knows:


Even Kim knows. She turned her crying face into a multi-million dollar earning Kimoj:

https://twitter.com/UltimateKimK/status/707571315402809345

Other notable crying faces include Carrie from Homeland in what is most certainly the most blubbery blub on the small screen:

And Dawson in Dawson’s Creek, a favourite of internet memes:

Damn. That is one ugly crying face.

But recently, a new cry face has been hitting our TV sets, and blimey, it’s actually quite good.

http://giphy.com/gifs/13WIQOywdliUkE

Her name is Eleven (played by the amazing Millie Bobby Brown) and she’s the star of the new show Stranger Things, out on Netflix now:

http://giphy.com/gifs/TD0aGlifENGKs

But if you look closely, you’ll see that the trick to Eleven’s skilled delivery of on-screen emotional melodrama is not actually crying.

http://giphy.com/gifs/StjGEWy1nM0jm

Observe the expert way in which Eleven conveys her turmoil without shedding a single tear:

http://giphy.com/gifs/1WCPybR65vFBe

Even as she chokes on her tears, they remain tucked away and out of sight.

And she does all this whilst still having some of the most emotional lines in the show.

Like when Mike told her she was pretty and she’d never felt like that before.

http://giphy.com/gifs/12yUC95qZcGWWY

Or when she saw the life she’d missed out on.

http://giphy.com/gifs/D3QbiT5WOvLQ4

Or when she couldn’t control her powers and accidentally hurt Lucas.

http://giphy.com/gifs/Ng823K2vh05Ko

She is master of the meaningful face crumple.

And she keeps her cool, even when she’s about to steal a shit tonne of eggs. See the twinge of discomfort lurking in her brow lines.

Sweat? Absolutely. Wet, salty tears? Absolutely not.

And even at her most vulnerable, Eleven’s beauty comes all from within. Including her crying.

So you need to promise to get to know Eleven.

http://giphy.com/gifs/bf9kroF7nyAjm

Here’s a quick character video to help you get acquainted: