i love this scene because it captures el's first truly voluntary, self-motivated use of her powers... and what does she do with it? defend someone else.
up until now, she'd mostly been using her abilities for self-preservation or under duress.
here, there's no threat on her own life, nor orders she's been told to follow.
she's simply watching an injustice take place and deciding, on her own terms, that something must be done.
in part, because it's targeting mike – a kid who has shown her nothing but kindness and blind loyalty.
in part, because it's targeting will – a kid she may not know, but who she's just heard mocked and cast out for being different.
and if there's one thing el understands well, it's what it feels like to be punished for being different.
i also love the symmetry of her counterattack. she could've resorted to physical violence, but instead aims for something more fitting: social humiliation. she's taking the weapon troy just used against will, and is turning it right back on him. a clean "you reap what you sow".
it reveals something crucial about el: that her moral instinct gravitates toward justice, not cruelty. she's acting more so out of protective solidarity than out of sheer vindictiveness.
and it also perfectly embodies an idea i've expressed on a past analysis: "despite having spent her entire life being consistently dehumanized and abused, el's a deeply principled and naturally empathetic person. she's fiercely loyal to her friends from the get-go, and very protective of the weak and disempowered."
with all that being said:
i love you, el hopper, you'll forever be THAT girl 💕