Quote Originally Posted by NikitaDarkstar View Post
I'd have to agree. Sure 10 got darker towards the end of his run, but we had been given clear reasons (and some not so clear), 11th hasn't really had any sort of events or explanations for going dark. In fact, considering what's happened in his run he should have gone the other way (started dark as a leftover from 10 and going brighter and brighter) because things seems to finally be going his way.
I actually think it's kinda the reverse - Eleven's behavior isn't what comes natural to him, it's what he wants to be. He's a lot like Nine, in that he puts such a high premium on manic joy because without that joy he'd fall into a self-destructive depression. So he focuses on the good days, on the quirky surprises that fascinate and amuse him, on anything that evokes a positive emotion in him, really. And he states flat out that companions are integral to that - at his age, there isn't a lot left in the universe that evokes those emotions, but seeing them in the eyes of a friend is just as good. (Another reason his isolation is really bad for him.)

His moments of darkness aren't out-of-character, they're moments when the smiling mask slips.