Major spoilers for the Season 4 finale of Stranger Things follow.
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink doesn’t know if her character – Max Mayfield – will be back for the show’s fifth and final season.
Talking to Deadline (opens in new tab), Sink confirmed that she was not told whether Max lives or dies following her fateful encounter with Vecna in the final episode of Stranger Things season four. The character was last seen in an induced coma at Hawkins hospital after Vecna’s attack resulted in Max’s death for a full minute.
However, Eleven used her powers to miraculously revive Max, though it’s unclear if Max will recover from her injuries – or if she’s alive. Before the credits roll at the end of Season 4, Eleven enters the Void to try to locate Max, but she fails. It is possible, then, that Max is brain-dead and is kept alive only in a life support machine. And, as Sink revealed, she’s just as dark about her character’s fate as fans of the hugely popular Netflix show.
Asked if the Duffer brothers, co-creators of Stranger Things, have confirmed if Max will return for its fifth and final season, Sink said: “They’ve been very secretive about season five in general. script literally says Max dies. So they called me earlier and said, ‘Just a heads up, this is there so you’re not really shocked.’
“I have no idea what’s coming in five and what that looks like. Max’s story is very much up in the air because obviously she’s in a coma and Eleven can’t find her in the Void. So who knows where she is. and in what state? She is in.”
Ever since Stranger Things season 4 volume 2 hit Netflix on July 1st, fans have been desperate to find out if Max dies in episode 9. After volume 2 was released, ‘Max is dead in Stranger Things 4’ was a of the most searched terms on Google – the query only dropped on Google Trends in the last 24 hours. Other notable questions included who else died in the fight against Vecna, and you can read our season 4 volume 2 final explainer to learn more.
For more Stranger Things content, check out why the hit Netflix series isn’t the most popular series of the year so far. Alternatively, watch the Stranger Things musical mash up that works very much like a real Broadway show.
Analysis: Will Max survive his ordeal and appear in Season 5?
It would be a shocking entry point into Stranger Things season five if Max doesn’t make it. After all, the Duffer brothers have hinted that the show’s final season will feature a considerable time jump (for TV line (opens in new tab)), so we should wait for a year or two to pass before we reunite with Eleven and company.
It’s possible, then, that the doctors at Hawkins Hospital told our heroes that there’s nothing they could do for Max, and subsequently turned off his life support machine. How exciting would it be if Season 5 started with his funeral? It would be a huge punch to the gut for fans hoping she’d made it, plus it would give Eleven and Lucas something else to fight for before their final showdown with The Upside Down, Vecna and the Mind Flayer/The Mind Flayer . Shadow.
Alternatively, Season 5 could start with Max in her comatose state and the gang struggling to maintain their life support systems, despite hospital staff admitting there is little they can do for her. Given her fan-favorite status and the significant role Max has played in the series thus far, this would be the more likely scenario of the two we’ve suggested.
If the Duffer brothers opt for the latter of these options, it would allow them to use Max in a similar way to Will. As the season 4 finale revealed, Will still has a connection to the Upside Down from the start of the series. If Max wakes up from her coma, maybe she’ll develop a connection to the Upside Down (or maybe Vecna specifically if she’s the only survivor of one of its attacks) that will be vital in helping Eleven and company defeat the show’s antagonistic forces. one time. it’s for everyone.
It will be a while before we find ours for sure. In his conversation with Deadline, Sink confirmed that he didn’t know when filming would begin on Season 5 of Stranger Things, before saying he didn’t think the Duffer brothers would “rush” into writing their scripts. The wait for answers around Max’s fate will then continue for some time.
