(Credits: Netflix)

When viewers are launched into the gritty world of Stranger Things season five on Netflix, the story kicks off 18 months after Max Mayfield, portrayed by Sadie Sink, succumbs to a coma, following Vecna’s brutal attack.

The fourth episode, ‘Sorcerer,’ offers transparency to an extent when Holly Wheeler tracks down Max in Henry’s mind. It’s possibly the place Max had been hiding out, at least in the mental space, after Vecna killed her to open the fourth gate connecting Hawkins and the Upside Down. In the fourth season, Eleven tried her best to revive Max physically. However, she couldn’t bring her consciousness back.

In fact, the Hawkins heroin couldn’t find her in the Void, either. In a recent conversation with Deadline, Sink revealed that she began to learn more about her storyline while filming for the fourth season, to prevent worrying about Max not surviving the instalment. “I didn’t know exactly what the plot was going to be, but they kind of just had to warn me. Matt and Ross called me. They’re like, ‘You’re gonna get the final episode of season four, and it’s gonna say that you died, but don’t worry. You’re in a coma, and we have a plot for you in season five,” she recalled.

As Sink got back into the groove in Stranger Things, she had to deal with the “most exciting” part of the comeback, which was studying this new version of Max, who had been trapped inside Vecna’s mind for over a year. While the actor had her initial doubts about whether Max had entirely spiralled into insanity, it eventually dawned upon her that the trait that most correctly defines her character is resilience. But the question that remains is: how did she end up there?

Max narrates her story to Holly that she doesn’t remember how long she was unconscious after Vecna’s sacrifice, but a voice calling to her woke her up. Upon awakening, she found herself in the rainbow room at the Hawkins Lab, where she saw the consequences of Vecna’s carnage from the fourth season. In an attempt to escape, she goes through several scenes which appear to be from Henry’s memory, including one from 1959 Hawkins, as Joyce promotes the school production of Oklahoma.

The visions made her realise that Max was officially a prisoner of Henry’s mind and nothing more than a passive observer. She didn’t stop until she got lost while hopping from memory to memory. However, she eventually returned to the rainbow room when Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ played suddenly. Max tried making the music her compass, but it ultimately led her to the memory when Vecna cursed her. Even on her way towards that music, she finally went down the memory lane when Vecna killed her.

Max found the Creel house to be her only “way out” when she saw Lucas sitting in the hospital, playing the song on repeat, hoping it would reach her. But before the final leap of escape, the doorway shuts down. Although lost, for a moment, she finds comfort in knowing that Lucas is right there. While Sink admits she doesn’t know whether Max knows or hears all of it, it means a lot.

Many questions about Max still need answers, but one thing is for sure: Lucas is giving his all to save her this time. Netflix previously released a trailer featuring a shot of Lucas carrying a comatose Max through the hospital during an escape from a Demodog. Now that we know the scene doesn’t appear in the first volume, we still have a lot to look forward to.

Caleb McLaughlin didn’t really confirm or deny when the scene appears. However, he did say this, “I think, honestly, just long story short, he would die for her. He really would. He’s found someone that he could connect to, someone that sees him, someone that understands his plight.”

Lastly, Sink revealed what she would want the most for her character in Stranger Things season five, which unsurprisingly, is “normalcy.” “She’s grown up a lot, and she’s tired, and I think what she wants, really, is just normalcy. It’s that simple. I think she just wants peace, or at least, that’s what I wanted for her, too.”