Stranger Things Season 5: Max’s Fate and Episode 3 Explained by Duffer Brothers

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I’m so excited! Season 5, volume 1 of Stranger Things is finally here, and everyone I know is completely hooked. We’re all buzzing with theories and desperately trying to figure out what’s going to happen to our favorite characters. It’s a wild time to be a fan!

In a recent interview with Variety, the creators of Stranger Things, Ross and Matt Duffer, discussed what happened in the first part of the latest season, particularly what happened to Max Mayfield (played by Sadie Sink). Matt Duffer explained that Max wasn’t shown in the first few episodes on purpose, feeling that “episode 3 was the right moment” to bring her back into the story. Ross Duffer then added to the explanation.

We decided early on, after putting her in a coma at the end of Season 4, that her mind would be trapped within Vecna’s world, and that would be a key part of her story going into Season 5. The idea truly came together when we realized Holly, and then the other children, could be in there with her. That’s when her storyline really started to take shape.

Matt added that he took inspiration from the 2000 movie The Cell and said:

The idea is really compelling – putting the audience inside the mind of a serial killer. It felt like the most similar approach to what we were trying to achieve with our own project. While our version of a killer’s mind turned out quite unique – that’s actually why we ended up including a desert landscape. You see a lot of desert scenes in the movie ‘The Cell’.

Max was deeply affected by the death of her stepbrother, Billy, in season 3. This grief made her susceptible to Vecna’s attacks, and by the end of season 4, she was nearly killed and left in a coma.

In the first part of the story, Max gets trapped inside a terrifying mental world created by Vecna, which Holly Wheeler calls Camazotz. While hidden in a cave Vecna is afraid to enter, Max almost manages to break free when Lucas plays her favorite song, “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush.

Image via Netflix

Max wasn’t able to get through the portal before it closed, meaning her and her friends’ plan using music wasn’t powerful enough to break free from Vecna’s control. However, her connection with Holly might be the key to both escaping Vecna and defeating him.

As a fan, it’s terrifying to realize Holly and Max are just two of the kids Vecna’s holding captive. It really hits home how important it is that Eleven and the others figure things out quickly, because Vecna clearly preys on children – their minds are just more vulnerable to his control.

The final season of Stranger Things will conclude with two parts. Volume 2 will be available on December 25th, and the very last episodes will premiere on Netflix and in some cinemas on December 31st.

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2025-11-27 17:00