‘Stranger Things’ 4: The Duffer Brothers Almost Killed Max for Good: ‘It Was Discussed as a Possibility’
Fans are still not over certain events in Stranger Things 4 Volume 2. Besides the death of a certain metalhead, Max’s end fate was a jaw-dropper, with fans questioning the Duffer Brothers’ motives. The creators of the Netflix series have sprinkled Easter Eggs and clues to the fate of their characters. But the Duffer Brothers reveal they once thought to kill off Max once and for all in Stranger Things 4.
[WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things 4. ]
Max becomes Vecna’s fourth kill in ‘Stranger Things’ 4
At the start of Stranger Things 4, Max is going through a rough patch after the gut-wrenching death of Billy. He breaks free of his curse and sacrifices himself to save his step-sister and others. Max starts to put space between her, Lucas, and the others during the season. She deals with her turmoil through music.
But as Eddie Munson is accused of a bizarre murder, the characters realize the Upside Down is at play. Once learning of Vecna, based on the D&D character, they set out to uncover his mystery. But Max realizes all the signs of her being his next victim, who will die a gruesome death.
Max comes close to being Vecna’s victim until Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” saves her. In Stranger Things 4 Volume 2, Max becomes the bait to lure Vecna and puts her life at risk. As the plan goes slightly wrong, Max dies for a few minutes.
As the Upside Down infiltrates Hawkins in the epilogue, fans learn Max died but was brought back to life. She has severely broken bones and is comatose in the hospital. The Duffer Brothers reveal they had more fatal plans for Max in Stranger Things 4.
The Duffer Brothers pondered killing off Max in ‘Stranger Things’ 4
Max’s fate in Stranger Things 5 is still up in the air as the Duffer Brothers confirm the season will be shorter. Fans saw when Eleven went into her mind and was met with complete darkness. While Max may or may not be dead, the Duffer Brothers did consider killing her for good in Stranger Things 4.
In an interview with Variety, Ross Duffer reveals, “It was discussed as a possibility. For a while that is what was going to happen. But we ended up in this… we wanted to end it with a little more of a question at the end of the season. It’s still really dark and if Max is going to be okay, we just don’t really know. We wanted to leave it up in the air moving forward into Season 5.”
The main characters are in for their last and likely most dangerous battle. Max’s supposed death was Vecna’s last in his grand plan to break the Upside Down free in Hawkins. Fans are curious to know if Max will be a big part of the fifth season or not at all due to her current condition.
Max is confirmed to be brain dead after the fourth season finale
While fans are still reeling over the death of Eddie in Stranger Things 4 Volume 2, fans cannot help but wonder if death is also on the horizon for Max. In an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Duffer brothers reveal the reality of what happened to Max.
“She’s brain dead, but yeah, she’s alive. She’s blind, and all of her bones are broken, but yeah, she’s doing great Josh,” said the Duffer Brothers. Stranger Things 5 will hopefully address what Max’s future holds. If she is brain dead, Max is likely to stay in a vegetative state. Or will the supernatural mystery of the Upside Down revive her?
The Duffer Brothers confirm the fifth season will take place in Hawkins with the main couples and groups of characters coming together. Fans will have to wait a long while to see where Stranger Things ends in the fifth season.
