Stranger Things Season 4's ending left fans worried about one of the show's main characters as it was unclear if they would return in the same capacity, but Netflix may have spoiled their ultimate fate.
Netflix's sci-fi epic Stranger Things is undoubtedly one of the biggest shows of the past decade, but fans are growing impatient for the release of the fifth and final season, which just passed an embarrassing milestone in terms of its release.
Although it has been confirmed that the upcoming installment will come out sometime in 2025, there is still no specific release date or release window. However, Netflix has at least provided a few details about Season 5, with one being rather spoiler-y in regards to one character.
Did Netflix Just Spoil One Stranger Things Character's Season 5 Fate?
Netflix recently issued a press release that revealed a few details about Stranger Things Season 5. Most notably, it named the 21 main actors who will be starring in the upcoming episodes, confirming which characters will take center stage in the final installment.
One of those included actors was Sadie Sink, who plays Max Mayfield in the show. Considering what happened to her at the end of Season 4, Netflix may have given away what will happen to her in the coming episodes.
In Season 4, Volume 1, Max was part of one of the show's most beloved sequences when she escaped Vecna's grasp with some help from Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill."
However, she found herself face to face with Vecna again in Volume 2 and wasn't able to get away unharmed.
By the end of the final episode of Season 4, Max technically died. Vecna snapped her limbs and caused her heart to stop beating, but she was ultimately saved and brought back to life by Eleven.
Then, at the end of the final episode, Max was shown in the hospital where it was confirmed she was in a coma, blind, and many bones in her body were broken. What made matters worse, though, is the fact that it was revealed she may never wake up, thus ending Max's run on the show and providing fans with an emotional death.
However, with Netflix confirming that Sadie Sink will be one of the main actors in Season 5, it is more or less confirmed that she will survive and wake up at some point. She will then likely go on to play some sort of role in the final season and have multiple on-screen appearances.
So, Max's fate was still entirely up in the air before Netflix announced the main cast members.
However, since Sink's status as an actor has only gone up since Season 4 (she may be playing a major role in the MCU soon), she would likely not have been included in that list of Stranger Things Season 5 actors if she wasn't going to have a substantial role in the final installment.
What Will Max's Role in Season 5 Look Like?
Max could play an important role in Stranger Things Season 5 (read more about Season 5's latest release update here) while her character is still in a coma in the real world. After all, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for her to recover from her injuries unless there is a massive time jump.
The most likely scenario is that Max's scenes will take place in the Upside Down. Although she is braindead and blind, her consciousness is likely still alive in the Upside Down, and, more specifically, in Vecna's mind.
This could lead to Max playing an important role in the final showdown between the main characters and Vecna. When speaking to Variety about her Stranger Things Season 5 role, Sink revealed, "They love having me run. That's all I'll say."
Considering her status at the end of Season 4, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for the real-world Max to be running at all, let alone running a lot.
So, she will most likely still make her presence known by fighting Vecna in the Upside Down due to being trapped there in her mind.
However, she could still die at the end of the show, especially if Vecna is really the only entity keeping her alive at all. If he were to die, it could mean that she will die too.
Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix and Season 5 is set to be released sometime in 2025.
