Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield here with Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair in season five. Courtesy of Netflix Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text [This story contains major spoilers from Stranger Things season five, episodes one through four.] Heading into the final season of Stranger Things, fans are well and fully prepped for a certain level of brutality. Just think back on some of the biggest traumatic moments from over the years - the death of Sean Astin's Bob, for one, and the fresh tragedy of meeting and losing Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) all in one season. But there was very nearly a worse death in season four: Sadie Sink's skateboarding hero, Max, briefly killed at the whims of Lord Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), only to return to life thanks to a little help from her friend Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). Related Stories TV Why Joe Keery Dressed as His 'Stranger Things' Character to Officiate Wedding TV 'Stranger Things' Stars Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp Reveal How That Wild Twist Sets Up Volume 2 Set months after the season four finale, the final season premiere shows just how much has changed since Max fell into a coma - except for Max, who is still comatose as the story begins. But that's not where the story ends. The season's third episode reveals Max's true whereabouts as a spirit of sorts, stalking the Upside Down, hiding out from Vecna and plotting a comeback. All she needs is a little help from another friend. Enter: Holly Wheeler, played this season by Nell Fisher, who shows up at the wrong place at the right time to join forces against the Upside Down's cruel overlord. Below, The Hollywood Reporter speaks with Sadie Sink about Max's epic comeback, spending most of her scenes across from a relative newcomer to the Stranger Things scene, and why she still doesn't feel closure at the end of the series' run. *** The wait between seasons four and five was quite stressful for Max fans. I assume it was less stressful for you? Yes, it was less stressful. I knew she would be coming back when we were finishing season four. I was kind of warned that it would look like I was dying, "but don't worry, you're not." Technically, you did! Technically! But they said, "Don't worry, you're safe. You will serve a purpose in this plot." But that was kind of it, so I had no idea what that meant. We got the first four scripts [for season fove], and then there was a ridiculous table read for it, which was so formal, and not what we were used to at all. It seemed like it was so intense, and we were all like, "What are we doing?" Table reads are fun and we got to do a lot more this year, but honestly, I've never been more nervous at a table read than just to say that line one ... Right, because you're silent until the very end of episode three, and then bam: Max! Totally. And it was in this huge room where they had blacked it all out, and there was a camera on every single cast member - and there's like 30 of us. With the cameras it was very rigid and stiff. Everyone had been reading through it, and I think I was knitting a scarf or something. (Laughs.) Because the first three episodes, I'm obviously in a coma. Then we got to the end of episode three and it came time to say my line, I was sweating. I thought I was losing control of my voice. I was like, "Oh, my God, I'm going to fuck it up!" But I didn't. Once you found out how you were coming back, how much did the Duffers unpack things for you? You're sort of existing in a dream within a dream - or a nightmare within a nightmare. They had to give me more specifics because I had to do a chemistry read with Nell Fisher who plays Holly this season, and we had a couple of scenes together in episode four that kind revealed more information about Max's plot line. Then they filled me in on where I was. But before then, I don't remember what I thought Max was doing. I think I was just trusting the process. Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield with Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair in the beginning of season five. Courtesy of Netflix That's a lot of trust, given just how existential your role is so far. It's Max, and it's not Max? You're physically alive, but in a coma, and meanwhile in the Upside Down, you're giving Vecna hell. Was it harder to ground yourself this year? For sure, because in past seasons there's always been something to anchor me to the character, whether it's the actors I'm with or the environment, or even just the clothes, the bands, the skateboard. But this season, there was nothing. It was clothes that didn't feel like Max, crazy hair that was grown out and tangled, and dirt all over my face. She's in a rough, feral state. It was pretty bizarre. It was weird to feel like Max and then look like that and be in that environment, and working with a new actor. I know