Stranger Things Creators' Latest Season 5 Comments Have Me More Worried Than Ever About Max (And Maybe Lucas)

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For all the extended waiting that fans have to do between seasons, one of the best Netflix shows available to stream at any given time will always be its Hawkins-set horror drama, and fans are desperate for Stranger Things Season 5 to finally arrive. (Even if it’s not on the 2024 TV schedule.) One of the biggest worries among the viewership centers on Sadie Sink’s Max, who was left in a coma by the end of Season 4. Now, the Duffer brothers have further stoked that fear with their latest comments.

Sink herself was interviewed by Variety about her current status as a beloved young Hollywood star, as well as how she’s handled the hurdles that come with fame. Since all eyes will be on her when Stranger Things returns, questions obviously came up regarding fan-favorite Max’s health status, which she teased in a way that made it clear the character will be active, though not in what capacity. Matt and Ross Duffer offered slightly more context, but in a way that make things seem slightly more worrisome for Max and/or possibly Caleb McLaughlin’s Lucas. In their words:

• Matt Duffer: She’s going to play a part in the season

• Ross Duffer: But we don’t want to reveal how that’s possible.

• Matt Duffer: Right, because she’s in a coma. . . . I think she’s grown just more confident as an actor and in her choices. We did film a scene the other day with her that was just absolutely heartbreaking. I don’t know how she hits those notes.

It's quite interesting for Matt Duffer to bring up Max being in a coma in the same conversation as complimenting Sadie Sink for her acting choices. Granted, I guess she could pull off some A+ coma-acting choices that really bring the house down, but it does seem like those scenes will just involve her lying there without much acting involved.

As such, one would have to imagine that whatever the "heartbreaking" scene is that the co-creator mentions, it presumably takes place away from Max's hospital bed. And considering she's already lost her semi-redeemed douchebag brother Billy, I'm not wholly sure what kinds of heartbreaking moments she could experience that wouldn't involve either her or Lucas dealing with something tragic.

So could Matt Duffer have been referring to Lucas being killed off? Or perhaps it's a scene where she has to sacrifice herself for the greater good, and he's referring to her farewells to others. I could probably continue down this trauma-filled path with a bunch of other theories about what could go wrong, but nobody needs that kind of stress this far ahead of Season 5's arrival.

For her part, Sadie Sink only brought up one specific action when referring to her character getting physical in Season 5, and it's an action that speaks directly to Max's favorite tune. Here's how she put it:

Although she did go on to say that the prior week of filming was particularly active, and that it made her forget just how busy things could get. Having such a large cast means quite a bit of downtime for certain actors, depending on what characters are in scenes together. So it sounds like at least one episode will be quite heavy on Max in action. Just hopefully without any heartbreaking stuff involved.

Here's hoping the worst thing that happens is her Walkman breaks. Sure, that would suck, but better to have to buy a new cassette player than to attend a friend's funeral. At least we don’t have to worry about Will’s hair anymore, thanks to his new ‘do. And I guess we don’t have to fret over Stranger Things not having a dedicated line of candles, because it does now.

We’re still waiting on a premiere date for Season 5 of Stranger Things, but check out what the Duffer brothers are working on next in the meantime.