Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2 Finally Reveals Max's Fate

Max Mayfield has been hovering between life and whatever nightmare Vecna calls home for a long time. Season 5 Vol. 2 finally answers the big question fans have been holding onto since the Season 4 finale: is she gone for good, or not?

So... does Max wake up?

Yes. Max wakes up in Season 5 Vol. 2.

The long version: everyone (characters and viewers) has been calling it a coma for 18 months, but the show clarifies what was actually going on. Her body was physically unresponsive at the hospital, but she was in a trance, stuck inside Vecna's mindscape the whole time. She finds a way out of that mental prison and makes it back. When her eyes finally open, Lucas is right there at her bedside.

She is back, but not out of danger

Waking up does not make her invisible to Vecna. He still wants her. He even sends Demodogs to the hospital to take her out, which, yes, is a lot for someone who just came to. Thankfully, Karen steps in and destroys the creatures in the hospital basement, which buys Max and the group some safety.

The on-set moment that wrecked everyone

Caleb McLaughlin told Netflix Tudum that filming Max's awakening hit the cast hard. He said the vibe shifted the second the cameras rolled, and the emotions got real in a hurry.

"I remember Shawn calling action, and then the energy switched, and then I looked into Sadie's eyes. Everyone was quiet. Then Maya and Amybeth started crying. Then Sadie started crying. Then I started crying. Everyone just felt the presence of what we brought to the table."

The other close calls

Even before the hospital attack, Max has a few terrifying brushes with death in Vol. 2. While she and Holly are trying to slip out of Henry's mindscape, Henry comes after them and actually tries to strangle Max. Will jumps in, takes on Henry, and buys enough time for Max and Holly to get away and find a path out.

• Max spends 18 months in what everyone calls a coma, but it is really a trance while she is trapped in Vecna's mindscape.
• She figures out how to escape the mindscape and wakes up in the hospital, with Lucas at her side.
• Vecna still targets her, sending Demodogs to the hospital; Karen destroys them in the basement, keeping the group safe.
• Inside Henry's mindscape, he tries to strangle Max; Will intervenes, and Max and Holly escape.
• Caleb McLaughlin says filming Max's awakening left the cast in tears, telling Netflix Tudum the moment hit like a wave once Shawn Levy called action.