Stranger Things 3: Sadie Sink had some questions about Max’s final scene

It took the Duffer brothers a season or so, but they finally got a better hold on Max Mayfield in Stranger Things season 3. No longer the new girl in town, Max finds herself making friends and facing loss. At the end of the season, she even [SPOILER] loses her horrible stepbrother, Billy (Dacre Montgomery).

It’s clear during the final battle with the Mind Flayer at Starcourt Mall that despite how terrible Billy generally is, she is genuinely pained by his giving himself up to give them a chance to win the fight. Come the end of the season, though, she seems to already be over it to some degree, doesn’t she?

If you thought that, you’re not the only one to have noticed. Actor Sadie Sink noticed too, and told Teen Vogue what she thought about it:

"But then it cuts to her three months later and she’s singing and happy with Lucas. I remember reading that scene and I was like, ‘What’s going on? Wait. Did she not…Did her brother not just die?’ […] I think it makes sense for her, because that’s kind of as messed up as their relationship was. […] But in true Max fashion, she’s not going to let anyone see how she’s really feeling at some points. You see her just pretending that everything’s fine, when really, everything’s changed for her. She’s in a completely different emotional headspace."

There’s a lot to unpack here. We’ll start with the “completely different emotional headspace.” At this point, the cast of Stranger Things has gone through quite the series of traumas, and they’e all responded differently. Will’s desire to just play Dungeons and Dragons in season 3 is his wanting to go back to a safer time. Dustin going to science camp not only feeds his passions, but allows him to learn more about things that might be helpful if things get worse in Hawkins. Mike and Lucas seek safety in new relationships. And Max is part of one of those relationships. Even during that final scene, she’s singing with Lucas, who knows better than most what exactly she’s gone through.

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If, as Sink suggests, Max’s good cheer in the final scene is more a front than anything else, then could we see a turn for Max in season 4? Maybe she won’t go completely dark side, but we could see her perhaps even retreat from Lucas and face temptations of her own, especially with her new friend Eleven also out of close contact. Emotionally speaking, there are a lot of ways the Duffer brothers can go with her character.

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