What Happens to Max in STRANGER THINGS 5, VOLUME 1?

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Be warned: this article contains significant spoilers for the first part of Stranger Things Season 5, including what happens to Max. If you haven’t finished watching yet, we recommend doing so before reading – or you can check out our spoiler-free review instead.

In the finale of Stranger Things 4, Max Mayfield seemingly died, but Eleven managed to revive her—though she ended up in a coma. The first part of Stranger Things 5 reveals why she hasn’t woken up: she’s stuck in a timeless prison within Vecna’s memories. While her first attempt to break free failed, Max is now working on a plan to escape Vecna’s mind with Holly Wheeler.

Where Is Max During Stranger Things 5, Volume 1?

Max is physically in a coma, but her mind is trapped in a dimension created by Vecna, a space built from his memories. Vecna also brought Holly Wheeler here, though her body is somewhere else entirely. As shown in the first part of Stranger Things 5, Holly is physically connected to the Upside Down’s wall with vines, while her mind is experiencing Henry’s memories, just like Max.

Max led Holly into the woods she’d specifically told Henry she wouldn’t go near. Once inside, Max got Holly to listen to him and revealed the truth about what was happening.

What Happened to Max After She Died in Stranger Things 4‘s Finale?

In the final episode of Stranger Things 4, Vecna killed Max. This was the fourth person he murdered – he gains power by killing people – and it allowed him to open a huge gateway between the Upside Down and Hawkins. In the first part of Stranger Things 5, Max revealed what happened to her after she died.

Okay, so Max explained that Vecna’s curse isn’t something you just get over. It sticks with you, permanently. Once he cursed her, she was basically linked to him and his creepy world. And even after she… well, after what happened, her mind didn’t just go anywhere. She’s stuck inside what she calls ‘Henry’s prison’ – it’s like a place built from his memories. She described the cave she’s been in as just one memory, existing within this massive world of a thousand other memories of his. It’s seriously messed up.

The story doesn’t begin with Max in that cave. Season 5 of Stranger Things uses flashbacks to show us how she got there and why it protects her from Vecna.

What Has Max Been Doing in Stranger Things 5 Since Her Stranger Things 4 Death?

Okay, so the timeline around Max’s death and return in Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 is really confusing – it’s almost like time doesn’t work the same way in the Upside Down. She doesn’t even realize Eleven was the one who brought her back! All Max knows is that something pulled her back. And when she wakes up, it’s not in a hospital or anything – she’s back in the Rainbow Room at Brenner’s lab, the very same night Vecna – or Henry, or One – killed all those kids. It’s a seriously unsettling reveal.

Max then found herself inside another of Vecna’s memories, this time observing a high school in 1959. She watched a young Joyce Byers promoting the school play, Oklahoma, which was scheduled for November 6th. This date is significant because it’s the same day Vecna took Will in the past. With Stranger Things 5 approaching, that anniversary is only a few days away.

The play included actors portraying key characters from the battle against the Upside Down, or their children. This meant appearances by James Hopper Jr., Karen Wheeler, Patty Newby (Bob Newby’s sister), Eddie Munson’s father Alan, and Ted Wheeler. The play would also have introduced the character of Henry Creel.

After that, Max attempted to escape by jumping between different memories. But she became lost and found herself back where she started, in the Rainbow Room. That’s when she heard Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” – a song that proved to be her way out, and a moment we previously saw in Stranger Things 5, but from a different point of view.

Why Couldn’t Max Escape the Upside Down and Wake From Her Coma in Stranger Things 5?

Drawn by the music, Max relived painful memories, hoping they would lead her to a way forward. She found herself back at the Rainbow Room, witnessing a flashback – the moment Vecna first cursed her while she was in class. The music continued to guide her through more harrowing memories of Vecna’s abuse, as depicted in Stranger Things 5. It felt like the memories would never stop, but she ultimately fought her way back to Vecna’s lair in the Upside Down – the same place she originally escaped from in season four.

She heard Kate Bush’s song and followed the sound, which led her to a doorway back to reality. It showed her a hospital room where Lucas was holding her hand, and she could actually feel his touch. We’d seen this moment between Max and Lucas before, in the first part of Stranger Things 5. The scene ended with Max’s heart monitor going wild, and that happened because she’d started running towards the doorway in her mind. Then, the tape recording stopped. When the song finished, the doorway closed, taking away her first opportunity to escape the painful memories that were holding her captive.

That’s when Henry, also known as Vecna or One, appeared, wearing white lab clothes. Max tried to escape by running back into the memory world, but Vecna pursued her. She eventually found herself in the woods – the same woods Henry had once forbidden Holly to go near. Max reached a rock wall and hid inside, but Henry wouldn’t follow.

In the first part of Stranger Things 5, Max discovered a specific memory that frightens Vecna, making it a safe haven for her.

Why Won’t Vecna Enter the Cave From His Own Memory?

Henry stopped short at the cave’s opening. “He’s afraid,” Max explained. “Not just scared, but truly terrified. Something about this cave… this memory… is keeping him from entering. I’m safe in here.” Ever since then, she’s stayed hidden inside, and that’s where she’s been throughout the first part of Stranger Things 5.

Based on the Stranger Things play, The First Shadow, we understand why Henry Creel became the villain we know. (You can find details about young Henry’s experiences in a Nevada cave and the start of his descent into darkness here.) However, in Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, Max isn’t interested in staying hidden – she’s determined to return home and has a plan to make it happen.

Max kept the details vague, but the plan involves Holly going back to the Creel house and acting as if she’s been there all along – like she never left and didn’t even meet Max. Holly, now feeling much braver thanks to her brother’s support, is prepared to do anything to help.

Vecna can’t see what’s happening inside the prison he created in people’s minds when he’s not actively there. He has to be present within that mental realm to observe what Max or Holly are doing. As soon as he leaves, he has no idea what’s going on. This gives Max and Holly an opportunity in Stranger Things 5 – they can potentially plan and carry out strategies from within Vecna’s memory prison while he’s focused on the Upside Down or Hawkins, making him vulnerable.

Everyone who cares about the girls is counting on them to win. Vecna has dangerous plans for Holly and the other eleven children he kidnapped, and rescuing even Holly could disrupt them. As Lucas reminded the unconscious Max, they’ll need everyone on the team if they want to defeat Vecna. They can’t truly succeed until Max wakes up and fully reconnects her mind and body. However, there’s good reason to believe Max’s plan will work in Stranger Things 5, as Holly pointed out a hopeful parallel between this mental space and her favorite book.

Why Does Holly Compare the Memory Prison and Henry to A Wrinkle In Time? What Does it Mean for Max and Holly?

Henry chose the name Mr. Whatsit, inspired by Holly’s beloved book, to disguise what he was really up to. Mrs. Whatsit is a powerful, kind creature who battles for good.

Now that Holly understands what really happened, she sees Henry in a completely new light. She described the memory prison she and Max are stuck in on Stranger Things 5 as similar to the dark and unsettling planet Camazotz from A Wrinkle in Time. She also pointed out that Max reminds her of the missing father in the book, and Henry is like the villainous IT.

IT is a powerful, brain-like being that controls Camazotz using its mind. However, IT is being manipulated by a sinister, shadowy force known as the Black Thing, which aims to extinguish light and goodness throughout the universe.

Ultimately, Meg rescues her father, friend, brother, and herself. Let’s hope Holly and Max can achieve the same in the fifth season of Stranger Things.

Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix.

Mikey Walsh writes for TopMob and is a big fan of the band Weezer – he’d even use their song “In the Garage Playing” as an escape route from a scary situation! You can find him on Bluesky at @burgermike, and he’s always interested in discussions about ranking the Targaryen kings.

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2025-11-27 11:35