Max and Vecna’s showdown at Rocks in Dreams

Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1.

Good news for Stranger Things fans as the first batch of Season 5 episodes is released. Sadie Sink’s comatose Max Mayfield is still able to talk, run, and interact with other characters. Bad news: She’s doing all of that in Vecna’s mind. There, she is trapped in a 1950s version of Hawkins for over a year while her body is still in a coma at the hospital.

Max rejoins the Battle of Hawkins in Episode 4, where he reveals to Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) what he was doing while his mind was trapped in the dream world of Vecna/Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower). Holly is there too. Max is going to do everything in his power to get them out of this place. Holly calls this place the fictional land of Camazotz from A Wrinkle in Time. But that’s easier said than done, given Max’s previous attempts, which have so far been thwarted.

Here, Sink breaks down Max’s storyline in Stranger Things 5 ​​Volume 1, explains how things will go when the remaining episodes drop next month, and why Vecna ​​is so scared of those rocks.

What was it like filming Max’s current Season 5 storyline, which takes place inside Vecna/Henry Creel’s mind? Were you worried at first that there wouldn’t be much to do this season because Max is in a coma?

It’s not that I’m nervous, I’m just curious to see what they planned to do with Max, considering they put their relationship on hold in season 4. But I knew if they were keeping her around, there was a reason for it. If she was of no use, they would have just killed her. So I knew something was in store for her. I really liked seeing her in a completely foreign environment to everything we’ve seen her in before. Although I missed my friends, I still had a lot of fun working with Nell and Jamie.

So far this season, we’ve spent a lot of time with new actress Nell Fisher, who plays Holly Wheeler, and Holly and Max are both trapped in Vecna’s dream world. Where will that relationship go in the remaining episodes, including the one titled “Escape from Camazotz”?

It’s a really interesting dynamic that we get to explore a lot this season, and I’m excited for you to see. As we’ve seen, Nell Fisher is a wonderful young actress, so I definitely learned a lot from her. And I think the dynamic between her and Max evolves over the rest of the episodes and they learn from each other. And we’ll see where it (the Camazotz storyline) goes. But it was a truly heartwarming story to be a part of this year.

What was it like filming the scene where Max nearly comes out of a coma while Lucas plays “Running Up That Hill”?

In Episode 4, the whole sequence, the flashbacks and everything else, took the longest to shoot. Throughout the year that Season 5 took, we were constantly bringing it up. I mean, that sequence wasn’t completed until the last month of filming, and it was also the first thing I shot that season. That’s exactly how I felt disoriented.

Tired of “Running Up That Hill” at this point?

Not really, to be honest. I think that speaks to this song. It’s truly timeless and I never tire of this song. Even after listening to it millions of times, it still evokes every emotion.

You were in “John Proctor is the Villain” on Broadway, and the theater across the street was showing the “Stranger Things” prequel, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.” Did you have a chance to go see the play and notice how the details about Vecna ​​and Henry Creel tie into season 5?

I did that. I was able to see it in London, and then in New York, where they were neighbors. But I’m glad I got to see it in London before filming Season 5. Because, as you can see, there are some little Easter eggs. So it was cool to have that knowledge, and then it was also really crazy that we were right across the street.

What was it like playing Max in this 1950s version of Hawkins? She is currently trapped within a version of Hawkins in Vecna’s mind, dream-walking in a coma, adjusting to the period.

It was really really cool. After all, the art direction, costumes, and hair and makeup of “Stranger Things” are just so good. They nailed the 80’s. I mean, I didn’t live in the 80’s, but from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty accurate. It was cool to see them take on the 50s and I thought they did a really great job with that as well. I couldn’t help but think about my connection to this play. I thought that was genius. And that was also the last week of filming, where we shot the hallways (of Hawkins High School in the 1950s).

Why is Max suddenly safe when Vecna ​​walks into a crevice in the rock? There seems to be something about the place that surprises him, which is why she was able to go inside and build a base camp and survive all this time.

Well, I guess we’ll find out soon! That’s a big question, but certainly a very important keynote of this season. No one knows why.

Did you ever fall asleep while filming Max’s coma scene?

Yes, yes, I took a picture. Because we shot all the coma stuff over the course of a day. So in the hospital scene, everyone was moving around me. And different actors would come and go and talk to me or talk in front of me. And we didn’t actually have to move. So I nodded a few times.

At this point, Max’s eye appears to be recovering, at least outwardly, but were we given any explanation before filming whether she was still blind or if she had regained her sight while in a coma?

Yes, there was some explanation for that.

This interview has been edited and condensed.