Sadie Sink, who plays Max in mysterious new girl Max Mayfield. Quickly ing the ranks of Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and El, Max became a core member of the Hawkins family for the remaining seasons. Outside of the series, Sink has appeared in Netflix horror anthology Fear Street as well as the recent video for Taylor Swift’s All Too Well.
Max has formed strong bonds with her fellow brave heroes over the last three seasons, including a romance with Lucas and a rocky relationship with her older brother, Billy. In Stranger Things season 3, Max formed a closer friendship with Eleven as the latter became more adjusted to the regular habits of a teenage girl in the '80s. The two teen friends became quite a formidable pair, but in the new, ongoing season 4, they've been kept entirely apart. With several huge stories happening concurrently in Stranger Things season 4, Max and El have had separate adventures in different states, with Max discovering her connection to the demon Vecna while El struggles with bullies in her new town.
Speaking to Variety, Sink opens up about her character’s absent friendship. Having loved how things developed between them in season 3, she describes El's departure as a lot more impactful for Max than viewers might expect. As virtually her only female friend, having Brown's character there to open up to might've helped her work through her grief, and Sink thinks Eleven could've used Max's help in California, too. Check out the full interview quote below:
Yeah! I think what was so wonderful about Max and Eleven’s relationship from Season 3 is that Eleven is obviously unlike most girls that you see. Max is also unlike lot of girls that you see, so they kind of found each other and they just worked really well together. I like to think it was one of the first female friendships that Max has ever really had. So for that to kind of disappear, I think was just really awful timing. Max could have benefited from having someone like Eleven, who she probably would have felt comfortable opening up to. Eleven probably would have benefited from having Max while she’s navigating this new environment and bullies in her world. Having someone like that to push her through it would have helped. They both could have helped each other a lot.
Max has a key role to play in Stranger Things season 4, becoming one of the most important of the gang in their battle against Vecna. Sink has recently said she doesn’t want to know how Max’s season 5 story will end, preferring to be surprised when she first reads the scripts. She’s also opened up about that viral Kate Bush song, which has been integral to Max’s survival in season 4, revealing that she really did play it on loop on set for the ultimate experience.
Stranger Things’ biggest strength has always been the emotional core at its center, in the form of the relatable, loveable characters. With ever-evolving friendships, it becomes even more significant when characters like Max and El are kept apart. With the Stranger Things season 4 volume 2, two more episodes of the hit new season are on the way, there’s a chance the two can reunite as they battle ultimate evil together. Until then, the two have separate demons to face.
Source: Variety