WARNING! This post contains SPOILERS for Stranger Things season 4.

The tragic Max is still left blind, broken, and comatose heading into Stranger Things season 5.

Max’s story in Stranger Things season 4 begins with the character having distanced herself from her friends after Billy’s death, which included breaking up with her boyfriend Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin). As Lucas encourages Max to open up, feel loved, and be with them in the moment, Stranger Things makes it clear that the two still have romantic feelings for one another. The season 4 finale sees Lucas watch over Max as she’s cursed by Vecna, but before the plan begins, the two share a sweet moment in which Lucas asks her to go to the movies with him on Friday. Max happily responds by drawing a picture of the two at the movie theater, a hopeful image that Lucas later hangs up on the wall of her hospital room.

Related: Max's Horrifying Stranger Things 4 Ending Was The Right Choice

While Lucas and Max in Stranger Things season 5. Additionally, since Hopper and Joyce made it back together in Stranger Things season 4 despite his tragic season 3 ending, Max’s tragic ending suggests the same will happen for her and Lucas in season 5.

How Max Could Wake Up Again In Stranger Things Season 5

Lucas asks Max to go to the movies in Stranger Things

Since Max is in a brain-dead coma, it’s been theorized that her mind still remains with Vecna as one of his trophies. While this makes killing Vecna extremely risky considering it could also kill Max, it seems Vecna would need to somehow release Max’s mind back to her body, perhaps with help from Eleven through the void. Others have suggested that the book that Lucas reads Max, Stephen King’s The Talisman, while she’s in a coma holds a clue to how she’ll be able to wake up in Stranger Things season 5. The book is about a 12-year-old whose mother is dying, with the protagonist traveling to another dimension to retrieve a crystal that can save her life. Of course, Stranger Things’ characters are well-versed in the art of traveling to alternate dimensions, suggesting season 5 will see Lucas lead an expedition into the Upside Down to find Max’s cure.

Even if Max’s mind is miraculously returned to her physical body, it’s unlikely that she’ll heal back to normal. Max’s sight was completely lost even before she died, so if Stranger Things season 5 has Max wake up, she could still be blind thereafter, though should this happen it seems a safe bet that her friends and loved ones - Lucas included - will be there to her. However, if Eleven can jump-start her heart, it’s possible that Max’s best friend could also use her powers to bring back her sight. If Joyce and Hopper’s happy reunion after season 3 has any bearing on the future of Max and Lucas, the tragic Stranger Things season 4 ending seems likely to be turned around in the show's finale.

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