Yes, Max is alive but her consciousness is trapped inside Vecna's (Henry Creel's) mindscape, existing within his memories, even though her physical body is comatose in the real world after Vecna's attack. She's not gone, but rather held prisoner in a world of his memories, a "mind prison," from which she tries to escape, as shown in Stranger Things 5, interacting with other trapped souls like Holly Wheeler.
However, Vecna overpowered Eleven, and began killing Max. Due to the actions of Eleven, Nancy, Steve, and Robin, Max initially survived the attack, though she was blinded and her limbs were broken, but she eventually succumbed to her injures.
Yes, according to the show's creators, Mike did realize that Will's "crush" in his coming-out speech referred to him, even though it wasn't explicitly stated in dialogue; his reaction shots and subsequent apology scene were designed to show he understood the depth of Will's feelings, though the payoff for their storyline was minimal in the finale.
Luckily, it gave Max enough time to make it out alive. However, she did have to leave Holly behind who had to find her own way back to the real world as each person is only able to escape via their own respective portals.
There's no single "saddest" death, as it's subjective, but Eddie Munson, Bob Newby, and Alexei (Smirnoff) are consistently cited as the most heartbreaking due to their heroism, innocence, or tragic circumstances, with fans often debating Eddie's heroic sacrifice vs. Bob's pure-hearted loss or Alexei's joyful demise. Other significant sad deaths include Barb Holland, the first major character loss, and Billy Hargrove's complex redemption.
Before they embark into the Upside Down, Will comes out as gay to his family and close friends, explaining that Vecna showed him visions of his failed and distant relationships with his loved ones after they learnt the truth.
Dr. Martin Brenner and the Hawkins National Laboratory faked Will Byers' death in Stranger Things Season 1 to cover up their involvement in his disappearance and the existence of the Upside Down, creating a dummy body (rubber with stuffing) and having state police plant it in the quarry to mislead the town, according to. Chief Hopper discovered the cover-up when he found the body was a fake, realizing the lab was involved.
Billy Hargrove and Max Mayfield from Stranger Things are step-siblings. Billy is Max's stepbrother, a relationship that came about when Billy's father, Neil Hargrove, married Max's mother, Susan Hargrove. This makes them a part of the same family, despite not being related by blood.
Max Isn't Blind, But She's Not Completely Healed Either. It's not yet clear if Vecna's curse has done permanent damage to Max. When she first wakes up, Max can't see well or really move her muscles. As Vickie explains, that's to be expected since Max was in a curse-coma-trance for so many months.
The Mind Flayer repeated the same process on a larger and more complex scale with human beings, possessing Billy Hargrove and others; these possessed humans came to be known as "the Flayed". They were led by Billy and Heather Holloway, and had their minds hijacked by the Upside Down's hive mind.
Eventually, she finally told him after the guilt was building up inside of her. Mike then storms out of the apartment and heads to Logan's condo to beat him up. Logan then tells him that she didn't just like the kiss, she loved it. Mike then ended things with Rachel, but they eventually reconciled.
Eleven's primary love interest in Stranger Things is Mike Wheeler, with their relationship evolving from a deep friendship to a romantic bond, often called "Mileven" by fans, marked by mutual support, shared trauma, and declarations of love, though their dynamic faces challenges like distance and insecurities about losing each other.
It's that Will had become like a stranger to him and he didn't feel comfortable hugging him like he still knew him that well, in my opinion. That's why it was awkward from his POV. So no, he wasn't excited to see this new version of Will, I guess. But he made it clear that he had missed him when he spoke to him later.
When it was revealed that Billy had accidentally killed Susie, he arranged it to take the fall and be framed for Susie's murder and Tori's kidnapping. Billy was then led into a forest and beheaded by Dean at his own request.
Maxine Russo was an alter-ego of Max Russo that was created when Alex and Justin crossed spells and accidentally transformed him into a little girl. The cover-up story the Russos came up with to explain Maxine's existence is that Maxine is their cousin from North Dakota.
Yes, Max does wake up in Stranger Things Season 5, specifically in the latter part of the season (Volume 2, Episode 7), after being in a coma since the Season 4 finale; her consciousness, guided by music and her friends, finally returns to her body from Vecna's mindscape, leading to an emotional reunion with Lucas.
10 Most Heartbreaking 'Stranger Things' Deaths That Still Have Fans Crying—From Eleven to Eddie
Helen knew Max would never put her first. She had doubts from the moment they got together (“I never should have let you in”) and no matter how hard she tried to push them down, they kept coming back up. Max only wanted to do what was best for HIM.
Yes, Max and Billy from Stranger Things are step-siblings; they are not related by blood, but Billy's father married Max's mother, making them family and creating their complicated, antagonistic dynamic in the series, as noted by the Stranger Things Wiki and Inverse.
Billy Hargrove
Upon remarrying Susan and becoming step-siblings with Max, Neil forced Billy to address Max as his sister instead of step-sister. The abuse Neil endured on Billy resulted in his son secretly taking out his anger on Max.
Yes, Alice Creel is Vecna's (Henry Creel's) older sister in Stranger Things, whom he murdered with his powers when they were children, with her appearance being a parallel to Holly Wheeler, making her a significant figure in his twisted past. She was the daughter of Victor and Virginia Creel, and her death by Henry's hand was a pivotal event that led to his eventual transformation into Vecna.
Internationally, he is known for his roles as Jaqen H'Ghar in the second, fifth and sixth seasons of the TV series Game of Thrones, as well as Sebastian Berger in the TV series Crossing Lines. He also appeared in four episodes of Jack Ryan. He plays Dmitri Antonov / "Enzo" in the fourth season of Stranger Things.
Yes, the Demogorgon did essentially "impregnate" Will in Stranger Things Season 1 by implanting a slug-like larva into him, using his body as a host to grow and produce more creatures for the hive mind, a process that was later revealed to be part of Vecna's larger plan. Will coughed up this larva, which then hatched into a polywog (stage two of the Demogorgon life cycle), demonstrating how the Upside Down creatures reproduce and spread, as seen with Barb Holland as well.
When Nancy is talking with Mrs. Holland on the phone, she tells her a lie about Barb being at the library. Ironically, this would turn out to be true, as her corpse was found in the Upside Down version of the library.
The Duffer Brothers, confirm that in the coming-out scene, Mike realized he was Will Byers' crush. I liked this scene, Will putting his biggest fear — rejection of self — on the line before (most of) the people he cares about.