Summary
- Max Mayfield embraces the unknown and constantly questions her surroundings, making her a refreshing character in Stranger Things.
- Max forms a close bond with Lucas and acknowledges her enjoyment in spending time with him, showcasing the development of their relationship.
- Max's sarcastic remarks and witty comebacks make her a humorous and memorable character in the series.
Introduced in season 2, Max Mayfield quickly became one of Stranger Things' best characters, and she delivers some of the show's best quotes. Stranger Things centers on a group of preteens and teenagers in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana who must band together to fight monsters after an alternate dimension called the Upside Down is opened. While the premise is pure sci-fi horror, the likable Stranger Things main characters all experience teen rites of passage that are universally relatable. Mike Wheeler and the original Party all feel like outcasts, Nancy experiences slut-shaming, and Max starts the show as the new kid.
When Max arrives in Hawkins, she has a chip on her shoulder but this is revealed to be a wall built up to protect herself against her stepbrother Billy's abuse. When she allows that wall to come down, she has a sweet romance with Lucas and a close friendship with Eleven. Stranger Things season 4 largely centered on Max, as she is Vecna's target due to her grief over losing Billy. This was one of Stranger Things' most powerful storylines, and many felt Sadie Sink was robbed of an Emmy nomination. But while Sink wasn't awarded, Max Mayfield quotes will forever live on in Stranger Things' fans' minds.
Max Accepts There Are Things She Doesn't Understand
"I'm Just Going To Stop Assuming That I Know Anything."
Max Mayfield discovers a whole strange world when she moves to Hawkins. While her family has plenty of their own problems, she finds herself in the middle of alternate dimensions and monsters, and that pulls most of her focus in the second and third seasons of the show. The more she learns about the Upside Down, the more questions she has.
By Stranger Things season 4, Max isn't quite as self-assured as she was when she first moved to Hawkins, but she's still questioning everything around her. Max is quick to admit that she doesn't actually understand anything when everyone is looking for answers in season 4, and it's refreshing since so many of the members of the Party in Stranger Things jump to conclusions very quickly.
Max Admits She Enjoys Time With Lucas
"And I Like Talking With You, Stalker."
When the boys first learn who Max Mayfield is, Lucas and Dustin are infatuated with her. Max starts teasing Lucas for being her stalker, which becomes her nickname for him. Lucas takes a particular liking to Max and wants Mike to accept her into the Party. He tells her about Stranger Things' sometimes nonsensical Upside Down, and eventually, they get to know each other pretty well between their bouts of banter.
Max comes to like Lucas and appreciates his odd wisdom. They find their own little partnership within the group and spend a lot of time talking. Lucas opens up to her and tells her he likes talking to her, which is probably the first time he's spoken about his feelings so vulnerably. She replies that she likes talking with him, too.
Max Is Great At Sarcasm
"I Didn't Realize It Was Such An Honor To Go Trick-Or-Treating With You."
Before Max is accepted into the Party, the boys take a vote on whether or not she should be allowed in. Only Lucas and Dustin are really keen on Max's introduction to the Party, though; Mike and Will couldn't care less.
Lucas and Dustin approach Max in the hallway and inform her that she has been invited to go trick-or-treating with them. She responds with sarcasm that they don't pick up on. They assume she'll be grateful for their friendliness. "That's presumptuous of you," she tells them before walking off, really setting the tone for their interactions with Max Mayfield in Stranger Things season 2.
Max Scares The Party
"You Guys Should've Seen Your Faces!"
Max Mayfield's introduction to the Party in Stranger Things is an iconic moment in the series. At first, she rejects the boys' advances after they're awed by her Dig Dug high score. Later, Dustin and Lucas invite her to go trick-or-treating with them, but she seems more offended by the offer than grateful.
Still, Max shows up on the streets that night. She frightens the boys when she leaps out of the shadows, masked and brandishing a fake knife. Lucas screams — according to Max, like a little girl — and Max laughs at their reactions. It's the first time she genuinely tries to bond with the group.
Max Invents Her Own Title For The Party
"I Could Be Your Zoomer."
After being accepted by Dustin, Lucas, and Will, Max is desperate to feel welcomed by Mike, who is by an unspoken agreement the head of the Party. However, he isn't too eager to warm up to her, no matter how hard she tries to be friendly with him.
She tries to convince him of all the ways she could be an asset to the Party, but he refuses to listen. Mike explains everyone's Stranger Things D&D roles: Mike is the Paladin, Will the Cleric, Dustin the Bard, Lucas the Ranger, and Eleven the Mage. Max decides to invent a role of her own: "I'll be your Zoomer," she offers, showing off her skateboarding skills. It might not be a term that Mike recognizes, but it's one that demonstrates how unique Max Mayfield is compared to the four boys.
Max Explains Relationships To Eleven
"Yeah, Well, Boyfriends Lie. All The Time."
The most important rule in the Party is that friends don't lie, which is a philosophy Eleven takes this to heart. She uses this rule to defend Mike in Stranger Things season 3 when he's clearly lying to her. She doesn't know why he's lying, but she doesn't care, and Max encourages her to dump him.
Eleven doesn't think that Mike would lie, and she asks Max what she thinks of the situation. She explains that boyfriends lie all the time, an opinion based on her experience with Lucas. Lucas and Max seem to be broken up more often than they're together, and that almost seems to be the route Eleven and Mike will take until their figure things out.
Max Gives Lucas A Meta-Review
"I Just Felt It Was A Little Derivative In Parts."
Max begs Lucas to tell her the truth about the Party's history and Will's strange behavior in Stranger Things season 2. Finally, without asking permission from the other Party members, Lucas tells Max everything about the Upside Down, Eleven, and Will's disappearance.
Suffice to say, Max doesn't believe him. In fact, her harsh comments on his "story" reflect criticisms Stranger Things itself has received. "I mean, I had a few issues. I just felt it was a little derivative in parts. I just wish it had a little more originality, is all." It's one of the few meta moments in the series.
Max's Title Is Vindicated
"Told You. Zoomer."
Max Mayfield proves her reputation as a Zoomer when she takes over Billy's car and drives the boys, Steve included, to the entrance of the Upside Down. In one of Steve's most sympathetic Stranger Things moments, he is severely beaten up after an encounter with Billy, and Max is fired up after getting her brother to leave her and her friends alone.
Max obviously doesn't have a driver's license, but she's the Zoomer, so she's the only logical choice to drive in her mind. Steve wakes up after being knocked out and almost faints again at the sight of a child driving a car. He's also delirious, so the scene is one of the funniest in the season, and gets referenced in season 4 as she offers to drive, but Steve proclaims she's never allowed to drive again.
Max's Trauma Puts A Wedge In Her Relationships
"There Are Some Things Worse Than Ghosts."
When the group speculates about the possibility that Hawkins is haunted in Stranger Things season 4, they're open to that possibility but are also ready to take on yet another monster from the Upside Down instead. Max is the one to mention that ghosts aren't the worst thing to worry about.
Max, after all, has been living with the metaphorical ghost of Billy since he sacrificed himself to the Mind Flayer. That particular ghost keeps her cut off from her friends as she refuses to deal with her feelings about what happened and shuts all of her friends out.
Max Opens Eleven's Eyes To Female Friendship
"There's More To Life Than Stupid Boys, You Know."
Max and Eleven's Stranger Things friendship is one of the best things about season 3. At first, both girls are wary of each other, especially after their introduction in season 2.
Eleven doesn't know what it's like to have a female friend, and she's only just gotten used to the idea of people caring about her at all. Having spent so much time only around boys, she's grateful to have a friend like Max, who also seems to be experiencing female friendship for the first time. Max Mayfield opens up Eleven's eyes and shows her that there's more to life than Hopper and Mike.
Max Encourages Eleven To Be Independent
"We Make Our Own Rules."
Eleven and Max start spending more and more time together after they both break up with their boyfriends. Max takes her shopping, helps her pick out clothes, and introduces her to Wonder Woman.
When Eleven tries to defend Mike for lying to her, Eleven's ideas surrounding friendship are shaken. She used to believe that friends don't lie to each other, but if boyfriends can lie, then the dynamic of the Party can now be shifted. Max tells Eleven that the two of them can make their own rules. They don't always have to listen to the boys.
Max Encourages Eleven To Be Herself
"You Just Try Things On Until You Find Something That Feels Like You. Not Hopper, Not Mike - You."
The defining quality of Max Mayfield and Eleven's friendship is that they can be totally themselves. It's just them, and they don't have anyone else judging them or making them feel like outsiders. Max also helps Eleven discover her own identity.
Eleven is new to society, having spent most of her childhood in the lab, and now she is free to be her own person. Max encourages her to decide who she wants to be regardless of what her boyfriend or Hopper thinks or tells her. After wearing Hopper's old flannels for so long, Max takes Eleven shopping in one of their best scenes so she can create her own look, which symbolizes her search for identity.
Max Tries To Be Brave When Faced With Imminent Death
"I told you, I'm fine. Okay? I mean, as fine as someone who's hurtling towards a gruesome death can be."
It's a scary moment when Max realizes that Vecna plans to kill her. But even though she's surrounded by friends, she chooses to put on a brave face. Instead of sharing her fears, she writes letters in the event of her death and though she plans to fight, she prepares herself to accept her fate. It's a grim situation that would nobody should have to experience, especially a young teenager.
But other than Eleven, Lucas knows Max best and he can see that she's terrified and pushing everyone away. And while Max is realistic that death at the hands of Vecna will not be pretty, she still keeps her walls up. As much as Max Mayfield has formed close bonds with her Hawkins friends, she still comes from a miserable family life and as a result, she's scared to be vulnerable.
Max Puts Faith In Her Friends
"Whatever it is, whatever you do... try not to miss."
Max Mayfield may be scared of sharing her feelings, but she's certainly willing to put herself in harm's way when it comes to saving her friends and the people of Hawkins. After Vecna kidnaps Nancy to give her a message before sending her back, the Party discusses a strategy on how to defeat him. Max suggests offering up herself as bait to distract Vecna so the others can kill him.
Max isn't doing this because she has a death wish; she's doing it because she truly has faith in her friends that they can defeat this Stranger Things monster. It not only speaks to how formidable the Party is as heroes of their town but also to how much Max has learned to trust without even realizing it.
Max Wants To Live
"I don't wanna die. I'm not ready."
The Stranger Things season 4 ending finds Max Mayfield and Vecna facing off, and while she and the Party may have incapacitated the villain, it comes at a cost, which is Max ending up in a coma. But before she falls into it, she passionately confesses to Lucas that she doesn't want to die.
Throughout the entire season, Max has been pushing people away, especially Lucas. She's been through the wringer in terms of grief and being targeted by Vecna, but she remained stoic to everyone around her. In her last conscious moments, she's finally able to bare her soul to Lucas, who's been begging her to let her in. This only makes her fate more heartbreaking, and raises the big question of how (or if) Max will return in Stranger Things season 5.