Breakout Stranger Things star Sadie Sink addresses an overlooked and as-yet-unanswered mystery from season 4 regarding her character, Max. Netflix's flagship series returned after three years free of Hawkins and its heroic residents to become the platform's most-watched English language series and continue evolving a compelling storyline. Season 4 introduced new plot threads and characters and planted the seeds for the theorized deaths of Steve and others. Vecna's meteoric rise as the series' biggest baddie to date puts the entire cast in danger, already threatening the demise of one popular skater girl.
Max's story in season 4 dramatically veered into a different lane following the death of her brother, Billy, her breakup with Lucas, and the departure of her best friend, Eleven. Billy, in particular, continues to haunt her because Max believes it's her fault that her relative is no longer alive. That specific trauma makes her vulnerable to the nefarious grasp of Vecna, who harnesses his victim's pain and weakens them until they're ripe enough to kill. Before Max's intense faceoff with Vecna in his mind lair, she wrote a series of letters for her friends in case she never made it out, the contents of which are still unknown.
Emily Longeretta from Variety asked Sink about those letters in a new interview and whether or not the actress knows what they contain. Sink states that she does not know but has some personal insights into the character's thoughts. "In my own downtime and daydreaming, I have an idea of what she probably will want to say to each specific person." Sink professes that she wants a scene made where the characters read the letters but also confirms that she is not privy to any season 5 plans. Check out the full quote below:
I don’t! In my own downtime and daydreaming, I have an idea of what she probably will want to say to each specific person. I don’t know anything about what the plans are for Season 5, but I’m dying to know what’s in there. I want to have a scene where the letters are read. I think it’s so typical Max, for her to literally be looking death right in the eye but still, she is unable to tell someone face-to-face, how much they mean to her or have a sincere conversation with someone. The fact that she has to put it into letters and not even be around when when they were read, it was like, yeah, like that adds up. But I would love to see what’s inside of those letters.
The letters may be an overlooked component of episode 4, "Dear Billy," thanks to the virality of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill," but they are still an ongoing mystery. Sink's answer verifies that fans won't discover the scribblings of the letters in the last two episodes of season 4, but that makes their eventual reveal even more impactful for Max's character development. As the actress pointed out, her heroine's trait of keeping her emotions locked up tight justifies the impersonal communication but is something she must overcome.
Sink's ignorance of the letters' contents could imply that even the Duffer Brothers don't know where Max's relationships with the Stranger Things cast will go, but it could also hint at a darker reality. Despite Max's escape from Vecna, her ultimate survival is still unassured, and the letters could still come into play if she dies and unveil surprise confessions. If they remain closed, Max could finally shed her cagey nature and become the strong and forthcoming person she wants to be.
Source: Variety