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This article will contain spoilers for Stranger Things 4: Vol 1 (2022)
When the long-awaited Stranger Things 4 Vol. 1 (2022) finally hit Netflix back in May, it smashed viewing records and quickly propelled itself to the front and center of pop culture. The show, which follows a group of misfit kids and their new telekinetic friend fighting supernatural forces from a mirror dimension to their own world called the Upside Down, debuted back in 2016 to rave reviews. It exploded in popularity, and seasons two and three also received widespread praise and hype. After a three-year wait for season four, the anticipation was as massive as the monsters the kids fought. Volume one, or the first seven episodes, of season four, gave viewers a new villain, more horror elements, and some great character arcs for our beloved heroes.
Max Mayfield had one such character arc. Originally introduced back in season two, Max’s sarcasm, skateboarding skills, and sweet, budding romance with Lucas Sinclair won the hearts of Stranger Things fans everywhere. In season four, however, Max finds herself fighting something a lot harder to deal with than a Demogorgen or Mind Flayer — her own mental health. This ongoing battle culminates in her triumphant victory over Vecna in episode four, “Dear Billy,” by running back to reality and out of the Upside Down — but also by facing her own depression and grief head-on. Max escaping the Upside Down and Vecna’s clutches is more than an exciting action scene; it’s a poignant metaphor for depression and finding the light even in the darkest time.
The Backstory
Max struggles with both grief and depression throughout Volume 1 of Stranger Things 4 due to the gruesome death of her stepbrother Billy back in Stranger Things 3. Depression is hard enough to deal with on an everyday basis. Throw in an other-dimensional creature who preys upon grieving and sad teens, and it becomes a whole new nightmare for Max. Vecna, the creature, haunts his victims for days by giving them nightmares, headaches, and terrifying visions before finally claiming them by breaking their limbs and bursting their eyes right out of their skulls. At the end of episode three, it’s clear Max shares physical and mental symptoms with Vecna’s easy victims — and she’s got one day left before he comes for her.
“Dear Billy” immediately follows, and it sets the stage for an inevitable showdown between Max and the monster. Vecna may not be the perfect metaphor for what she’s going through, but it’s important to note that he goes after those specifically struggling with mental health. Max, not any of her friends, is the one being targeted. Her character arc in season four lies in her battles with grief and depression, and even after “Dear Billy,” this arc isn’t immediately swept under the rug. Her depression doesn’t magically go away. Let’s examine how episode four examines Max’s mental health and delivers one of the strongest scenes in the history of Stranger Things.
Max’s Crumbling Mental Health
Max’s deteriorating mental well-being isn’t brushed over or merely told to the audience. We see her symptoms on full display. She’s withdrawn from her friends, she’s broken up with her boyfriend Lucas, her grades have slipped, and she’s nearly always alone due to her mom working two jobs and sleeping when she is home. The fiery, sarcastic girl from the show’s previous seasons is nearly gone, wrapped in layers of hurt and sadness. She’s clearly exhibiting symptoms of depression, and even talks with her school’s counselor aren’t helping her. Max’s depression and grief stay with her all throughout the season. They may not stop her from helping the group when the mystery gets underway, but they do dominate her everyday life.
Another huge indicator of her depression comes when the day Vecna is supposed to claim her, she writes letters to all her friends and her mother. It’s a clear stand-in for suicide notes, as she’s written her final goodbyes and has seemingly accepted that she won’t live to see tomorrow. Max wants all her friends to have something to remember her by, and she insists they can’t read them until she’s actually gone. When Lucas tells her that he doesn’t want a letter, but for her to talk to him, she still brushes him off and continues her pattern of pushing those away who care about her most. Max’s mental health is at an all-time low, but it’s clear through her tense, anxious body language (largely due to the stellar performance by Sadie Sink), that Max doesn’t want to die or face Vecna. Her hard exterior is much flimsier than even she believes. Even with how hard her life has become for her to deal with, she isn’t ready to say goodbye to it.
Max Ran Up That Hill — And Won
The episode culminates with a scene at the graveyard, where Max reads a letter she wrote for her dead stepbrother at his grave. The words on the page reveal a lot about how she got to the low mental point she’s at. She feels immense guilt for not attempting to try and save him before he died, even though she admits how broken their relationship truly was. She even says a part of her died the day he did. That’s a lot of weight to carry for anyone, much less a fourteen-year-old. After she finishes pouring her heart out, the graveyard becomes washed in darkness and shadow, and after a ghostly Billy terrorizes and chides her, he transforms into Vecna.
Right as Max is on the cusp of death, she’s bombarded by flashbacks of her happiest moments: flirting with Lucas, shopping with Eleven, and making her new friends in Hawkins. She sees how much she has to live for, how much her friends love her, and above all, how she needs and wants to keep living. When the flashbacks cease, Max slices Venca’s throat and, with the help of her favorite song, ‘Running Up That Hill’ blasting in the background, she runs towards the light, towards her friends, and towards a life she genuinely wants to keep living.
Both the memories with her friends and the music she loves pull her back to reality, showing how powerful they both can be when it comes to dealing with mental health. When you have a strong support system, you can get the help and love you need to take steps towards healing. Max finally sees this when her levitating body falls back to Earth and she and Lucas embrace and hold on to each other, her other friends surrounding her and letting out sighs of relief. She’s not alone, and she never has been. Mental health is a lifelong war, and while Max won one battle with it, she showed audiences that every victory is important.
Struggling with depression, grief, and other mental illnesses and conditions is nothing to be ashamed of. According to the World Health Organization, 3.8% of the entire planet has depression. While it’s becoming less stigmatized in the twenty-first century, mental health wasn’t as widely discussed in the 1980s as it is today. That doesn’t mean those dealing with depression and other mental illnesses didn’t exist — of course, they did, just like in any other decade.
Grief Is Not One Size Fits All
A large portion of Max’s grief lies in the fact that she isn’t all that sad Billy is now out of her life for good. He was verbally and physically abusive towards her, treated her boyfriend Lucas horrifically, and was overall a racist, abusive real-world monster. He went out of his way to hurt her and the people she cares about. Dear Billy shows that it’s okay to not forgive your abuser and that even when they pass away, the damage they inflicted on you doesn’t disappear. Max finally being able to tell him what she’s been wanting to say provides her with some much-needed catharsis. Stranger Things gives one of its female characters the space she needs to work through her depression and grief — and she isn’t villainized because of it.
‘Dear Billy’ tackles Max’s mental health in a compassionate, thoughtful way. It’s got action and suspense, but above all, it’s got immense heart, something the show has managed to retain across all four of its seasons. The audience wants Max to survive and make it out to the other side. While the season four finale leaves Max in a horrific position, episode four remains a strong examination of her mental health — and gives the audience hope that she’ll once again prevail against the odds, mentally and physically.
