Does Max's Coma Finally Come to an End in 'Stranger Things' Season 5? SPOILERS!

Netflix has done all it can to make an event out of the final season of Stranger Things. The show is being released in three separate batches, with the second dropping on Christmas Day. These new episodes have tons of questions to answer about the fate of all of our central characters, but among the questions people are most curious about is whether Max Mayfield, who has been in a coma since the end of season 4, wakes up in the new episodes.

Max, who has been a fan favorite ever since her introduction, may be key to the final episodes of Stranger Things. Here's what we know about her fate.

As we learned in the first batch of Season 5 episodes, Max's mind has been trapped in a loop of Henry's memories while her body sits lifeless in a hospital bed. With some help from Holly Wheeler and, of course, Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill," Max finally escapes from that prison during these new episodes.

Max woke up just in time, too, as demogorgons were descending on the hospital to kill both her and Lucas.

Max's escape occurs in Episode 6, "Escape from Camazots," where Max and Holly venture through several of Henry's memories, including one from his childhood that's particularly horrifying. That memory gives them an opening to re-enter Vecna's red lair, where Max's portal remains open because Lucas is by her side and has been playing "Running Up That Hill" on a loop to make sure she can escape.

Unfortunately, when they get to the red lair, Max realizes that she won't be able to take Holly with her. Max's portal leads to her body, and Holly's body isn't even in Hawkins. As a result, a separate portal will need to be opened that reconnects Holly to her body.

Holly manages to make that escape, realizing that her body is in the Abyss with the other children Vecna has kidnapped.

After making her own escape, though, Holly winds up sucked back into the Abyss and is unable to convince the other children that they're in danger. For now, then, Max is safe, and Holly is very much still in danger, but Max has information that will be super useful in getting Holly and the rest of the children Vecna kidnapped to safety.

We don't know what role Max might have to play in the finale, but given how important she is to many fans of the series, it seems fair to suggest that she'll have some important role to play. Unfortunately, Max is physically limited by her years in a coma, but fighting doesn't always have to be physical.

The series finale of Stranger Things is set to drop on New Year's Eve, and all will presumably be revealed then. Until, then, though, we know that Max is safe with Lucas, and out of the prison that has defined her life.