Stranger Things was originally going to kill off Max for good
The Duffer Brothers say Max's Volume 2 fate will have “a major effect on [season] five.”

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Sadie Sink as Max in Stranger Things Screenshot: Netflix/YouTube
Stranger Things has always had a body count, but Millie Bobby Brown has accused the Duffer Brothers of being “sensitive Sallies” for not axing anyone from the main cast. While it’s true that our heroes from Hawkins have survived an improbable amount of supernatural disasters (like the Hopper explosion-to-Russian-prison fake out), they haven’t exactly been living in comfort and safety, either!