max escaping vecna was every bit as powerful as eleven using her powers. it was such an incredible and beautiful scene
max has had to be strong her whole life; she’s been through so much and that’s what was expected of her. if she’s not strong, who will be? she was so underrated (both in the fandom and in her group) and i’m sure she felt that she could never quite fit into the group because she got there late and didn’t have superpowers. and then she spent the year after the fourth of july dealing with horrific trauma and guilt, and did so alone- her best friend moved away and she felt like the others couldn’t understand- not to mention max blamed herself. and then she finds out vecna cursed her- “of course”. and max uses her final hours to write out letters to the most important people in her life and all but resigns herself to her fate. i’m sure she thought it would be easy- because no one undervalues max as much as she does herself. i’m sure she thought that really, they would be okay without her, because she pushed them away and it’s “just” her- not el, not will.
but her friends rally around her, refusing to give up, and do everything they can to save her- just like they would for el, for will, and the others because they. are. family. and max is irreplaceable. even nancy and robin, who we hardly see interact w her, do everything they can (breaking laws) to get the information to save max. and when vecna does catch up to her and they know from eddie’s story that this might be it for her, they still refuse to give up on max. i’ve never seen steve so panicked, never seen the boys try so hard to get through to someone (and lucas knowing her favorite song shows how much he loves her, how he never really left her)
and max? she was going through even MORE shattering trauma but she was still so brave. she ran, kept fighting and got into vecna’s mind because even at her lowest, max is a fighter. max mayfield has had to depend on herself for so long, and she kept trying until vecna finally got her. you can see in her eyes how alone she feels, how hopeless, how she’s out of options. and as her worst fears come true, max’s friends’ love and devotion breaks through another dimension because they will never give up on her. 15 feet in the air, they call her and tell her they’re there for her.
max’s eyes change the second she sees them breaking through. she truly sees that she isn’t alone- she sees memories of lucas and dustin welcoming her to hawkins, bonding with mike, dancing with lucas, her day at the mall with el, having fun with her all of her best friends and realizes that all along, they have loved her every bit as much as she loves them. max realizes that she is strong, but that when she needs help, her friends will always be there for her. so max chooses to hope, to fight, to live. she escapes vecna’s control, something no one has done before, and runs. she dodges every obstacle, refusing to give up despite all the odds and everything she’s been through to get back to her friends and her life. and as she escapes, you can see vecna realize- this girl is special.
max overcomes her trauma and an otherworldly demon purely through her own strength and the love of her friends family and there is nothing more powerful.
romaincrisis
prguitarman
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