There have been several intense moments throughout Stranger Things season 5 part 2, with just about every character dealing with an important moment or major conflict. Even with all that competition, there was one moment that delivered a long-awaited return, and now the Stranger Things director Shawn Levy has revealed his thoughts behind the scenes and teased how that return will impact the epic final battle with Vecna.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The return in question takes place at the end of episode 6, Escape From Camazotz, and the beginning of episode 7, The Bridge. Those episodes see the long-awaited return of Max (Sadie Sink) to the land of the living, and in an interview with Variety, Levy teased how Max can affect the final battle with Vecna, even at this late stage of the story.
“One day I’ll never forget filming Season 5 was that first scene after Max comes back to life when she is on that table in that laundry room. And it took, like, one take for her and Caleb to deliver some of their most beautiful work in any season. Many of us were teary as we watched these beautiful actors do such great work,” Levy said. “I think that Max’s superpower, having returned to life, to the world, is that, as I think we say in the show, she’s been on the other side. She has, in some ways, mapped the target, and can therefore be an essential ally in strategizing how we go at that target, how we go after Vecna.”
Stranger Things’ Shawn Levy Reveals Which Season 4 Episode Connects To Max’s Return
Before Max escapes, she shares an emotionally powerful scene with Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher). Levy explained that, on top of the scene having amazing performances from both stars, it also acted as an echo of the Dear Billy episode from season 4, and you can see the connections as you watch both scenes side by side.
“The end of Episode 6, that was a really memorable day because I was given the privilege of directing a scene that required both actresses to deliver big time and with tremendous emotional weight. The writing was excellent. The actors, Nell and Sadie, stepped up so impressively, but it had this added layer of meaning for Sadie and I, because Episode 6 of Season 5 is in some ways an echo of our “Dear Billy” episode [Episode 4, Season 4] that Sadie and I are sort of connected for life in from Season 4,” Levy said. “A similar red void, a similar epic run using both real speed and slow motion, and set against, no coincidence here, a new orchestration of Running Up That Hill.”
‘It’s certainly a sequence that I’ll cherish forever, because it served as a bookend to “Dear Billy” in many ways, and it allowed Sadie and I to revisit that sequence from the end of “Dear Billy’ that we will carry with us forever. Because even if we wanted to leave it behind, audiences around the world remind us of that sequence pretty much every day of our lives,” Levy said. “So the design of this abstract red void with these extraordinary, odd, otherworldly structures, but with a glimpse of the world that is on the other side, the aspirational yearning that Max has carried with her is manifested. And when she looks through that cloudy portal and sees herself with Lucas next to her, still holding vigil, it was such an emotional premise for a scene, and I think it’s clear that it resonated emotionally for Sadie and all of us who were part of that sequence.”
Stranger Things Season 5 Parts 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix. The series finale will stream on Netflix on New Year’s Eve.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Netflix -
a PlayStation 2 console and controller over a field of game box art.
