MaxI'm sorry for scaring you. I haven't seen anyone in... a really long time, so... I guess I got excited. [treating Holly's wound] Good news is, it doesn't look that deep. Not enough for stitches. I bet it stings though, huh? [Holly looks nervous] You can talk to me, you know. I won't bite. You do remember me, right? I've been to your house. Like, a lot.
You're Max. [Max nods] Max Mayfield. You skateboard and never take off your Walkman.
Max
That's me.
Max
How am I in here when I'm in a coma in Hawkins General? That's a very reasonable question. [they hear a noise and turn] We should get going. It's not safe here, come on. [they walk through the woods]
Max
My home.
Well, I can't go far. I came here to meet Henry. Do you know Henry?
Max
Yeah, you could say that.
Well, he left me this note. Here, see? And he told me to meet him right here at the X. Right here. I think he's in trouble with the monsters.
Max
Henry is a lot of things, but in trouble with the monsters is not one of them.
No but look, the note says-
Max
Holly I know what the note says.
Then how do you know he's not in trouble?
Max
Holly.
Max
Holly, I know what the note says because Henry didn't write it! I did.
I don't... I don't understand.
Max
I'm sorry. I didn't want to lie. I- I just... I had to make sure that you came here.
You're one of them, aren't you?
Max
One of what?
Max
Do I look like a monster?
Well I don't know. Maybe you're in disguise. You're dressed weird, and you're in a coma.
Max
Okay... Well, would a monster know that your brother tried to get a mohawk until your sister stopped him, saving him from possibly the greatest social humiliation that a freshman has ever experienced at Hawkins High?
What color was this mohawk?
Max
Hot orange. And personally, I think the use of the word "hot" is a bit ironic, but... people say I'm too negative. I just think I'm honest.
[limping towards Max and Holly] Holly!
Max
Come on! [Holly hyperventilates and they try to run through the labyrinth]
[stopping outside of it] Holly, sweetheart. Stop, or I'll hurt her. [Holly freezes] I know you believe Max is your friend. But she has tricked you, Holly. She has corrupted your mind. She is a liar.
No! No, you're the liar! I saw you! I saw what you really are! You're a monster! A disgusting monster!
Holly! If you don't come back with me right now and rejoin the other children, I will have no choice but to hurt Max. I may even have to kill her.
Max
Then why don't you? Huh? I'm right here! Oh, that's right. You're too scared of a stupid cave, you goddamn coward!
Things have changed, Max. There are now other ways to get to you. And Holly? When your new friend begins to suffer, and she will suffer, you can either return to me and end her suffering, or you can watch your new friend die. Her life is in your hands. [leaves]
[Holly and Max reach Max's portal]
Max
Holly, wait. You can't come with me.
What? W-what do you mean?
Max
This way leads to me, to my body. Not yours. You have to find your own way.
How? I don't have Kate Bush. I don't even know who Kate Bush is.
Max
But you don't need Kate Bush to get out of here. Turns out, I don't either. Music isn't the only way back. You just need something that connects you to the real world, to home. Something powerful, meaningful. Lucas, when- when he took my hand, in the hospital. I could feel it, right here. But then I could also feel it in here.
But I don't have a boyfriend.
Max
You don't need a boyfriend. You just need something that's special to you. Something that makes you feel... safe. Something that brings you strength, something that gives you hope.
[reaching for her necklace] Holly the Heroic.
Max
She's here with you now. But she's also with you in the real world. Wherever you are, all you have to do is follow her home.
Max
Just... try and remember what it is that she means to you.
She doesn't mean anything important. She's just a toy.
Max
If she's just a toy, why do you always carry her with you?
Mike. He said that she had divine powers and that she never gets scared, and so if I ever got scared, I could just... become her. But I keep trying, and it never works. No matter what I do, I'm still me. The girl who needs a stupid night-light. When my mom was attacked, I couldn't save her, I couldn't even save myself. I just stood there. And then when Henry attacked you... I stood there again. There's nothing heroic about that.
Max
There was nothing that you could do in those moments, Holly. I mean, you're a Wheeler. You're smart. You honestly think that you could've stopped those monsters with a fire poker? [grins] And I think you're leaving a few important things out. The day that we met, you went into the woods even though Henry told you that dangerous monsters lived there. And then you followed me into the cave even though you had no good reason to trust me. And then when I told you to go back to Henry, to go back into danger, you didn't hesitate. And today, when I gave up, you didn't. [crying] I've been here for so long, Holly. So long. And I could never make it out. But you? You found a way through Camazotz. Because of you... I get to see my friends. I get to see Lucas. You saved me, Holly Wheeler. You saved me. So, you see, Holly the Heroic is not just a toy. She's you, Holly. She's you. [they smile at each other, and a portal opens for Holly, back to Vecna's lair]
How did you know that would work?
Max
I didn't. [chuckles] You still have a long journey ahead. I don't know where you're gonna wake up. But I figure Vecna's holding you in the Upside Down. But remember, the Upside Down, it's just like Hawkins. So find your way back to your house and hide there. We will come and find you, okay? [Holly hugs her. Once they pull apart,] I'll see you on the other side.
[Max slowly opens her eyes]
Yes! That's it! That's it!
Max
[weakly] L-Lucas...
Yes, Max. Come on, Max. It's me. It's me. I'm right here. I'm right here, Max. [crying] Are you... are you... are you okay? Do you... do you hurt anywhere?
Max
[weak] I c-can't feel... much.
Do you... do you feel this? Do you feel my hand? [holds her hand]
Max
A little.
Can you... can you... can you see?
Max
The lights are... are really bright.
VVickie
Hey... you haven't used your eyes, okay, or your muscles for a long time. Okay, your body's just weak, but it just needs to readjust and learn again. [Max cries, as does Lucas] You are going to be okay. You're gonna be okay.
[crying] I knew you were there. I always knew you were still there.
Max
[crying] I saw you. Waiting for me. Playing my... my song.
Max
[shakes her head and chuckles tearfully] Are you? [Lucas nods, and they both laugh and cry, as does Robin] It turns out, that this whole time... I didn't even need it. I just needed you. [Lucas smiles and sobs] Just you. [he hugs her]
I… I… I haven’t told any of you this because… Because I… I don’t… I don’t want you to see me differently. But the truth is… The… The truth is I am. I am different. I just… I just pretended like I wasn’t because… because I didn’t want to be. I wanted to be like everyone else. I wanted to be like my friends and… And I am like you. I’m like you in… in almost every way. We… We like playing D&D late into the night. And we like that old-person smell in Mike’s basement. And we… we like biking to Melvald’s for malted milkshakes. And we like getting lost in the woods, and getting lost in Family Video and arguing about what to rent and settling on Holy Grail for the millionth time. And… And we like Milk Duds in our popcorn with extra butter. And we like drinking Coke with Pop Rocks. And we like bike races and trading comics and NASA and Steve Martin and Lucky Charms and… Literally all the same things. I just… I just… I… I just… I… I… I… I don’t like girls. I mean… I mean I do. Just… Just not like you guys do. And I, uh, I had this… this crush on someone, even though I know… I know they’re not like me. But… But then I realized he’s just my Tammy. And by Tammy, I mean it was never about him. It was… It was about me. And I thought I was finally okay with myself, but… but then today… Today Vecna showed me what would happen if I did this, if I told you guys the truth. He showed me a future, and in this future, some of you are just… are just worried for me. Worried that things will be harder for me. And it just makes me feel like something’s wrong with me. So I… So I push you away. And for the rest of us, we just drift apart more and more and more and more and more until I’m alone. And I know none of that has happened, and Vecna can’t see into the future. But he can see into our minds, and he knows things. And it just felt so real. It felt so real.
Will. You gotta listen to me. That will never ever happen. You’ll never lose me. Ever.
And you’ll never lose me. [goes to hug him]
[everyone eventually lets go of the hug]
Guess you didn’t need truth serum, huh?
Max
Sorry. This sucks, but you’re gonna have to hug me.
Oh, Max. [goes to hug her]
Max
Just imagine I’m hugging you really tight, okay?
Okay. [lets go of hug] El. I know you’re strong enough to defeat Vecna. But he can retreat to the physical world, and we need to be ready to fight him there too. We have bullets and fire, but none of that helped those soldiers. I need to be there. And I’m ready. I’m ready to show him I’m not afraid anymore.
Stranger Things · 156 quotes
