'Stranger Things' Season 4 Episode 3: Is Max the next victim? Vecna prepares for another lethal attack

Vecna has already taken a couple of lives and things are not looking promising for Max as she suffers from same symptoms as other victims
Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield and Joe Keery as Steve Harrington in 'Stranger Things' Season 4 (Netflix)
Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield and Joe Keery as Steve Harrington in 'Stranger Things' Season 4 (Netflix)

Contains spoilers from 'Stranger Things' Episode 3

Things have started to get weirder in Hawkins because the evil has once again chosen the town to be its victim. In the first episode, we saw Vecna taking Chrissy Cunningham's life and in the second episode, one of Nancy’s friends, Fred, lost his life after the devil from Upside Down decided to wreak havoc. He is slowly and steadily choosing targets that had a troubled past or some memories that made them feel uncomfortable.

The people mentioned above had similar symptoms before their deaths. They both suffered from headaches, they were having nightmares and they were listening to and seeing things that were unexplainable. But the gang was still trying to find out why Vecna was killing them and it led them to the school counselor, Ms. Kelley. If you remember, the earlier episodes, then you’ll realize that Chrissy came out of Kelley’s office feeling nervous and it seems she must have told her about the monster she’s been seeing.

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So, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Max (Sadie Sink), and Steve (Joe Keery) take a ride to Kelley’s house and it’s Max who enters her house in order to get some help. She told Kelley that these murders are literally freaking them out and with what happened with Billy, she is scared that she might be next. So, she wanted to know if Chrissy told her anything about anything that could help her. Kelley didn’t tell anything to Max because she can’t share confidential information with anyone else.

Sadie Sink as Max in 'Stranger Things' Season 4 (Netflix)

Max asked her if she can use the bathroom and while going to the bathroom, she saw the keys to her schoolroom on the kitchen shelf and took them. After exiting Kelley’s house, they went straight to her room at school and went through the files of Chrissy and Fred. Max saw that they had symptoms like severe headaches, nosebleeds, and constant nightmares.

Max realized that she was experiencing the same symptoms as well. But most importantly, it’s the past trauma they all have endured in their lives that have made them soft targets. In Max’s instance, it’s the death of Billy that has made her a bit sour toward life and her loved ones.

Vecna in a still from 'Stranger Things' Season 4 (Netflix)

While reading the file, she suddenly hears an unrecognizable voice calling her name and it’s none other than Vecna. Max follows the voice in the school’s hallway and sees a big clock hanging on the wall. It’s the same clock that Chrissy saw before her death and as soon as she approaches the clock, we hear Vecna calling Max’s name again, confirming that Vecna’s next victim is indeed Max.

It’ll be really hard to beat Vecna without Eleven, and Max has already made peace with her fate. However, her friends won’t let Vecna take her so easily, they will do everything and anything to save her from the monster. Let’s see if they are able to save her from Vecna’s wrath or not.

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