‘Stranger Things 5’ Star Caleb McLaughlin On That Emotional Scene With [SPOILER]Upside Down Mythology & More From Vol. 2

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Stranger Things 5 Vol. 2.

The penultimate episode of Stranger Things 5 offers fans a moment that they’ve been hoping for all season: a reunion between Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Max (Sadie Sink).

At the very end of Episode 6, “Escape from Camazotz,” Max finally manages to make it out of Henry’s mindscape and wakes up from the coma she’s been in for nearly two years in the basement of the hospital, where Lucas had brought her to save her from the Demo dogs that Vecna had sent to kill her. The two share an emotional and vulnerable moment together as Max finds her way back to reality.

“That moment, it almost felt real, because I wasn’t around her for so long,” McLaughlin told Deadline. Besides a few scenes of Lucas at Max’s bedside, this was the first moment they’d shared on-screen all season.

The scene is one of several tear-jerkers in the second volume of episodes, released on Christmas Day. In addition to a whirlwind of emotional sequences, the back half of the season is finally beginning to provide some answers about the Upside Down and the evils that Hawkins has been facing this whole time.

In the interview below, McLaughlin discusses working on these three episodes, including filming that scene with Sink and another equally moving one with Noah Schnapp, and what’s to come as the beloved series comes to an end.

DEADLINE: I hear you’re about to go watch the finale with your castmates. How are you feeling about that?

CALEB MCLAUGHLIN: I have a lot of anxiety and mixed emotions going into it. I think I’ve been, not uneasy, but I’m happy…but then now it’s the last content I will see of the show. So it’s a weird feeling. Not gonna lie, honestly, I’m like, I want to see it, but I wish it was two weeks ago to where I had more time for the anticipation of it all. But now it’s almost two hours into that moment, and it’s crazy.

DEADLINE: Do you think you’ve made peace with the show ending?

MCLAUGHLIN: I think I’ve definitely made peace with the show ending. I believe all great things come to an end, and to cherish the moment is for it to end. I think the story has done so well throughout the years, and it’s gonna go down in history as a classic, a show that people loved. I’m just happy. I’m happy to be a part of the legacy. So I’m happy to put this in a nice safe as one of the great things that I’ve done and move on to the next.

DEADLINE: There is much to discuss from these episodes, but first I wanted to ask you about working with Sadie again on that emotional scene at the beginning of Episode 7 when Max and Lucas are finally reunited.

MCLAUGHLIN: I mean, even her being in the coma in Episode 2, I guess she was still there, but last year, we rarely saw her. That moment, it almost felt real, because I wasn’t around her for so long. You miss your friend when you’re on set. You miss the camaraderie you both have. So I think with that, seeing that emotion that I had [access]to the state of mind that I had to be in, was a different emotion from Season 4, when he was losing her. In this moment, it was more of an emotion of relief and joy…it wasn’t sadness, it was happiness. But then also, at the same time, that feeling of loss, because now everything that he was feeling, he can now have this release.

DEADLINE: Yeah, almost like he could finally let some of his emotions go after feeling like he had to be strong for her and for his friends for so long.

MCLAUGHLIN: Yeah, he was able to be there for her when that happened. Like, ‘I never gave up. I never doubted a moment.’ And also, like, even I felt that he was still trying to hold it in [when she woke up]because he didn’t want to be the one crying. He had to be strong for her.

DEADLINE: After Max wakes up and they rescue the rest of the crew from the Upside Down, the back half of Episode 7 features some of the first scenes with the entire cast together like this in quite some time. How did those moments feel to film?

MCLAUGHLIN: Oh, man, it was hectic. I think every season, we always have that — the beginning, everyone’s around each other, and then we separate to go on our own journeys, and then we come back at the end. Last season, I was kind of not looking forward to those moments, because usually when we go to those moments, we know the show is ending. When you see everyone’s face and you’re having a good time, you start realizing time is going by. You see that the time that you had is no longer going to be there. So it was one of those. It was a lot of fun, because I had a lot of fun last season. It was my favorite time filming, because I got closer to everyone… just because of how big the show’s gotten, just these moments towards the end, is so much bigger than any moment we’ve ever had on the show. So I think that was spectacular.

DEADLINE: Can you tell me a little about filming Noah’s coming out scene? It’s a really emotional scene and one that fans have been anticipating for some time. You all give very emotional and generous performances in that moment.

MCLAUGHLIN: Being on the show for so long, and knowing everyone’s had other ups and downs and, just me being a friend, just wanting to be there and knowing I’ll always be there for a friend, I think that scene was a moment that felt genuine. We would be there for Noah. We would be there for anyone in their hard times and their biggest secret moments where they want to be vulnerable. I think it’s important for stories like that to be told, to have those vulnerable moments. I mean, of course, we were acting, but it was important — even when we weren’t shown, we were there off screen, we [were] there behind the camera…So I think that scene was very special. Noah killed it. His performance was amazing. We had to do it a couple of times, and then we did it on another day as well, and he was able to bring it each time. Being able to be there as his friend, on and off screen, supporting him, especially not even just what the scene is, but just a big moment for an actor to tap into that emotion, I think being there for another actor, being there for a friend is always something that — I would want someone to be there for me. So I was just happy to be there in that moment and see him flourish.

DEADLINE: What was your reaction to learning some of the details about the Upside Down and the mythology you all have been building for five seasons?

MCLAUGHLIN: I think it was a whirlwind. It was a lot of shocking moments. I remember reading it and listening to the Duffers read the script. I was like, ‘Oh, this is good. Oh, yeah. This is how you bring this to a close.’ Sometimes TV shows or movies will create something, they’ll create this world that’s already good, and then make it more [complicated]and then it becomes less meaningful. I think these moments made it more meaningful, and it made it more grounded.

DEADLINE: How was it to watch it and see what it really looked like? Because there’s a lot going on that Lucas doesn’t witness, or that none of the characters do, like the wormhole.

MCLAUGHLIN: I didn’t realize that was a thing until I watched it. There’s so much detail in this next volume, and there’s a lot of things you can miss even while reading, because they don’t explain how it is. It’ll be like a simple sentence, like, ‘we zoom out and there’s this wormhole,’ right? But then when you see it, you understand what they’re explaining. It’s a different perspective. I think that’s what was sick.

DEADLINE: What can you tease about the finale?

MCLAUGHLIN: It’ll be our biggest yet. There will be a lot of range of emotions, but you’ll be satisfied with the story.

DEADLINE: What are you looking forward to post-Stranger Things?

MCLAUGHLIN: I’m excited for the new journey. I think being in the industry, being on the show for so long, there’s things that you’re like, ‘oh, I need to do this. I need to do that.’ It’s been full circle to where I realized I’m already doing it, and I just need to keep doing it and following my heart and knowing who I am, and I’m excited, because I feel like this is only the beginning in life, in my career…future projects next. Literally right after this press tour, I’m going into another press run for this movie I’m doing called Goatan animated movie called Goat. So that’s the first movie I’m doing at the top of the year, so that’s a new beginning, and it’s also a wonderful story about a little goat wanting to be the, no pun intended, greatest of all time. Actually, the pun was intended. But yeah, so I’m excited for the future.