Sadie Sink is feeling the weight of saying farewell to Stranger Things, the Netflix series that catapulted her into stardom. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, Jan. 30, the 22-year-old actress opened up about the emotional challenges of wrapping up her role as Max Mayfield after four seasons of the hit show.
“It was really hard, really difficult to say goodbye,” Sink admitted to Fallon. “I think it’s been 10 years for the whole show. We grew up on it, we grew up with each other, and our audience grew up watching us… it’s hard to explain, but it’s a lot of emotions.”
For Sink, the end of Stranger Things marks more than just the conclusion of a TV series—it represents a significant chapter of her life. She joined the show in its second season as Max, a skateboarding teen who quickly became a fan favorite. Over the course of four seasons, viewers watched Max evolve, and Sink’s own personal growth mirrored her character’s journey.
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The bittersweet farewell extends beyond just the cast and crew. As Sink noted, both the actors and the audience grew up alongside the show. The bond with her co-stars, like Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, and Caleb McLaughlin, has been deeply impactful, and the memories forged on set are ones that Sink will carry with her.
When Fallon asked if she kept anything from the set, Sink confirmed that she had taken home several memorable items from her time as Max. “I took a lot,” she said, smiling. “Well, just like the essentials, you know?” She went on to list some of the iconic items she took from the set, including Max’s skateboard, which she described as a “gift” from the production. “I needed Max’s skateboard,” she continued, “that was actually gifted to me, the skateboard, cool. I’ve got some Walkmans, some Kate Bush cassettes, and some Vans shoes—like, every shoe that she’s worn.”
Though Sink was lighthearted about the growing collection, joking that her home was becoming “a little museum” of Stranger Things memorabilia, she added with a laugh that she would need to “be careful” because her space was beginning to get crowded with keepsakes from the show.
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Stranger Things fans, meanwhile, are anxiously awaiting the fifth and final season, although no official release date has been confirmed yet. Plot details for the final season remain under wraps, but it’s expected to pick up with the Hawkins crew facing off against the malevolent Vecna in a final showdown. The Upside Down, which has already invaded their town, promises to be a major threat, and fans are hoping for an epic conclusion to the story.
Show creators Matt and Ross Duffer have been teasing the endgame of Stranger Things in recent interviews. The brothers revealed that the emotional weight of the series’ conclusion even moved Netflix executives to tears when they pitched the story arc. “We do have an outline for Season 5, and we pitched it to Netflix, and they really responded well to it,” Ross Duffer told The Wrap. “I mean, it was hard. It’s the end of the story. I saw executives crying who I’ve never seen cry before, and it was wild.”
The anticipation for the final season of Stranger Things continues to build, with fans eager to see how the characters’ journeys will culminate. Sink’s personal attachment to the show, combined with the deep emotional connection fans share with the series, underscores the significance of the upcoming finale.
While the exact release date for Season 5 remains a mystery, fans can continue to stream Seasons 1 through 4 of Stranger Things on Netflix, reliving the thrilling moments that made the show a cultural phenomenon. As the cast prepares for the end of an era, the memories and items collected from the set will undoubtedly remain treasured mementos for Sink and her co-stars for years to come.
