Music evokes strong memories that are both good and bad, so it makes sense that it could open a doorway out of the oppressive alienation of trauma, despair, and guilt that Max found herself in.
That's why, for the fictional character of Max on Stranger Things, her emotional connection to Kate Bush's song was able to save her from Vecna. While for others it may be a different song, in our realm of reality the idea of music as a lifeline is very much a true tale.
If Vecna has you in a trance, listening to your favorite song can help pull you out of it, as we saw when Vecna attacked Max only for her friends to pull her out his trance using the synth-tastic stylings of Kate Bush, specifically her 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God).”
The show's music supervisor, Nora Felder, tells Netflix that her “personal interpretation” of the song, in relation to its connection with Stranger Things, is “how it could capture the emotional disconnection Max feels from her friends.” Adding that Max's “need for 'a deal with God' could represent her desperation for ...
Through the window, Max saw her real body levitating above the cemetery, her friends panicking on the ground below. Bracing herself, Max pulled at a vine in Vecna's neck, causing him to writhe in pain and accidentally release her from the vines' grasp.
Technically, yes. Max begins suffering the gory effects of Vecna's ritual—which include the victim's bones breaking and eyes bleeding—before Eleven taps into her power and blasts the monster away.
Max's friends played the track to her when Vecna tried to kill her after entering into her subconscious. The song offered an escape route for Max, who followed the music and away from the clutches of Venca.
(It is later revealed that Max was clinically dead for more than a minute, but is now in a coma.) The heartbreaking moment when Max's friends think they're losing her is scored by the haunting "When It's Cold I'd Like to Die" by Moby, featuring the heavenly vocals of Mimi Goese.
The song in Eddie and Max death scene on Stranger Things season 4 is When It's Cold I'd Like to Die by Moby.
Max's friends used the song to force her out of a hypnotic state. The track is from Kate Bush's album Hounds of Love which was released in 1985. Throughout season four and up to this point, Max was looking for a way to escape the heartbreak she feels over her brother and this song fits her perfectly.
(All of which have been cited by show creators the Duffer brothers as inspirations for the villain.) But he does have a surprising weakness: music.
Ultimately, it is revealed in Stranger Things season 4's finale that the reason why Vecna was killing Hawkins teenagers was to create a massive gate that merges the Right Side Up with the Upside Down - and he specifically needed four bodies to do so.
If he couldn't physically leave the Upside Down, Vecna needed to use the Mind Flayer to attack Hawkins. He also needed to figure out how strong Eleven's power had gotten since their last face-off. Through Demogorgons and The Mind Flayer, Vecna began to slowly break down the barriers between the two worlds.
So, Max was nearly murdered like Vecna's three previous victims. Just before Max died, Eleven rallied her strength, defeated Vecna and freed Max -- but the damage had already been done. Even though Max was free from Vecna, she died in Lucas' arms.
While Vecna was severely injured by Steve, Nancy, and Robin, he was still able to kill Max, opening the final gate that was needed for the Upside Down to spill out into Hawkins. Because Eleven was battling Vecna in Max's mind, she was able to bring her friend back to life, albeit in a coma.
By the end of Stranger Things season 4, Max's trusty Kate Bush song did not win the day, and she wound up being killed by Vecna as the final sacrifice he intended to use to open a massive rift to The Upside Down. While Max did briefly die, Eleven used her powers to somehow resurrect Max—but with a catch.
Vecna starts to kill people, but he only picks a certain kind of person – people who have experienced great loss and trauma. Max catches Vecna's eye. She is wracked with guilt, grief, and pain after Billy's death. She silently mourns the future she will never have with Billy.
Max's past experience with trauma — namely, watching the Mind Flayer brutally kill her stepbrother Billy (Dacre Montgomery) in Season 3 — makes her a target for Vecna's manipulation. She's become withdrawn and adrift, pulling away from her friends and sinking deeper into what looks like depression.
After all, he was still family and did sacrifice himself in Season 3 to save Eleven and the rest of Hawkins. Max even experiences guilt over his death, and feels sadness over the fact that she just stood there and watched as he met his demise.
"I don't want to die. I'm not ready," Max cries as she succumbs to her wounds — even if only for a minute.
Steve, Dustin, and Lucas learn from Nancy and Robin how to break Vecna's control and figure out that "Running Up That Hill" is Max's favorite song, playing it for her on her Walkman.
After Max is possessed in Stranger Things' season 4 episode “Dear Billy,” Dustin theorizes that she invaded Vecna's mind, which is why he was so surprised by her appearance. This means that Vecna's red smoke area isn't the Upside Down or another dimension, but rather a location inside his mind.
"Vecna seems to be actually intrigued by Nancy being able to figure him out, to be able to get this close to the truth... I think this is more Vecna's narcissistic traits that pull him to Nancy, why he wants to give her this information."
During the episode, Nancy and Robin learn that music is the only thing that can save people from Vecna's wrath. This bit of information proves useful as the gang is able to fend of the upside down demon and save Max using her favorite song Kate Bush's 1985 hit "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)."