Technically,
so Max's ending is still a little ambiguous. but it's pretty clear that she's gonna wake up from the coma. in season five.
Max and Wilder are very much together.
And by the end of the episode, after an ordeal with a potentially cancer-curing drug, the couple realize that both of their passions for being doctors makes them “perfect for each other” and they have “something real.”
Speaking with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, The Duffer Brothers have now stated that Max is indeed brain dead and blind – though they do confirm that she is still alive.
When Max is knocked out of the trend, she's already lost her eyesight and all her legs and arms are broken. In an emotional scene, Max is still conscious as Lucas begs her to "stay with me," and she even says that she's not ready to die. But she does.
However, in the end, he makes things right with his abilities and help from his siblings. In the episode "Potion Commotion", he gets his full powers.
Meanwhile, on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Duffer brothers added more insult to injury by saying that Max is literally "braindead and blind and all of her bones are broken".
The fan-favorite character ended the season in a coma with her bones broken and eyes blinded at the hands of Vecna. Max technically died for one whole minute before Eleven revived her friend, but Eleven's powers weren't enough to bring Max fully back to life.
Though they're clouded with cataracts, Vecna in Stranger Things has both of his eyes.
Yes, Max is brain dead in Stranger Things. When speaking with Josh Horowitz on his podcast, the Duffer Brothers said that although Max is alive, she is "brain dead, blind, and all of her bones are broken."
Max and Fang have sex, Fang dies, and it is revealed that Max is pregnant.
Murphy finds out she isn't pregnant. Thank GOD. Murphy is the absolute last person who needs to be pregnant. Her reckless behavior is indicative of someone who isn't ready to be a mother.
Ultimately, Murphy ends up with Max. She and her long-time on-again, off-again boyfriend get engaged after the rockiest of romances. After his untimely death, she remains committed to Max. However, in the end, she ends up with her ride-or-die best friend Felix and the best dog you could ever imagine, Pretzel.
In episode 7, Vecna is revealed to be Henry Creel (played as a youngster by Raphael Luce), the son of Victor Creel (Robert Englund) and his wife Virginia (Tyner Rushing) shown in the 1950s flashbacks.
Max's death was used a device to push Murphy toward killing Josh in the series finale. Max didn't need to die to wrap up the story this way. Sure, Murphy needed to have a complicated place to land.
"I don't want to die. I'm not ready," Max cries as she succumbs to her wounds — even if only for a minute. Max is clinically dead before being revived by Eleven's powers, but a psychic probe of Max's mind reveals an empty void.
He was eventually destroyed, and his left hand and left eye were the only parts of his body to survive. Even after the character achieved godhood—being a member of the third edition's default pantheon of D&D gods (the pantheon of Oerth)—he is still described as missing both his left eye and left hand.
At the height of his empire Vecna was betrayed by Kas. Kas managed to destroy the Archlich before his own death, with the Sword of Kas, a lethal blade of the Undying King's own make, leaving only Vecna's left hand and left eye behind.
Ready to see the prosthetics designer in action? Keep reading! Season four of Stranger Things saw its scariest villain yet: Vecna. Played by Jamie Campbell Bower, each prosthetic was glued to his skin with medical adhesive by prosthetics designer Barrie Gower and his team.
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.
She breaks free, momentarily incapacitates Vecna, and runs with the determination to live toward her friends, dodging debris that Vecna throws in her path. Max hurls herself through the portal, awakes from the trance, and is held by Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin).
There are many questions about Eleven, like whether Eleven created The Upside Down, and in the season 4 finale, she brings Max back to life. Eleven uses her telekinetic powers to get into Vecna's mind and battle him herself.
At the end of Stranger Things episode 9, Max is left blind.
Max stops breathing for an entire minute, but is brought back to life by Eleven from inside her mind while in a sensory deprivation tank. A sobbing Lucas cradles Max with her shattered limbs and bleeding eyes.
While Max did briefly die, Eleven used her powers to somehow resurrect Max—but with a catch. The resurrected Max remains in a coma; one that El seemingly cannot wake her from.
In the battle against Vecna, Max dies. But Eleven — and the power of love — brings her back.