Max is one of the most important characters in Stranger Things season 4 because of how a good part of the series focuses on her feelings regarding her brother’s death. However, Vecna/Henry/One took advantage of her trauma to open a gate through her by killing her. While Max was able to survive her first encounter thanks to her favorite song, she still ended up volunteering to lure Vecna/Henry/One in volume 2 so that they could kill him. So, is Max dead at the end of Stranger Things season 4?
At one point in Stranger Things season 4, Max did indeed die when the doctors announced that she was clinically dead. However, she ended up reviving in what the doctors say was a miracle but was most likely due to Eleven’s powers. Still, she was in a state of comatose by the end of the season.
Max’s death and subsequent survival were one of the most surprising things that happened in Stranger Things season 4 because it showed a new level of what Eleven could do with her powers. However, the problem is that she was still left injured and clinging to life by the end of her encounter with Vecna/Henry/One. And that means that season 5 might answer her ultimate fate.
What Happened To Max In Volume 2?
Ever since the beginning of season 4 of Stranger Things, Max has been one of the most interesting characters in terms of her story in the new season because of the fact that it was clear that she was still suffering from the effects of her brother’s death in the previous season. The fact that the new enemy, named Vecna/Henry/One, was using the past traumas of young teenagers didn’t help her case throughout the season because, at one point, she nearly got killed.
It was only through the efforts of her favorite song, “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush, that she was able to survive her first encounter with Vecna/Henry/One. Since then, Max relied on Kate Bush to keep her mind in a happy place so that she wouldn’t get targeted by the powerful creature again.
But the problem was that Max and her friends needed to kill Vecna/Henry/One because he was looking to unleash hell on Earth by opening four gates from the Upside Down. Max’s death was supposed to open the fourth gate, but Kate Bush kept Vecna/Henry/One at bay. However, to save Hawkins and the world, they still needed to find a way to kill their enemy.
That was when the main characters realized that the only way for them to kill Vecna/Henry/One was to allow him to enter someone’s head because they knew from their experiences with Eleven that he needed to leave his physical body to enter someone’s mind. That means that they needed someone to keep Vecna/Henry/One preoccupied so that they could kill his main body. Max volunteered to allow the creature to enter her mind so that she could act as a decoy.
So, throughout the final episode of season 4, Max played the role of the decoy and was trying her best to keep Vecna/Henry/One at bay so that her friends could get to his body and kill him. But she underestimated their enemy’s power as he was still able to find a way to get to Max’s deepest traumas despite her best efforts to focus her mind on the best memories she could ever think of.
When Vecna/Henry/One was about to get to her, Eleven showed up to keep the creature at bay. This led to a battle between Eleven and One as their psychic abilities proved to be a match. However, Vecna/Henry/One was able to gain the upper hand and pin Eleven down so that she could make her watch Max’s death. Vecna/Henry/One was actually in the middle of killing Max, as her limbs in real life were beginning to snap, and her eyes were already bleeding.
But when Mike was able to communicate his love for Eleven to give her the strength she needed, she regained her resolve and was able to pin down Vecna/Henry/One before he could completely kill Max. Meanwhile, Steve, Nancy, and Robin took the opportunity to attack his real body in the Upside Down.
Vecna/Henry/One was defeated in the meantime but was still alive somewhere. However, Max was already down and dying. Lucas was holding her as she told him that she could no longer feel her body but was not yet ready to die. That was when Lucas told Erica to call an ambulance, but it seemed too late because Max was already dying.
Did Max Die In Volume 2 Of Stranger Things Season 4?
As mentioned, Max suffered grave injuries when Vecna/Henry/One was about to kill her but failed to complete the job. Nevertheless, as Lucas was holding her, she knew that she was about to die. But did Max really die?
Apparently, yes, Max did indeed die in volume 2 of Stranger Things season 4. In fact, this was proven when the fourth gate opened and cut huge rifts through Hawkins. It appeared that the Upside Down was about to swallow Hawkins until Eleven, through her powers, was trying to do something to Max remotely.
Two days later, it was reported that the massive rift that appeared in Hawkins was merely an earthquake as it was clear that the Upside Down never swallowed opened. That means that the fourth gate wasn’t completely due to the fact that Max had lived and was in the hospital.
Lucas was seen telling Max a story in the hospital while she was lying down on the bed. The rest of the gang showed up and realized that Max was in a state of comatose, which the doctors weren’t sure whether or not she could overcome.
But the one thing that was sure was that she had died at one point. Lucas said that Max was already dead when the ambulance arrived to try to treat her. However, as the doctors said, she was able to survive through a miracle. This miracle could have been Eleven’s intervention as it was clear that she was trying to keep her friend alive.
In that regard, Max did indeed die but was revived before she completely died. The fact that she revived was probably the reason why the fourth gate to the Upside Down was never fully opened and why the rifts caused by the four gates stopped before they could swallow the entire town whole. In short, Eleven’s intervention was what saved Max and, ultimately, the town of Hawkins.~~
