Physically, yes. Lucas tells his friends that
This technical death triggered the opening of the fourth and final curse gate, wreaking havoc across Hawkins. However, Eleven used her abilities to restart Max's heart. She was brought back to life, but remained comatose, teetering on the boundary between life and death.
Additionally, the Duffer Brothers actually confirmed during a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast that Max is blind and brain dead.
In going over the fates of many major characters, the creators confirmed Max's fate at the end of the season, assuring Max is alive in Stranger Things, but is in a bad way. See what the Duffers explained below: “Right, she's braindead, but she's alive.
In an interview on theHappy Sad Confused podcast released today, the Duffer brothers said that Max is alive, but “brain dead, blind, and all of her bones are broken.”
In episode 4 of season 4 of Stranger Things, "Dear Billy," Vecna tries to kill Max. Her friends use the beautiful power of music, specifically "Running Up That Hill," to bring her back.
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 was dead for over a minute, until Eleven brought he back to life.
Since her limbs were still broken and she's now comatose, it seems Max will still be blind after Stranger Things' season 5 time-jump, as Vecna had already “taken her eyes.”
Once reminded of the love in her life, Eleven is finally able to pin Vecna down, saving the lives of multiple people in the process. That includes Max, although the move comes a bit too late to fully keep her safe.
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.
At the end of Stranger Things episode 9, Max is left blind. A trademark of Vecna's killing ritual is to blind his victims as he breaks their limbs.
Did Eddie Munson Die? According to the Duffer brothers, yes.
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.
Did Eleven save Max's life? Two days later, it's revealed that Max is still alive, but she's in a coma and it's unclear if she will ever wake up. Lucas tells El, Mike, Will, Nancy and Jonathan that Max was clinically dead "for over a minute," but she then came back.
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.
Is Max alive at the end of Season 4? Physically, yes. Lucas tells his friends that Max is in a coma, and we see her wearing casts on her arms and legs. The Duffer brothers have also confirmed that at the end of Season 4, Max is alive yet "brain dead, blind, and all of her bones are broken."
How Max Can Wake Up In Stranger Things Season 5. It is always possible for Max to simply wake from her coma, but because she wasn't put there by natural causes, that seems unlikely. All signs point to Max being alive inside Vecna, which is preventing her from coming back to the real world.
Refusing to allow Max to die after their battle with Vecna, Eleven pulls out the stops to save her life. As Lucas begs Max to stay alive, cradling her in his arms, Eleven uses just enough power to get Max's heart beating again.
As Vecna continued to go after young victims in order to open more portals, he set his sights on Max Mayfield, since she was investigating the deaths of Chrissy and another student named Fred Benson with help from her friends (including Dustin, Steve, and her boyfriend Lucas).
Curiously, he also seems obsessed with time, projecting strange visions into his victims' minds—including of the grandfather clock from his home in the Creel House. Vecna's obsession with time appears to be linked to his hatred of humanity.
She narrowly evaded death each time, but it could eventually catch up to her. By targeting Nancy, Vecna would demonstrate that he's more frightening, intelligent and powerful than anyone initially assumed. She's easily the character who knows the most about him and understands fragments of how his mind works.
Despite Max (Sadie Sink) being left in a coma at the end of season 4, she will be returning for season 5. The actress appeared on Today with Hoda and Jenna, where she opened up about the last season of the show.
Sadie Sink has also said that Max is "definitely not back in the way she once was" in Stranger Things 5.