Suprak the Stud posted... I mean it is such a cowardly way to manipulate the audience. We get the big emotional impact of killing off Max without actually having to deal with writing the consequences with killing off Max. 11 having whatever the hell powers she can pull out of her ass to seemingly bring people back to life is just the absolute worst sort of writing, and instead of worrying about core cast members being in danger we don't have any of that tension next season. Of course Max is coming back because why the hell tease her death only to be "not really" otherwise.
It was just such an insanely frustrating conclusion to what should've been a fantastic capstone to the season.
I think this is completely wrong.
Eleven went inside Max at the hospital and finds literally nothing, just darkness. Max is completely dead. All El did was keep her body alive. Interpretation/theory that could potentially be next-season spoilers:
They literally said that when Vecna/Henry/001 kills someone they become a part of him. So Max will probably wake up next season, and Eleven may have a moment of confusion but she'll be so happy she won't think too hard on it. Max might even seem a little different throughout the season, but because Henry has all of her inside of him, he can put on a good show...until a big reveal that will probably be heartbreaking and involve another character getting backstabbed.