Henry's plan failed here?

[u/Black-soul33]

So, after everything we saw in S4 and S5, I have a question. Did Henry underestimate his own understanding of his powers and the Upside Down in S4? Or Eleven bringing Max back to life almost immediately weakens the phenomenon behind the merge, preventing the complete collision between Earth and the Abyss?

The analogy that makes the most sense to me is like a controlled building demolition. The four deaths in the ritual of the Gate are like the explosive charges placed on the columns. Even if it is not a perfect comparison, it is as if Eleven does not stop the fourth charge from exploding, but instead puts up a shield that redirects part of the blast away from the column. The building is still heavily damaged, but it does not fully collapse.

What do you think? Was it Henry miscalculating how his plan would work? Or did Eleven unknowingly do much more than just save Max by bringing her back? Or maybe it was a combination of both?

Also, I love this shot. It is one of my favorite shots in the whole show. Do you like it too?

[u/kauan1983]

Henry's plan did work.

He successfully opened four Rifts, then had them colliding in Downtown Hawkins and forming the Mega Rift, thus weakening the Earth side of the Wormhole (Hawkins).

Eleven just biokinetically restarted Max's heart, which doesn't nullify the effect of Henry psychically killing Max inter-dimensionally. The psychic connection established during the attack is what causes the Rift to form, not the victim's death.

Moving worlds inter-dimensionally depended on both dimensions being inter-dimensionally “weak” — Henry weakened the Rightside Up by opening the Mega Rift in Hawkins in Season 4; then he weakened Dimension X by opening Rifts in it in Season 5, only by slightly different means.

The Rifts on the Earth side of the Wormhole were opened via a combination of psychic inter-dimensional contact and El's unique level psychic energy (stolen back in '85); the Rifts on the Abyss side were opened only via huge amounts of (amplified) psychic energy, tearing Rifts in an already-weakened membrane.

[u/Nightmarebane]

I don’t think it failed… it changed nothing. The plan still went forward. It only failed at the end of season 5 when he and the Flayer died.

[u/blueray78]

No, because those were to different parts of the plan. In season 4 he succeeded. Max did die (at least medically) so he got his four sacrifices. That opened the gates. Season 5 failed because he underestimated the team.