For lots of viewers, saying goodbye to Stranger Things is anything but easy. really been spending years with Eleven and her friends in Hawkins, and fans just can’t seem to shake the feeling that there are still secret clues, unanswered questions, and maybe even last-minute surprises waiting for them. Something called Conformity Gate has taken off online because so many people don’t want to accept that the show has really ended.
The Conformity Gate idea is that the show didn’t really wrap up with the last episode released on New Year’s Eve on Netflix. Instead, a secret extra episode the fans are calling Chapter 9 is supposed to drop on January 7th, and supposedly blow the lid off a whole different ending from the one we’ve seen so far.
So how did the Conformity Gate theory start to gain ground?
Before the last episode’s streaming premiere, some viewers had been speculating about the possibility of alternative storylines and unseen scenes using the Conformity Gate idea. The theories really started taking off after the show finished, with supporters citing video analysis, screenshots, Easter eggs, and thematic parallels that, in their opinion, were anything but just coincidences – i.e., they were no accident.
Official denials from the authors mean nothing to some fans who are convinced the conclusion was just a ‘fake ending’, designed specifically to throw everyone off the scent.
The part Vecna plays and the fantasy of Volume 2
According to the Conformity Gate, Vecna managed to pull the wool over our eyes in Volume 2 rather than doing anything else. Fan theory is that Finn Wolfhard’s character, Mike Wheeler, actually reflects the viewer’s own point of view in the story.
The crowd of Conformity Gate supporters points to a pivotal moment near the end of Volume 1: after Vecna starts meddling with Mike’s brain, the poor kid goes into some kind of trance state – and from thereon in, all the events of the Conformity Gate would be filtered through his confused and disoriented mind, unable to tell reality from fantasy.
A later conversation between Lucas and the gang, where they’re basically trying to figure out what is real and what’s just a fabrication, adds more fuel to this theory. In particular, Robin is wondering what on earth Vecna does to a person, and that he must be doing something pretty nasty, judging by the look on people’s faces.
The hidden hints in the finale
A scene from the graduation ceremony has been getting a lot of attention from fans. Dustin gets up and starts shouting against following the crowd, but the students’ reaction is chilling – they just sit there, hands clasped, motionless. Theory has it that the orange robes the students are wearing are a graphic reference to prisoner uniforms, implying that the characters are actually trapped in some kind of fantasy world created by Vecna’s curse, and are prisoners of their own reality. And alongside that, some fans have spotted other symbols they see as hints that the characters are trying to break free from the illusion.
Netflix Hunts and The Algorithm Effect
You often hear about how easy it is to Google-fool Netflix into showing you something you want to see. Try typing in search terms like “fake ending” or “season 5 episode 9” – guess what, Stranger Things pops up as the first result.
Don’t get too excited, though – this is all just a result of the algorithms at play on Netflix. The search results get matched up with the most popular titles based on how often the keywords are used. Not exactly the makings of a secret episode or a conspiracy theory.
The Duffer Brothers Weigh In
The people behind Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers, have been pretty clear on this point. In loads of interviews, they’ve said point-blank that the show wrapped up with the final episode, “The Real World,” and there are no secret episodes or alternate endings in the works.
What they have said is that the show’s world is going to continue – albeit in different forms. An animated prequel is in the making and they’ve already dropped some promotional art for it, plus there’s a live-action spin-off on the cards featuring brand new characters.
Looking Back – And Forwards
In the meantime – because Netflix is never just going to leave things as they are – they’ve dropped a trailer and a behind-the-scenes documentary giving fans a glimpse into the final season and the creative process behind the show. Saying goodbye to Hawkins, Indiana, means looking back at what made it all happen and the tough decisions that had to be made in the end.
And hey, even though the actual “Conformity Gate” has been pretty thoroughly debunked as a conspiracy theory, it’s still interesting to think about how obsessed the audience has been over one of the biggest shows of the past few years. Stranger Things may be over for now, but that doesn’t mean the whole world hasn’t been impacted by it. And who knows – maybe that’s exactly the point the show was trying to make all along.
