Stranger Things fans are going wild on the internet with a theory that a secret final episode will be released a week after the finale.
With mixed emotions about the final episode, fans have turned to poring over the last minutes of the hit show and coming up with the Comformity Gate theory.
This has led to several actors and Netflix itself commenting about the show’s ending, and whether it’s real or fake. Keep reading to learn more.
The Comformity Gate Theory
The theory, also known as Conformity Gate, has only grown stronger on TikTok and other social media platforms throughout the week among viewers.
These disappointed viewers believe that the lengthy final sequence showcasing the young leads moving on with their lives was truly an illusion created by Vecna. To support the theory, fans have scoured over every detail in the epilogue for evidence, even though the Duffer brothers maintain the show never had multiple endings.
Found “evidence” includes the placement of extras in the high school graduation scenes, positioning of background characters’ hands (similar to Vecna’s alias, Henry Creel), and continuity issues of on-set props.
To complete the Conformity Gate, fans believe the secret episode revealing the true end of the Stranger Things characters will drop on Wednesday, January 7th.
This is due to Netflix posting a cryptic message on their social media, referencing the date along with the caption: “Your future is on the way.” As of now, there is no new episode on the platform.
Shutting Down the Theory
Netflix has pushed back on the rumor, with official Stranger Things social bios stating all episodes of the series are now available. Cast members have also gone public to say the story is finished, including Jamie Campbell Bower and Noah Schnapp.
Jamie Campbell Bower
In an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Campbell Bower stated the last episode was “the ending the show deserves.”
He went further and said, “Even as the actor that plays Vecna, like, it just – it feels right,” referring to his character’s defeat. “You know, the show is so much about friendship and love and hope and joy. And of course, like, the person who is not that has to go, you know?”
His comments seemingly put the Stranger Things debate to bed, alongside some comments from Noah Schnapp.
Noah Schnapp
One of the main stars of Stranger Things, Noah Schnapp, went public that he believes the show’s ending is complete. Playing Will Byers from the first season all the way through the fifth, he shared his thoughts on how Stranger Things concluded, amongst all the Conformity Gate theories.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Schnapp said, “I remember crying a lot at the final table read. They had us read it for the first time all together, and I just think it was perfect.”
He went on to comment that the co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer “really left nothing more to be told.”
Split Fan Reactions
However, for every fan that supports Conformity Gate, there is one urging them to move on.
One person commented on X that, “The entire Stranger Things fandom currently in a collective psychosis coming up with a theory called Conformity Gate as a coping mechanism because the Duffers writing was genuinely THAT bad.”
Another added to the circus by saying, “It’s hilarious how the Duffers inability to write a satisfying conclusion and reliance on the ‘we left it to the viewer’s interpretation’ crutch has now led to a fanbase somehow rabidly believing there is a secret final episode that just clearly does not exist.”
For those fans who believe there is something more in store, it seems as if Stranger Things has really met its final chapter.
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