On January 1, 2026, the Duffer Brothers flipped the TV world upside down when they brought Stranger Things to a dramatic end.
Yes, after 10 long years, our heroes finally managed to save Hawkins from the threat of the malicious Mind Flayer and his psychic sidekick, Vecna, yet their victory came at a cost.
Sadly, Eleven was forced to sacrifice herself to make sure the Upside Down was destroyed once and for all (or did she?) while her friends – Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max – went on to play one last game of DnD.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, considering the levels of anticipation around the finale, this ending has proved more divisive than a conversation about whether cereal is technically a soup.
And while most people agreed that the finale was exciting, some fans felt that the episode was rushed, with too many unanswered questions, and even accused the ending of being riddled with plot holes.
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But was that really the ending?
Well, some Stranger Things fans are convinced that there was something… well, strange about episode eight.
In fact, they think they’ve spotted several clues that hint that a secret ninth episode is on the way. Allow us to explain…
What is the ‘conformity gate’ theory?
The Conformity Gate theory suggests the epilogue at the end of season five is not the true ending, but an illusion crafted by Vecna, who’s alive and kicking.
Proponents of this theory believe the truth will be revealed in a final episode set to be released on January 7, where presumably The Party will defeat Vecna once and for all.
The theory gets its name from the way The Party ‘conforms’ after getting a seemingly perfect happy ending.
So what proof do these ‘Conformists’ (for lack of a better name) have to prove their theory?
Well, there are a number of visual inconsistencies in the epilogue which people believe are ‘flaws’ in the illusion, similar to the discrepancies Holly Wheeler found while rooting through Vecna’s memories.
The most notable of these is the way the graduating class all sit similarly to Vecna during the graduation scene. There’s also a blank banner, a pin badge with the wrong year on it, and several people who appear to bear a striking resemblance to the villain.
That’s not all. When Hopper and Joyce get engaged, a number of those around the happy couple appear to be staring down the camera, breaking the fourth wall.
Perhaps the most compelling evidence, however, is seen during the final moments of the episode, when The Party put their DnD binders on a shelf, and the names on the spine seem to spell out the phrase, ‘X A LIE’.
Supposedly, this is a clue that everything we saw while the Party was in Dimension X was, in fact, a lie.
There are also multiple copies of the WHATZIT? board game scattered around the Wheeler basement (a clear reference to Vecna’s imaginary alter-ego).
The final clue is supposedly the 20-sided die, which can be seen next to the Stranger Things player’s manual we see in the final moments of the episode.
The die shows a seven, which Conformists believe hints at January 7 when the final episode will be released.
Why do people think Stranger Things season 5 episode 9 will be released on January 7?
Those who believe in the Conformity Gate Theory believe that Stranger Things season five episode nine will be released on January 7 because Netflix previously shared a video titled, ‘Your future is on the way,’ accompanied by that date.
They believe that the six-day wait is a reference to the six days Will Byers was missing in the Upside Down before he was discovered by Joyce.
Are there any signs that it could be true?
No, there’s no evidence that points to the Conformity Gate Theory being true. In fact, a lot of the ‘evidence which fans point to is pretty circumstantial.
The visual discrepancies, like the banner and badge seen during the graduation, could easily be mistakes made by the production team.
As for the graduating class being sat like Vecna, well, I just don’t see it. The people in the crowd are just sitting with their hands on their laps, like people tend to sit when they don’t have something in their hands.
What do we think of the Conformity Gate Theory?
Our Deputy TV editor, Tom Percival, shares his thoughts on Conformity Gate…
If I had a penny for every time fans of a hit TV show rejected a divisive finale in favour of an imagined ‘better’ episode, then I’d have a bajillion and fourty two pennies – which I think we can all agree is a lot of pennies.
As someone who lived through the ending of the BBC’s most recent Sherlock series, Game of Thrones, and Lost, I’m no stranger to this sort of discourse.
Honestly, choosing to believe a secret final episode is about to be released or demanding that a show get remade to suit the fandom’s particular predelictions is as common as a London bus.
Here’s the thing, though, like having to get a London bus, I hate it (#TubeBoy4Life).
Now, I should clarify, I don’t mind when people complain about an ending they don’t like, nor do I particularly hate fan theories.
Heck, I’ve made a career moaning about terrible TV shows and movies, or to paraphrase Homer Simpson, it’s fun to criticise others (easy too).
Similarly, fan theories are, for the most part, just a fun way to engage with a TV show you like – although I must confess I’ve smelt farts with more substance to them than the Conformity Gate Theory.
Here’s the thing, though, while it’s fine to not like things and imagine what could have been, I don’t think you have any right to tell an artist how their work should end.
In fact, it really gets under my skin when fans demand a writer kowtow to the whims of some monolithic fandom.
I find it entitled and annoying, like a long car ride with someone who insists that we only listen to their music.
Why? Well, because fandoms are not monoliths – they contain multitudes.
So while you might be disappointed that El doesn’t end up with Mike, that we didn’t get to see Suzie again, or that Vecna wasn’t redeemed, there will be just as many people who thought that ending was perfect.
And that opinion is justified as yours.
So if you’re sitting around hoping that Conformity Gate is going to undo episode eight’s ending, you’re going to be very disappointed come January 7… or I may have to eat some humble pie.
Similarly, the crowd staring at the camera when Hopper proposes appears to be just looking at the poor get engaged, while the ‘WHATZIT’ board game is just a cute nod to Vecna.
The ‘X A LIE’ phrase is probably the best evidence for the theory, but it could just be a coincidence (even if Lucas warned us not to believe in coincidences).
Perhaps, however, the best evidence we have that the theory is wrong comes from the marketing. It seems unlikely that Netflix would have put a fake finale in theatres just to release another ‘real’ finale a week later.
So if there’s no secret episode planned, what were Netflix teasing people with?
What do we know about the future of Stranger Things?
Stranger Things might be ending, but the franchise will live on. We know that a show called Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 is set for release this year.
This animated series is set between Stranger Things seasons two and three and will see the group on a previously unseen adventure where they battle new monsters from the Upside Down.
Tales from ’85 isn’t the only spin-off planned, either. Ross Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter that they’re working on a spin-off focused on the strange rock that was infected with Mind Flayer particles.
‘There is something in the finale that is going to connect to the spinoff,’ he said. ‘The spinoff is not about rocks or mining the rocks, but I would say that’s the loose end that’s not tied up that will be tied up.’
Do you want the Conformity Gate Theory to be true?’
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Yes
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No
That’s not all, on January 12, Netflix will release a documentary titled One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, which will serve as a final send-off to the hit Netflix series.
Stranger Things is available to stream now on Netflix.
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