Stranger Things fans can’t seem to get over the fact that they witnessed the series finale and clung to hope there was a secret episode. Spoiler alert: they were wrong.
Following the highly polarizing Stranger Things finale, theories flooded the internet and social media claiming that the show is not actually over.
One of those rumors that ran amok was this idea of a “Conformity Gate” secret episode that some butthurt fans felt believed would magically show up on Netflix on Wednesday.
Well, that didn’t happen, and even Netflix had to go out of its way to shut down the rumor writing in the bio on its social media profiles on X and Instagram, “ALL EPISODES OF STRANGER THINGS ARE NOW PLAYING.”
So what is the “Conformity Gate” theory exactly? It proposes that the time jump we saw in the 8th and final episode was nothing but an illusion by the series villain, Vecna.
While Netflix did shut the theory down, it also helped stoke the fires around it with its recent promo, writing in the caption of a recent post, “Your Future is on its way. #WhatNext Jan 7, 2026.”
The promo turned oout ot be a new campaign teasing a personalized trailer based on users’ viewing preferences, showcasing what’s coming in 2026.
Fans Are Big Mad Their Theory Flopped
Still, fans are losing their collective minds that the theory they cooked up in their heads didn’t come to fruition.
“I wanted #conformitygate to be real so badly. Why? Because if the Duffer Bros and @netflix pulled a fleece like that, it would have been one of the most legendary moves in Hollywood history. What a missed opportunity,” one disappointed Stranger Things fan wrote on social media.
Another user wrote, “I hate that ‘Conformity Gate’ is not real and the possibility of it happening is also bleak. I want the Duffers to reconsider their finale so bad and do what has never been done before and take a U-turn and redo s5 vol 2 and finale.”
Stranger Things The OG Series Is Done, But There Is More From The Universe On The Way
Well, they are going to have to deal with it; the show is done.
Look on the bright side, there is that future spinoff the Duffer Brothers teased to Deadline. There is also One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, a behind-the-scenes look at the final season.
Plus, there is also Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, an animated series coming this year.
You can see more reactions below.
