Stranger Things has ended after nearly a decade on Netflix. The controversial finale aired on New Year’s Eve but after picking up on various plot holes and Easter eggs, fans are convinced a secret episode is dropping tomorrow, Jan. 7. Coined “Conformity Gate” by Stranger Things fans, here’s everything to know about the popular theory.
The Stranger Things Finale
In order to discuss the theory let’s go back to the finale. After defeating The Mind Flayer by traversing Henry Creel’s mind while the party defeats his physical form, the crew is celebrating the terror finally coming to an end. They’ve saved the kids, Hawkins, and the world from complete destruction. When they make it topside, they are confronted by the military.
While all of this is happening, the bomb that Mike helped construct, is about to go off and destroy The Upside Down for good. Standing at the Gate is Eleven. When Mike realizes this he tries to run toward her but is stopped by the military. The rest of the squad is screaming for her not to sacrifice herself as Mike is pulled into a trance (that is likely of his own imagination). El tells him to deliver a message to the rest of the group and kisses him goodbye. A montage set to Prince’s “Purple Rain” plays on screen, followed by her being sucked into the gate and closing it forever.
In the epilogue, we jump forward 18 months. The kids are graduating, Max and Lucas are still going strong, Will is exploring his sexuality, and Hopper proposes to Joyce inside of Enzo’s.
The young adults are doing well for themselves, too. Steve is teaching Little League baseball and sex ed, Jonathan finally attends NYU where he’s working on a anti-capitalist cannibal film, Nancy took a job at The Boston Herald, and Robin is attending Smith College in Massachusetts.
So, what is ‘conformity gate?’
This season has been filled with many “plot holes” according to fans, with the finale suffering the most. Firstly, there’s Lucas Sinclair telling the group he no longer believes in coincidences. This leads to him breaking what fans believe is the “fourth wall” — when an actor looks directly at the camera and acknowledges it as if they were speaking to the audience. The belief amongst fans is that the epilogue is actually an illusion orchestrated by Vecna.
But why Jan. 7? Well, it’s Orthodox Christmas which follows the release schedule of the Duffers dropping episodes to coincide with holidays. Netflix previously shared a cryptic teaser, “Your future is on the way,” with a Jan. 7 date. To tie it into the show, from the time that Will went missing it took him a week to be found. Joyce went crazy for 7 days trying to find him. One week from Dec. 31 would theoretically mean somethings coming tomorrow, Jan. 7.
Then there’s the graduation scene in the epilogue when our favorite Hawkins High graduates of 1989 finally walk the stage. Fans find the orange gowns strange, likening them to prison uniforms. In the program Ted is holding, the graduation cap is green. Additionally, behind almost all of the major characters there is someone wearing glasses strangely similar to Henry’s (This one feels like a stretch, guys). Then, there’s the pose everyone is doing with their hands in their laps like Henry.
Not only that, there’s zero mention of Suzie this entire season (the Duffers claim things ended between her and Dusty Bun off screen). But Vickie? A major part of Robin’s arc this season? Nowhere to be found in the epilogue. Vecna never met either of them, so in theory, he has no idea their importance to Dustin and Robin.
There’s also the fact that the Wheelers — Mike, Nancy, Ted and Karen — all have the same haircut that bares a strange resemblance to Henry.
Probably the most believable piece of this theory is the dial changing colors inside the radio tower in Part Two when Robin is messing with it. Many believed this made her the “traitor” but what if it’s been hidden in plain sight the whole time? After all, Holly recognized the way to get through Henry’s mind was through the merry-go-round. When she was in The Rightside Up, it’s yellow, but in his mind it’s gray. Just like the dial changing from red to gray.
The next bit of information comes from Season 4, Episode 1, when The Hellfire Club is playing D&D with Eddie. He claims Vecna is still alive but the group protests, he met his fate because of Kas. “So it was thought my friends, so it was thought. But Vecna lives!”
This is more of an Easter egg than a real piece of a theory, but the “Whatzit?” board game that appears in the background of several scenes in the epilogue. It definitely sticks out as strange.
Stranger Things episode 9
So is a secret episode really dropping tomorrow? Let’s temper expectations a bit. Judging by all of the interviews the Duffers have been doing this season… it doesn’t look like there’s an extra episode. They’ve spoken definitively about it being the end, and episode 8 was advertised as the finale. Many of the theories have been interesting to read and divulge in, but they appear to be just that — theories!
“Mike’s closing the basement door. We’re closing the door on the story,” Matt told The Hollywood Reporter on January 1. “So, no, there’s no plan or intention to tell the story because it’s a coming-of age story. Ultimately, that’s what it’s supposed to be. That’s what the show always was. When he closes the door to the basement, he’s closing the door on his childhood and he’s moving onto adulthood.”
Whether or not Conformity Gate is real, Stranger Things fans still have content to look forward to. There’s two confirmed spin-offs that directly and indirectly tie into the show coming. Plus, a documentary about the making of Season 5 drops Jan. 12 on Netflix.
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