Ever since the two-hour final episode of Stranger Things dropped on Netflix on New Year’s Eve, certain fans of the series have been convinced that the mostly happy ending of the show was a ruse. They began an online conspiracy, called “Conformity Gate,” suggesting that the series villain, Vecna, had actually won, and the happy ending was an illusion created for a still trapped Hawkins gang. Based on (very dubious) clues online fans saw, they believed a secret ninth episode from the Duffer Brothers would drop on January 7. Alas, no such episode exists, something Netflix officially confirmed. The finale we saw, “The Rightside Up,” is the real finale.
Via Deadline, we learned that Netflix posted ALL EPISODES OF STRANGER THINGS ARE NOW PLAYING” on Instagram and X/Twitter. Hear that? That’s the sound of reality coming crashing down on the heads of a certain segment of the Stranger Things fandom. However, we doubt this is the end of all those “Conformity Gate” theories online. Just because a prophesied date passed and nothing happened, that doesn’t mean they won’t move the goal post, and decree another date on the calendar is the real Conformity Gate in the future. Just think of it as the Rapture, but for nerds.
So just what did Netflix actually announce on January 7? According to a post, it was just teasing a new campaign, personalizing users’ viewing experiences with its 2026 slate. So yeah, not very exciting. It’s not a secret episode of Stranger Things. It’s not even the announcement of the long-awaited final season of GLOW (Well, long-awaited by us, anyway). But all joking aside, “Conformity Gate” illustrates a bigger issue in modern fandom. Stories are not on demand. Becoming Annie Wilkes from Misery, forcing creators to undo endings to your personal liking, is weird. Even a universally unliked ending, like Game of Thrones. That’s just not how storytelling should work in any medium. Hopefully, we all learn that sooner and not later.