Note: I could not put everything in here as there was so much information, but I will bring up all the big points.
What is Conformity Gate?
Conformity Gate was the theory that the ending of Stranger Things was all an illusion created by Vecna. The fans used the word “gate” because they theorized that there is a darker “true” ending beyond the safety of the gate and “conformity” referring to how the characters mostly were forced to conform to this false ending. The theory initially started when people noticed that the ending ended too “happily ever after.” Many people looked back after the series ended and still saw many plot holes within the story. Because of this many people created conformity theory as a joke, but as you looked farther back into the series, it started to become more than a joke.
Clues or Coincidences?
Many people cited details for why there could be a possible finial episode. Most of the “clues” came from the epilogue. Many people pointed out how many of the characters’ hair, like Nancy and Mike, looked very similar to Henry’s hair (Vecna). In the graduation scene, all of the students in the crowd had their hands crossed together and fans pointed out that was something Henry did with his hands very regaularly. The colors of the caps and gowns were orange, even though the school colors are green and white. We also know that the colors should be green because in the official Stranger Things novel, told in Nancy’s point of view ,she mentions how ugly the green color was on the gowns. These three things can be chalked up as coincidences or mistakes, but throughout season 5, Lucas told us many times that he “does not believe in coincidences.” This quote was hammered into our heads throughout season 5 in helping the characters uncover Vecna’s plan. This fueled the fans even more, and they started to slow and pause scenes even more to look closer at them.
One thing they noticed is that Mr. Whatsit’s name appeared in some scenes in the background, mainly in the DND room towards the end, in the scene when the boys lined up their DND books and the scene pans towards the books. When looking at the books, you can see that they are ordered in a way that makes their names spell out the sentence “X A Lie.” Fans took this scene to say that the world was fake, and it was showing its cracks and trying to tell Mike (one of the main characters) the world is fake. Many believed Mike would take the stage as the main character in the 9th episode because he got very little amount of screen time in the last season and almost no character development. They also pointed out how, in the end, Mike looks very similar to Henry. As people looked for more theories to sedate their hunger, they started to take apart even the littlest of details as evidence related or not related to the show.
Evidence, Evidence Everywhere!
Many people pointed out that each volume of season 5 was released on a holiday, Vol. 1 around Thanksgiving, Vol.2 on Christmas Day, and the final episode on New Year’s Eve. Many people saw that the next Wednesday (1/7) landed on Orthodox Christmas, and that if there would be another episode, it would release on that day. It would also make sense, since that would be a normal release schedule. Fans said this explained why the Duffer brothers in an interview said, “It’s going to be a dark Christmas.” In season four it would take seven days for Vecna’s cures to take effect and that helped fuel the evidence. There were many more instances of the number seven in things like the time in between the claps of thunder in the upside-down. There was also seven seconds of a black screen when Steve was about to fall off the radio tower. We will come back to the importance of 1/7 later.
On the official WSQK (an actual listenable radio station), they had hosts that went by names like Mindy Flare and Vance. These could just be fun easter eggs, but many fans believed this could be more clues to the secret episode. Stranger Things also made an official flashlight, and when shone onto the inside of a box, it said Vecna lives. With so many “clues and references” made through the final episode, many people started to believe there was an actual secret episode and hopped onto this trend. This would soon lead to misinformation and confusion.
Fans don’t lie!
With Conformity Gate trending on all social media platforms, many people wanted to get attention and views, even if they put out misinformation. One of the big contenders of this was when Netflix made a post about the ending of Stranger Things, where they hung up a sign that said the phrase “Thank you for Teaching me How to be a Friend.” This was posted on the Official Strange Things TikTok. When people clicked on the sound, it would show who profiles used the same sound. When people found the original video (from a different profile), it came from a black screen with only Morse code on it. When translated, it would say “Vecna Lives.” Many people believed this was Netflix’s secret account to help promote/set up the anticipation for the secret episode. Later, it turned out that this was not Netflix’s secret account but instead somebody else’s not related to Netflix’s. Another big contender was a person who made a fake countdown to 1/7, eight pm est. It looked professionally done and well made, but half way through the countdown it changed to a block of grass telling people to go touch grass.
Fake countdown: https://novembersixthnineteeneightyseven.com/trololol.html
On 1/7 as eight pm EST drew near, fans started to go off the wall, taking anything as proof for the secret episode coming out. Netflix at this point came out and said there was no secret episode, but fans refused to believe it. They said that because there wasa little Vecna icon on top of Netflix’s profile on TikTok, he was controlling Netflix/creating an illusion. Fans used this as proof, and said Vecna was controlling Netflix, making them say there was no secret episode. Many fans started to say Netflix posts on TikTok were only 7 images or one minute and seven second videos, but this turned out to be untrue. The final one came when Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna’s actor) posted a skit promoting his interview with Jimmy Fallon. The video was a fun 80s style workout video, but towards the end, he stared into the camera saying “it comes tonight.” This put the fans into a creator frenzy, and they started to pull whatever they could as proof, fake or real, that a secret final episode was coming out. But as eight pm est drew near, disappointment started to set in.
Stage of grief: Acceptance.
On 1/8, many fans had accepted that there was no secret episode. Some people accepted it after eight pm est passed, but the next day almost everyone gave up. Conformity Gate was officially debunked and dead. Looking back at Conformity Gate as a former Conformity Gate member, most of the theory was just coincidences/stretches. I believe many people created this theory as copium for Stranger Things having a bad ending. With so many plot holes still left unanswered and story inconsistencies, (mainly coming from the fiial episode, where people were convinced that there had to be a secret episode that would clear up everything and end the series properly) it was a way to find some answers. In the end, Stranger Things was such an amazing series, and even though its final season was not the best, it still left a great impact on me and so many other people. Lucas was wrong: believe in coincidences.
