The Duffer Brothers may have said that they are done with Stranger Things but not everyone is convinced.
A major viral social media movement is now claiming that the Netflix show is set to announce a secret ninth episode of the show’s final season.
The Stranger Things fan movement is being called ‘conformity gate’ and suggests that in two days, January 7, Netflix are set to either announce or release a secret final episode to the show.
The finale episode was controversial amongst fans, with many pointing out various supposed plot holes and unaddressed theories as reasons the show ended poorly.
The Duffer Brothers have since come out and addressed a number of these, explaining away why there were no Demogorgons and even why Vicky ‘completely disappeared’ from the finale.
Despite this, fans are still convinced that ‘conformity gate’ is set to be announced in two days time.
What is ‘conformity gate’ and why do Stranger Things fans think another episode is coming?
Stranger Things fans think this isn’t a real ending (Netflix)
‘Conformity Gate’ comes from the idea that, despite the Netflix TV show being about the characters defying conformity, that is how all their endings go.
In the final season, a major part of Holly going further through Vecna’s memories was spotting small mistakes in reality, such as the colour of the Merry-Go-Round.
The final season has some of these mistakes in more obvious ways, such as the colour of the switch at WSQK aka The Squawk.
This has been combined with supposed references to The Truman Show and has led fans to become convinced that everything we see in the finale, and some of the penultimate episode, was actually a vision concocted by Vecna to trick the party.
Stranger Things’ finale includes Max complaining about the endings Mike predicts for the characters through the DnD game, something which is being held up as proof that the Duffers know about character’s qualms with the story.
Why do they think it’s going to come out January 7th and what’s the likelihood of this happening?
If you’re a die-hard Stranger Things fan its worth having January 7th circled on your calendar… just in case… (Netflix)
Netflix announced a slate reveal event on January 7 tweeting #WhatsNext. Fans have pointed to a number of links to the show, with Will rolling a seven on the first ever DnD session and there being several other thematic connections.
The answer almost certainly though is simply a fanbase struggling to cope with an ending they aren’t satisfied by.
If Netflix decided to undo their ending and release a secret final ending, it would also undo months of promotional work for the finale, including the incredibly rare achievement which is convincing the streamer to put a TV finale in cinemas.
In addition to this, when Stranger Things fans became convinced there was a secret cut of volume two following negative reviews, the Duffer Brothers responded saying: “Throughout the course of Stranger Things, there’s been only one scene that’s been deleted, all the way back in Season 1.
“Which was a scene Netflix had us write that we didn’t want to write, so we just shot it and deleted it, and they forgot we shot it. It was kind of amazing.”
Whilst anything can happen, a secret ninth episode would be a massive surprise.
Warning! This article contains spoiler discussions of the final episode of Stranger Things
Stranger Things creator Matt Duffer has debunked a major theory about the show’s ending.
After nine years on TV, the hit Netflix series finally came to a close on New Year’s Eve with a blockbuster two-hour finale, ‘The Rightside Up’.
The episode, which saw the Hawkins gang finally defeat Vecna, close the Upside Down and save the world from destruction, has received mixed reviews online – most notably over one of the show’s main characters.
After defeating Vecna/Henry (Jamie Campbell Bower) and detonating a bomb inside the Upside Down, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) decides to stay inside the wormhole and vanish once it closes.
Or so we’re led to believe, when Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) story in the epilogue reveals Eleven may have faked her death and is now safely living far away from Hawkins.
After defeating Vecna, Eleven chooses to die in the Upside Down – or does she? (Netflix)
The reveal left fans combing over the episode for further clues about Eleven’s ambiguous fate, with several believing a moment where Mike hears the speakers distort during his high school graduation as proof of her making contact.
It’s a theory which – while reassuring – is ultimately incorrect, as Matt Duffer has since spoken out to debunk the idea.
Speaking about the finale with his brother and co-creator Ross in an interview with Variety, the showrunner said: “The only thing I’ll debunk is that Eleven does not communicate with Mike in any way.”
He goes on to explain that the speaker distortion is due to the Hawkins High principal being ‘so angry’ at Dustin’s graduation speech, but does confirm that the moment was one of realisation for Mike.
“It makes him realise that there was the kryptonite. So how could she have possibly made it all the way to the gate,” he said.
“Not only that. How could she have possibly used her powers to bring him into the void?”
During a final Dungeons and Dragons campaign, Mike shares an alternate ending for Eleven (Netflix)
“But there are a lot of other questions. Could Kali have actually done that? Could she have possibly been alive?
“We like that it’s up to the audience. Obviously, we tell you what the characters choose.”
While Eleven’s fate is now ultimately up to the viewer to decide, the Duffers wanted to clarify that there was never an ending scenario where she was living in Hawkins alongside the rest of the gang.
“There was never a version that we had written where it was Eleven down in that basement. It was never going to be that simple and that easy,” Ross added.
Featured Image Credit: Netflix
