Every Stranger Things clue that has fans convinced 'Conformity Gate' is real

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things 5.

The finale to the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, which dropped on New Year’s Eve (New Year’s Day in the UK), hasn’t pleased everybody, with fans pointing out the many remaining plot holes in the story and criticising the Duffer Brothers’ many comments to the media after its release tying up loose ends.

But a new theory is gaining traction in the show’s fandom in the form of #ConformityGate.

So what exactly is ‘Conformity Gate’?

A master document created by one X/Twitter user defines it as “the idea that the finale and Volume Two were actually a contorted version created by Vecna, in which the audience, Mike, or both are under Vecna’s curse. This would explain why all characters end up as conformed, watered down versions of themselves.”

The 7 January announcement

Fans also believe a secret ninth episode is coming, with people pointing to a Netflix advert teasing an announcement on Wednesday (7 January).

The exit signs

Some spotted exit signs visible in the background of date scenes in the epilogue, with one X/Twitter user comparing it to the use of an exit sign in the fourth wall-breaking film The Truman Show.

The graduation ceremony

In a tweet which implies people are Vecna’s “prisoners”, one account noted that orange is a colour used for prisoners, rather than graduation gowns.

Another noted that the students were all adopting the same body language (hands in front of them, clasped just below their waist) as that of Henry Creel and the possessed Billy from Series Three.

The dice

The fan theory that 1 (Henry, but actually Will) plus 8 (Kali) plus 11 (Eleven) equals the 20 needed to defeat Vecna in the in-show game of Dungeons and Dragons seemed to have some truth to it, and now fans believe a die showing the number 7, visible at the very end of the finale’s credit sequence, suggests something is up.

In particular, fans call back to when Will said he rolled a seven and that meant the demogorgon “got” him.

Another fan discussed an advert for Netflix in Sweden in which several dice are shown, with the numbers adding up to 43.

“There are 43 days between the start of Vol 1 and January 7th. Also, if there is another episode coming January 7th, it would be the 43rd episode of Stranger Things,” they write.

The cast photos

Others have referenced cast photos in which text in the background for one picture reads “Score Four”, but this is changed to “Core Four” in another.

The registry

TikTok creator @CleanSlateKait has pointed towards the Entertainment Identifier Registry (EIDR) – that is, “a public registry that provides a unique identifier for audiovisual content across the global entertainment industry” – for Stranger Things 5 only listing the first four episodes of the final series.

“The Duffer Brothers never registered this season,” Kait says in one video.

Jamie Campbell Bower appears on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Either Jamie Campbell Bower just dropped a major hint that Conformity Gate could be real, or he's playing into the joke, thanks to a new appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday 6 January.

In a video posted to social media, which was suspiciously 1 minute and 7 seconds long (01/07, anyone?), the actor takes part in a parody Vecna 'workout', with moves inspired by telekinesis and the opening of the gate to the upside-down.

But, there's one moment in particular that's got people suspicious. "Let's channel our energy...tomorrow", he says, staring down the camera as the screen turns red.

Tomorrow as in...7 January?

However, during his interview segment he did add that the cast gave Stranger Things “the ending the show deserves”.

Talk about mixed messages.

Indy100 has contacted Netflix for comment

Why not read…?

• Duffer Brothers address plot holes in Stranger Things finale
• The biggest reactions to the Stranger Things finale episode

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