There Probably Isn’t a Hidden Episode of ‘Stranger Things’

The long-anticipated finale of Stranger Things came and went, mostly to the disappointment of fans, who pointed out plot holes and questioned its two-hour-plus runtime. In the days that followed, those critiques gave way to a new theory: that the overlong conclusion of the series, “The Rightside Up,” wasn’t the conclusion at all, and that a ninth episode would hit Netflix today, Jan. 7.

What’s become known as Conformity Gate posits that what we saw in the episode—specifically each character’s outcome—was an illusion created by Vecna. The conclusion is orderly, while Stranger Things focused on breaking cycles. At the graduation, attendees had their hands crossed, mirroring how Vecna crossed his. Netflix teased an announcement on Jan. 7, which also happens to be Orthodox Christmas, and the streamer typically releases big shows on holidays. And so on.

@meechski
Conformity Gate Theory Explained: A secret episode of Stranger Things coming out on January 7th??? 😭 #StrangerThings #StrangerThings5 #conformitygate #Netflix
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But Jamie Campbell Bower, who played Vecna, called the last episode “the ending the show deserves.”

“And even as the actor that plays Vecna, it just feels right,“ he said on The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon last night.

The bio on the official Stranger Things Instagram page is also unambiguous: “ALL EPISODES OF STRANGER THINGS ARE NOW PLAYING.”

And while another episode of the series likely won’t materialize at 8 p.m. EST, Netflix is prepping two spin-offs: the animated Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, set between the second and third seasons of the show, and a title that will feature neither demogorgons nor the Upside Down.

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