It was an unfortunate day for Stranger Things fandom, who were met with a rude reality check after they learned that their favourite sci-fi Netflix series, created by the Duffer Brothers, had, in fact,
concluded with the hotly debated Season Five finale that premiered the previous week. Conspiracy theorists, especially on TikTok, Instagram, and X, have been at large since the “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up” was dropped on Netflix. They strongly believed that the divisive episode, depicting the end of the main villain, Vecna, with a runtime of 2 hours and 18 minutes no less, was all smoke and mirrors, created only to give way to a follow-up episode theory — “Conformity Gate” — that would eventually tie up the “loose ends” of Netflix’s most popular original series.
As a result, thousands of fans excitedly queued up and assembled on Netflix on January 7, allegedly crashing the streaming service. This has, unintentionally, put the Stranger Things stans in the direct line of social media trolling.
Conformity Gate
A chunk of Stranger Things fans gave birth to a viral online conspiracy theory they collectively titled “Conformity Gate” that would eventually take the shape of Episode 9 and premiere on Netflix on January 7. The Conformity Gate theory was further cemented by visual cues, fascinating nuggets, and production goof-ups that viewers carefully noted down and trusted the Duffer Brothers to acknowledge and resolve in a secret episode.
Mike’s basement doorknob switches sides from season 1 to the epilogue? #conformitygate pic.twitter.com/uWgEWqUg9U
— fodri (@Jc6398263) January 6, 2026
Remarkably, the theory also explored the end of Vecna/Henry as the conspiracy theorists believed that the villain was safe and sound and was cockily playing with the minds of millions of eyes that tuned in for the show’s finale. Black Mirror, much?
The theories ran wild; here are a few of them.
this conformity gate theory is INSANEEE, if it doesn’t happen we truly are better writers than the duffers #conformitygate #StrangerThings5 pic.twitter.com/xskLExHXIe
— Adnan (@AdnanLovesCats) January 4, 2026
so scandinavian netflix had an ad with all these dice adding up to 43. there are 43 days between the start of vol1 and january 7th. also, if there is another episode coming january 7th, it would be the 43rd episode of stranger things #conformitygate #StrangerThings5 pic.twitter.com/2QixbTPhTA
— katelyn (@siixthirtiy) January 4, 2026
Wait, there’s more.
no bc im still tweaking about the fucking dial colors HOW does that happen accidentally. Its not a prop/costume continuity error its an entire set piece changing that happening “accidentally” is insane to me #conformitygate pic.twitter.com/NMKayJvaws
— Aug | Byler Delusion (@meow237meow732) January 2, 2026
Why January 7?
“There’s some scene with the teacher and a clock on the wall says it’s 1:07pm. Like everything else in that theory, it’s extreme stretching,” a Reddit user, exploring the significance of January 7, wrote.
Believe me or not, but it's pretty weird that the official Stranger Things account posted this of Mr Clarke.
For the entirety of Stranger Things, clocks has been a massive part of the series.
Notice the clock here is 7 minutes past one (07:01)… in other words THE 7TH OF… https://t.co/GASQBOkaYB pic.twitter.com/ps0YNNBDRY
— WILLO (@WilloMCI) January 6, 2026
In short, the cooked-up Episode 9 was to hit Netflix on January 7, the theorists were convinced.
Netflix Crash
If you have stuck around this far, the best (or worst) is yet to come. The wild anticipation for the “real” finale led to a massive crowd tuning in to Netflix all at once.
Several users on X reported facing issues while switching on the streaming platform, alleging that the wait for “Conformity Gate” to materialise crashed Netflix.
Netflix just crashed after many fans expected a secret final episode of ‘STRANGER THINGS’ was releasing pic.twitter.com/UPCsbx3NPQ
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 8, 2026
Stranger Things Fans Face The Heat
The “Conformity Gate” theory fell flat on its head. There is no Episode 9 and no clever endings. Stranger Things fans, who birthed countless conspiracy theories, are now facing the cruel brunt online by the rest of the world.
“stranger things fans gaslighting themselves into believing in a secret 9th episode is kind-of an amazing demonstration of how something like QAnon occurs on an inoffensive micro-level. once you’re infected with the conspiracy brain, you see it everywhere (sic),” remarked one X user.
you guys were coping so hard they had to change their bio 😭 pic.twitter.com/wJenEgjjTv
— Rachel A DeMita (@RADeMita) January 7, 2026
“I love being a normal stranger things fan bc I watched the final episode, enjoyed it and then just moved on with my life (sic),” wrote another.
