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Stranger Things might not be over just yet. The final episode debuted in time to celebrate the new year, but fans have been scrambling for clues that the Duffer Brothers may have something else up their sleeves.
In this case, fans decided to call it the Conformity Gate theory, in which the 'ending' Mike set up is not the ending at all, but a 'gate' to unlocking the truth: Stranger Things has an upcoming secret episode.
WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Stranger Things, so proceed with caution.
Conformity Gate Theory: Why Fans are Not Convinced Stranger Things is 'Over'
Never underestimate a fan when it comes to debunking how the story might end. Stranger Things had been building things up for Mike Wheeler and his friends to confront and destroy Vecna once and for all, and fans can't get over that the finale concluded way too quickly for their taste. And they're not wrong.
Instead of ruling out the finale's inconsistencies as production failures, fans connected the dots and realized that the Duffer Brothers might be cooking.
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Ever notice how surreal the ending of Stranger Things felt? From the weird orange graduation gowns to basketball star Steve Harrington becoming a school baseball coach, and the many other unresolved questions, how likely is it for the Duffer Brothers to forget the most important details in Hawkins?
Think about it: the graduation gown colors closely resemble prisoner uniforms than an 'end' to their high school journey. Hawkins' primary school color is green after all.
Steve might've loved helping kids, but why become a baseball coach rather than a basketball expert? Vecna last saw Steve in a baseball cap. Ring any bells?
Where did Murray and Vickie go after their victory? All of it comes down to how Max reacted to the end of their D&D campaign: "What was all that for? You wasted our time!" exactly how fans reacted.
But there's one crucial piece of information they're forgetting: Vecna can control their realities. Vecna did say Will would "help" spy for him "one last time."
But throughout Volume 2, leading to the end of season 5, Will didn't "help" Vecna with anything. He didn't turn out to be a traitor. So, what gives?
Mike says, "Conformity can be a nice thing," when his friends were crashing out over the happy endings. The episode closes with a shot of a door, similar to how Camazotz was constructed: a fake reality imposed by the memory-binding mental prison that Vecna always cast.
The Stranger Things Play Wasn't Just For a Spin-Off: It May Be a Clue
While it's easy to take all of these clues with a grain of salt, it's possible that fans hit the nail on the head with this theory. And if the graduation gowns, minor character disappearances, and Steve's baseball team are not enough to convince you, the Stranger Things play might.
The play Stranger Things: The First Shadow explores a "play within a play" as the characters prepare their own stage to "sing their own ending" before a live audience.
If you can remember, Vecna also happened to mention that he sees kids as "puppets for his play", revealing that Will is the key vessel in merging dimensions.
Again, we never see Will being manipulated in Vecna or the Mind Flayer's favor. Instead, the Stranger Things finale served plotholes and an almost perfect ending, leaving fans waiting on Netflix's cue to surprise them with a secret ending that the Duffer Brothers had been planning all along.
What do you think about this theory?
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