Fans’ Conformity Gate theory ties Stranger Things finale to The OA’s meta twist

Collider reports a fan theory called "Conformity Gate" that argues Stranger Things may have a hidden ninth episode or meta ending, and notes Netflix has scheduled a big announcement on January 7. Supporters point to a documentary releasing on January 12, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stanger Things Season 5, claiming it could serve as a final, meta episode in which Jamie Campbell Bower’s Vecna confronts the cast.

The idea is compared to Wes Craven’s New Nightmare and to Netflix’s The OA, whose season-ender sent characters into the real world by inhabiting their actors’ bodies and then became the series finale after Netflix canceled the show in August 2019. Proponents cite scattered clues: numerology around the number seven (Will rolls a seven in Dungeons & Dragons; the Netflix announcement is set for January 7, a date that is Orthodox Christmas), ties to A Nightmare on Elm Street (Holly watches Dream Warriors, and the seventh franchise entry is New Nightmare), and casting links such as Robert Englund’s Season 4 role as Victor Creel.

The theory is also bolstered, fans say, by cast and crew comments about Season 5’s meta qualities, including remarks from Gaten Matarazzo and the Duffer Brothers in interviews. Netflix has not indicated the theory is true; the only confirmed fact in the reporting is the January 7 announcement, and the outlet noted that a company-wide message makes the secret-ninth-episode idea unlikely.

Key Topics

Culture, Stranger Things, One Last Adventure, Netflix, Duffer Brothers, The Oa