'Conformity Gate' explained as Stranger Things fans convinced the show isn't over

Internet sleuths found themselves caught up in yet another feverish conspiracy theory this week, after sending Stranger Things fans crazy with anticipation that there might be more episodes to follow the show's finale.

The blockbuster Netflix sci-fi drama finally came to an end after five seasons on New Year's Day (January 1), with a lengthy epilogue that aimed to satisfy the audience's hunger to know what happens to the whole Hawkins crew after their battle against Vecna in the Upside Down.

But for lots of fans, tiny details and apparent nods to the final episode not being so final have spawned a whole new ending theory about Stranger Things that caused the Netflix servers to crash.

These supposed hidden hints built into a conspiracy that was quickly dubbed 'Conformity Gate', with thousands of TikTok users sharing details that supported the theory that there is more content from season five still to come.

Lots of Stranger Things fans were left unsatisfied with the show's ending (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Netflix)

The most important part of Conformity Gate centered on the final episode's lengthy epilogue, which shows the young cast as they move on with adolescence and their life journeys without the nefarious interference of creatures from the Upside Down.

Fans argued that this whole sequence was, in fact, the creation of the show's arch villain Vecna, and as such, an illusion that never actually happened. This implies that Stranger Things' creators, the Duffer Brothers, were holding something back.

The brothers have repeatedly denied filming additional or alternative secret endings for the show, in the hopes of putting these inevitable rumors to bed.

Clips and stills from the final season were shared on TikTok as sleuths attempted to piece together a theory that made parts of the show's ending more satisfying, or just make more sense.

This included counting the number of characters in the background, references to the number seven, and inconsistencies that appear to pop up throughout season five.

They noticed a seeming lack of consistency between scenes for several characters and props, only further stoking the rumors, hence the name Conformity Gate.

Vecna has himself weighed in on the Conformity Gate rumours (Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)

But then Netflix posted an unrelated cryptic X post telling subscribers to keep an eye out for something on January 7, and fans immediately drew a connection.

Or, as one X user put it: “The entire Stranger Things fandom currently in a collective psychosis coming up with a theory called Conformity Gate as a coping mechanism because the Duffers writing was genuinely THAT bad.”

With fans convincing themselves that this theory must be true, so many swarmed Netflix on January 7 at 7pm, that the streaming giant's servers briefly went down. Some still believe that something is missing from the show and could be released.

But Vecna himself has even weighed in on the debate, it seems.

His actor, Jamie Campbell Bower, spoke on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, to say the final episode was 'the ending the show deserves'.

He went on to explain: “Even as the actor that plays Vecna, like, it just – it feels right. You know, the show is so much about friendship and love and hope and joy.

"And of course, like, the person who is not that has to go, you know?”