The idea that there’s a hidden ninth episode of the popular Netflix series (dubbed ‘#conformitygate’) has shifted. When no extra episode appeared on January 7th, viewers started re-examining the final season for hints. Now, a potential release date for what many believe will be the true finale has been announced.
Fans who were hoping for a surprise episode of the show (often referred to as #conformitygate) are still optimistic, even though nothing happened on the originally predicted date. They’re holding onto the belief that the creators, the Duffer Brothers, have another surprise in store. While many thought a new episode would drop on January 7th, some now think they misinterpreted the clues and the actual release date is Monday, January 12th.
This date also marks the release of the documentary One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5. However, some conspiracy theorists believe this isn’t accidental. They think the documentary is a deliberate distraction.
One fan pointed out a curious detail: the promotional materials shifted from photos with numerical clues related to January 7th to a video released on January 12th. They believe this change is a deliberate attempt to mislead fans, especially since the January 12th date comes after the 7th. Another fan drew a parallel to the Broadway play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, noting that its initial advertising concealed its true nature until audiences were already seated. This has led them to remain hopeful that significant information will be revealed by January 12th.
Is #conformitygate Even More Meta Than We Thought?
If you’re still wondering about #conformitygate, here’s a quick explanation. A popular fan theory is spreading on X (formerly Twitter) suggesting that the controversial final episode of Stranger Things isn’t actually real. Fans are rewatching Season 5, searching for evidence that Vecna has created an illusion and will replace the episode with something else.
One fan said they’ll remain skeptical until January 12th, hoping Vecna will become a recurring villain like Freddy Krueger. They’re fully invested in following the unfolding story! This person speculated that either short clips from each episode will be released every few hours today, potentially leading to an announcement about episode 9 within seven hours, or that a clip will be released each day leading up to the January 12th ‘documentary’ – though they really hope that isn’t the case. They also suggested the January 7th date might be a misdirection, with the real reveal happening on January 12th, and that the ‘documentary’ might not be a documentary at all, but something else entirely. They used the hashtags #WhatIf and #conformitygate.
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Things might be even stranger than they seem! One fan believes that even though “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up” is the last episode, it’s actually just another illusion created by Vecna – meaning everyone lost. According to their theory, the characters are permanently trapped, and we’ll never see them escape because they won’t – the full explanation is linked above.
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2026-01-08 15:35