STRANGER THINGS: SEASON 5. Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things: Season 5. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix/Netflix © 2025
Stranger Things may be over, but some fans are having a hard time letting go. Since the finale dropped just a few days ago, theories have erupted, leaving some satisfied and others craving more. Much more. That’s led some to believe that more is on the way…
A couple of quick sidenotes. It must be said that this isn’t the first time fan theories have dominated the conversation for Stranger Things. Following Volume 2, fans concluded that Netflix had tempered and edited out large sections of those episodes, citing bogus runtimes and circumstantial evidence. Most of those theories, we found, were coming from the so-called Byler community, which, in layman’s terms, is a community of people who were shipping (i.e., creating fictional relationships for fictional characters) between Will and Mike.
And before diving into the theories that have been circling, we should mention how botched the promotional strategy has been since the release of Volume 3. The Duffer Brothers, forced to answer questions from select outlets on January 1st, have frankly tied themselves in knots by having to answer every single niggling and nagging burning questions (for which there are many) about the finale. Some of their answers contradict themselves, either on that very day or in previous interviews; others are disappointing, and others just don’t make sense. Why Netflix made them do it, rather than letting the work (however flawed) speak for itself, I’ll never know.
What the heck is ConformityGate?
If you’ve been on X and TikTok, and other platforms, but they’re the main ones, you may have seen the Conformity Gate hashtag. Essentially, these are people who are theorizing that there’s a secret ending or more to come, mainly because they are dissatisfied with the ending presented. Once again, there’s a massive overlap with the Byler community here, but it’s much wider than just that group this time around.
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Many of the theories point to a “master doc” started by the 21-year-old Jess on X, under the username 67gate. There’s a fair bit to break down, so here’s my attempt.
The crux of the theory is that Stranger Things’ finale and Volume Two weren’t the true endings, but rather a distorted version of reality created by Vecna. This theory posits that the audience, Mike, or both are under Vecna’s curse, which would explain why many fan-favorite characters appear as “conformed”, watered-down versions of themselves in the epilogue.
In-Show Visual Evidence
- Vecna’s Pose in the Graduation: Nearly every single person in the graduation scene, including the background characters in the bleachers, is seen sitting with their hands crossed in the exact same way. Fans point out this is Vecna’s common pose, as shown when characters like Billy are under his possession.
- The Number 12: Exactly 12 people are seen wearing sunglasses in the same scene, matching the number of kids Vecna supposedly needed to merge the worlds.
- The “Duffers” T-Shirt: A cameraman at the graduation is spotted wearing a shirt with “Duffers” (a nickname for the show’s creators) on his chest while pointing his camera directly at the audience. The theory suggests this is a deliberate nod to the audience being the new victims of Vecna’s altered reality.
- Dials Changing Color: A prop’s dial pointer changes from grey to red between Episode 1 and Episode 5. This is compared to a key moment in Vecna’s mind, where a merry-go-round changing color (yellow to black) led Holly and Max to the exit.
- Non-Working Watches: In both Will’s coming out scene and Mike’s epilogue story, Jonathan and Will are wearing watches that do not display the time. A common feature of dreams, and especially lucid dreaming, is the inability to read clocks or time.
- Inverted Basement Doorknob: The position of the doorknob on the basement door appears inverted in different shots, which could be a subtle visual reference that the characters are still caught in the Upside Down.
External and Finale Discrepancies
- WSQK Radio Mystery: A temporary, official radio station created for the show, WSQK, strangely ended at 11 PM GMT on January 1st, two hours before the finale was released at 1 AM GMT. Adding to the mystery, two of the three hosts’ names, Mindy Flair and Vance Goodman, have been connected to “Mindflayer” and “Vecna”. (There’s a separate lore document here – it’s extensive!)
- The “X A LIE” Binders: An Instagram story posted by actor Finn Wolfhard (Mike) showed the Dungeons & Dragons binders in an order that, when read, could spell out “X A LIE”. This differs from the order they appear in the final scene, a detail some see as a deliberate change to hide the truth.
- The Mike/DM Change: In the final DND game, Mike is referred to as the “Storyteller,” rather than his traditional role of “Dungeon Master.” The term “Storyteller” implies a preplanned narrative, not one created dynamically by the players, suggesting an enforced reality.
- Consequence-Free Hawkins: Other plot discrepancies cited include Hopper not struggling with the death of Eleven, and no characters, including Hopper, who is back to Chief of Police, facing any repercussions from their conflict with the military.
- Red Script Misdirection: Scripts for the finale were reported to have been printed in red to prevent photocopies. However, new behind-the-scenes footage shows the actors reading from scripts printed on white paper, leading to speculation of a controlled narrative.
Fans are also pointing out that if you search for “season 5 episode 9” or “bad ending” in the Netflix app, the Stranger Things tile shows up. We can’t really explain this other than it’s a mistake or some fantastic trolling. I’d bank on the former.
That’s the core of that document, but the well runs deep. Some fans are looking into copyright registrations for episodes (which were undoubtedly delayed because of the holidays), the fact the credits depicted the show as being entirely a game, and even people looking into exit signs (yes, really).
Why is January 7th important?
Another part of the theory revolves specifically around January 7th. Why January 7th? It relates to a teaser Netflix dropped across its socials and YouTube accounts on Christmas Day, with a cryptic teaser that has the caption: “Another year has ended, but your future is on its way. So go on, we know you have questions. All you have to do is ask.”
This video and event have been cited a bunch, but many haven’t gotten the proper context. This event refers to What Next? (previously known as Next on Netflix) where Netflix unveils its 2026 slate of titles. Stranger Things season 5 photos are on display at the bus stop before the actress boards, which has given credence to some Stranger Things news.
Of course, we have already gotten some Stranger Things news this week: the behind-the-scenes making-of documentary One Last Adventure is coming out on January 12th.
While we don’t think Netflix or The Duffers will ever confirm what really happened or if Mike’s theory is reality, there’s always the possibility that we could return to Hawkins in the future (beyond Tales from ’85) anyway. We do know multiple spin-offs have been pitched over the years, but the currently teased live-action spin-off goes into active development as of January 5th, according to the Duffers. Viewers can expect a story with no returning characters, no Hawkins, and no 1980s setting, but one where the mysterious rock from Stranger Things 5 plays an important role in a project that is very different, yet unmistakably Stranger Things.
There are a bunch of other fantastic theories floating around about the ending of Stranger Things. One good one is the fact that the book The Empty Copper Sea was spotted on the bookshelf at the end by author John D. MacDonald. This is relevant given that the subject of that book is about a person who faked their own death. There’s also the fact that the way that Dustin’s t-shirt is covered says “El Lives.”
What do you think about these theories? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to read our full list of burning questions we still have following the ending.
Rating: TV-MA
