Is Stranger Things Conformity Gate Real? Unpacking the Episode 9 Rumors

Some Stranger Things fans thought they had mourned the last of the Netflix series; others refused to accept that it was truly over.Just days after the season 5 finale dropped on the streamer — and played in theaters — a theory called “Conformity Gate” spread on social media, claiming that episode 9 was coming out.

So, is the theory real, or is it completely baseless? Below, Hollywood Life unpacks “Conformity Gate” and what the Stranger Things cast and crew have said about the show’s ending.What Is the Stranger Things ‘Conformity Gate’ Rumor? Dubbed “Conformity Gate,” online users spread a viral theory that a new episode of Stranger Things season 5 was going to be released.

As seen across TikTok and X.com primarily, fans said that “Conformity Gate” began due to viewers’ criticism of how the Duffer Brothers ended the show.Many pointed out that, in one of the final scenes, the main characters aligned their books to spell the letters “XALIE,” which fans argued meant that Dimension X is a lie.

These conspiracy theorists believed the finale was all in Vecna’s mind and that, therefore, it wasn’t real.“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,” one person tweeted.

Other critics chimed in about the creative choices behind the final season, as one X user wrote, “It’s hilarious how the Duffers inability to write a satisfying conclusion and reliance on the ‘we left it to the viewer’s interpretation’ crutch has now led to a fanbase somehow rabidly believing there is a secret final episode that just clearly does not exist.” Is Stranger Things ‘Conformity Gate’ Real? Episode 9 Rumors Explained No, unfortunately, there is no new episode of Stranger Things season 5.“Conformity Gate” is not true.

During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring J...