4 January 2026

Stranger Things’ Season 5 finale is either genius or Game of Thrones Season 8 all over again, and it hinges on one nutty theory

By newsgame

Spoilers about Stranger Things Seasons 1 through 5, including the finale, ahead.

Let me preface this by saying that I was not hyped about Stranger Things‘ Season 5 finale after Volume 1 and, especially, Volume 2. Stranger Things has been a generational show, and I absolutely loved it when the first season aired. Mixing sci-fi with Dungeons and Dragons was like a dream come true for me. However, Season 1 was the absolute peak for me, and only some moments in Season 3 and most of Season 4 came close. I didn’t feel much in Season 5, and I thought the finale was mostly disappointing, not keeping the promise of answering all questions. In fact, it raised more questions than it answered, and I was taken aback when I realized four seemingly small things:

Everyone in the graduation scene was sitting in the exact same pose, which is the same as Henry Creel before he became Stranger Things‘ Vecna.
Dustin was eager to embrace and please his bullies as soon as they were kind to him after his graduation speech.
Robin was suddenly more feminine with no mention of Vicky, whereas Nancy and Mike were basically copies of their parents, and Steve ended up being a sports coach.
Heroes by David Bowie was played as the end credits song, the third time in the show.

The most important here is Heroes by David Bowie, I feel, and I’ll get to it in a minute. But first, I want to talk about “conformitygate.” This tag started popping up on my Twitter feed a lot, and when I did some digging, I discovered that it was exactly what I needed — a theory about Stranger Things‘ Season 5 finale not being the true ending, but rather a vision induced by Vecna, a dream, or something Mike’s mind is making up.

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Stranger Things Season 5’s Alternate Finale Theory Explained

You May Not Have to Say Goodbye to Stranger Things Just Yet

Leading up to Season 5, the Stranger Things cast and creators, the Duffer brothers, did several rounds of interviews. The Duffers repeatedly said to look at the details, that the finale would feel packed and come full circle, answering questions that had been left lingering and clearing out potential doubts. This is not what the December 31/January 1 episode did, and instead, a lot of new questions emerged about what seem like screenwriting mistakes, prop issues, big Stranger Things plot holes, and more. These haven’t been addressed at all, and when asked about the possibility of them having shot multiple endings, the Duffers were vague and possibly even sarcastic.

There is a huge community of fellow fans invested in #conformitygate on Twitter, and if you look at all the evidence, it makes sense. A lot of sense, actually. For example, the Duffers said that the finale was printed on red paper, but the pictures of the cast reading through the finale’s script show regular white pages. Sure, this isn’t enough evidence, but it’s the tip of the iceberg.

Every Hint to an Alternate Stranger Things Ending in Season 5 Explained

But there are many more potential clues, starting with actual scenes, props, and even plotlines. These are:

Holly’s roundabout: This is grey and yellow with a yellow middle section in Volume 1, and then with a change to the middle section becoming grey instead of yellow in Volume 2. This allows Holly to understand that something’s wrong, and she finds a portal underneath the roundabout, which was misconstructed by Vecna using memories that are not his.
Henry Creel’s pose (hands and arms): Before becoming Vecna, Henry Creel used to keep his hands joined and his arms in a resting position. This was seen a lot in Dr. Brenner’s lab. Everyone has the same pose in the high school graduation scene, but also while listening to Will coming out as gay. Importantly, this was also seen with Billy and some of the Flayed in Season 3, and it’s the same pose Eleven and Henry have when playing chess in the lab.

The ‘Duffers’ T-shirt: During the finale, Steve is talking to Robin while a cameraman is sitting next to him wearing a T-shirt that reads “Duffers,” which is a way to break the fourth wall. This is also done with several random characters watching the camera, rather than something that is happening, and it’s even done by Hopper in his final speech to Mike. Most of the students graduating also stare at the camera. A member of the audience during graduation day also holds a blank yellow poster.
A Wrinkle in Time and Camazotz: Holly and Max call Vecna’s mindscape Camazotz, which is a nod to A Wrinkle in Time. However, the various characters staring at the camera and acting in sync is very reminiscent of the scene where all the kids in the neighborhood play with a red bouncing ball in sync, meaning that all of Hawkins could be under Vecna’s spell.
No time on watches or dates on recordings: A clever Twitter user that goes by @fearlessclaps pointed out that in the post-final confrontation, no watches or recordings in Stranger Things‘ Hawkins show the time or date. This is similar to what happens in dreams, as you will mostly be unable to read text, see the time, or even dates on a calendar.

Distorted memories and wrong objects: Twitter user @Jm4rxx pointed out that the pointer in the tower changes from grey in Volume 1 to red in Volume 2, much like Holly’s roundabout. Similarly, Will’s coming out speech mentions going to Melvald’s to get milkshakes, but the place no longer sells milkshakes and only did in the past, when Vecna could have visited it as Henry Creel. This indicates that the story in the entire Volume 2 may be told by Vecna.

Netflix’s January 7 teaser: While not part of the show itself, Netflix’s new 2026 teaser is a short clip involving a girl who sees reality reshape in front of her eyes. It’s supposed to be an ad for all the things coming to Netflix in 2026, but it’s also heavily played around Stranger Things, including a series of Season 5 posters on the wall, an Upside Down-like shot, and the entire theme itself. This could be about the Stranger Things spin-off, but it could also mean that the “real” finale will drop or be announced on January 7. This could also have further significance when considering the famous “It was a 7” line in Season 1 and the fact that the final shot of the DnD campaign in the finale shows a d20 die with a 7 on it.

Why Stranger Things’ Ending Soundtrack Matters

There’s More Than Meets The Eye to Heroes by David Bowie in Stranger Things

Now let’s go back to Heroes by David Bowie and why it’s important. As I mentioned, it’s played three times total in the series:

Heroes by David Bowie (Peter Gabriel’s version) plays in Stranger Things Season 1, Episode 3, when the police find Will’s body in the quarry. The episode ends with Mike, Lucas, and Dustin believing that Will is dead, which is later confirmed to be false.
The same song and the same version plays in Stranger Things Season 3, Episode 8, when Eleven reads Hopper’s letter after his presumed death. He is later confirmed alive.
The original version of Heroes by David Bowie is played during the end credits of Stranger Things Season 5. This could mean that, for the third time in a row, what the audience sees or believes is not real.

This is a simple pattern, but I refuse to believe it’s a coincidence that the song was played during two distinct moments when viewers were supposed to believe a character died, and then a third time after the finale with all the evidence that there could be a true ending in the near future. It has to be intentional, otherwise it’s just a bad choice, even if the Duffers now state that Joe Keery (Steve Harrington) is the one who suggested the song for the credits.

What Even is Stranger Things’ New Conformitygate Theory?

There are various examples of characters conforming in the finale, but “conformitygate” itself comes from two specific scenes. The first is when, during graduation day, Dustin gives a speech as valedictorian, saying that conformity is bad for everyone in school, and there should be no “jocks, nerds, and freaks.” This happens after discussing the clothes they had to wear that day, which are oddly orange, much like the color of prisoner suits. Not only that, but Dustin being valedictorian after getting bad grades in Stranger Things Season 4 and 5 makes little sense.

The second instance is when the core group made of Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin, and Max meet in the Wheelers’ basement for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Max is unhappy with how things go, and she says that the ending is trite because it’s just comfort and happiness, being upset because Mike is not this master storyteller she expected him to be. This could be a way for the show to tell the audience that the fact that everyone but Mike and Eleven gets comfort and happiness is not meant to be the way things truly end. Hence, conformitygate is born.

How do Stranger Things Characters Conform in Season 5?

Mike essentially becomes his father; a recluse, filled with regret, visibly unhappy. Even physically he resembles him, though he ends up having the same haircut as Henry Creel. Nancy strangely has the exact same haircut as well, just with longer hair. She is also very similar to her mother, and dropped out of college, conforming to the same model she has had her entire life despite her stating in previous seasons that she didn’t want to become like her.

Despite seeing the rot in the force, Season 5’s Hopper goes back to being a cop. Will is seen smoking and wearing a leather jacket like his father, Lonnie, whom he despised. Robin has seemingly broken up with Vickie and now appears more feminine in the way she dresses and even her haircut. Eleven felt the pressure of the world on her shoulders and that she didn’t belong, so she made the ultimate sacrifice and felt hopeless throughout Season 5. Dustin gave a “no conformity” speech only to be invited to a party by his bullies and considering going. There are many instances of this, and it’s hard to write them off as coincidences.

Is Stranger Things Getting a Season 6?

Whether the show is meant to continue or not is up in the air for now, but there are many clues that what is shown in the last 4 episodes is not how things truly go. And if that’s the case, would this made-up ending sit well with everyone if no follow-up episodes, movies, or seasons were to exist? The answer is “probably not,” unless you conform.

But here’s a last thing: the ending mirrors that scene in Stranger Things Season 1 where the kids are playing Dungeons and Dragons in the basement, and then there is a shot of the stairs going up and the basement door, with the handle on the left. In Stranger Things 5’s Episode 8, called The Rightside Up, the doorknob is on the right.