A new episode of Stranger Things Season 5 might get released on Netflix on 7 January, fans speculate amid bizarre theories about a new finale doing the rounds on the internet.

Created by fans dissatisfied with the finale, the Conformity Gate theory has taken over TikTok, Instagram and X.

It refers to the ongoing discourse about the Stranger Things characters having conformed to boring and predictable endings as compared to the proper conclusions to their stories as promised by the creators for a decade.

According to the theory, the final episode dropped by Netflix was fake and all the loose ends will be stitched together in an upcoming episode. As per fans, Vecna is still controlling both the characters and the audience — thus presenting a perfect illusion of a happy ending. The Mind Flayer was not defeated entirely as Vecna emerged victorious.

However, Netflix has not issued an official statement regarding Episode 9.

“This conformity gate theory is INSANEEE, if it doesn’t happen we truly are better writers than the Duffers,” wrote a fan on X.

“Conformity Gate is getting more and more real every time I see evidence. I look like this when I talk about it,” another fan shared on X.

“The Conformity Gate theory is absolute madness… and I desperately want it to be true, but if it comes true? I’m emotionally done. Or we just becoming Joyce Byers,” came another tweet.

Meanwhile, a documentary exploring the making of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things is set to hit Netflix on 12 January. The trailer of the documentary takes fans behind the scenes of pivotal moments from the final season and shows creators Matt and Ross Duffer tearfully addressing the cast and crew.

The decade-long journey of the Hawkins gang came to an end on 1 January with the finale of Stranger Things Season 5. While the first volume of the fifth season premiered on 26 November, the second volume hit the streamer on 26 December.