The Stranger Things creators, the Duffer Brothers, have now been interviewed talking about how they kind of wish they didn’t do interviews immediately after the Season 5 finale aired. At least one of them was fighting off the flu. Give us some slack, they contend.
And maybe that would land better if this wasn’t happening at the exact moment when Conformity Gate is spreading so fast on social media that even news networks are beginning to notice it.
But here’s the catch.
Despite Conformity Gate fanatics believing, wholeheartedly, that a brand-new show and a “real” final episode is coming tomorrow, there’s pretty much no evidence that this is true. As time goes on, there are no trailers. There are hints people are finding in various places, vague Easter eggs, and maybe even a wrestling crossover that might occur tonight — but we have yet to see any proof of a massive, secret finale event.
Don’t get us wrong.
It would fun and fulfilling..
It would be cutting-edge.
It would be a historic television moment.
But we’re just not seeing the evidence that it’s actually going to come to fruition..
And that takes us back in time, to another television show that was one of our favorites years ago, and still is today: The Office. You might still be watching it. We are. Its enduring legacy continues through generations.
But there was one specific episode that stands apart.
Scott’s Tots.
In that episode, Michael Scott, the lovable but delusional boss from Dunder Mifflin, visits a high school in Scranton. Years earlier, he had promised a group of third graders that if they stayed in school and graduated, he would personally pay for their college tuition. The promise became legend. Graduation rates improved. Teachers told the story. Parents believed in it. The students believed in it. When Michael finally arrives, the kids sing him a song, proudly talk about the colleges they’re attending, and explain how his promise inspired them to stay focused, stay motivated, and believe their dreams would be fulfilled — because Michael Scott would come back and make good on what he said.
Except he doesn’t have the money.
He never did.
And instead of scholarships, all he has to offer are laptop batteries.
The episode is brutal. Painful. Almost unbearable to watch.
We all sat there and winced. Some of us literally covered our faces. It’s widely regarded as one of the most uncomfortable episodes in television history — so much so that many Office fans skip it entirely on rewatches. They know it’s fiction. They know it’s fake. But it’s so well done, so emotionally precise, that we all grimace as Michael sits there desperately trying to figure out what to say to kids who built their futures around his promise.
And that’s where we are now.
Because sometimes, good intentions don’t change how it feels to be on the receiving end of unmet expectations.
So I wonder if the Duffer Brothers are starting to feel something similar.
Listen .. there are tons of rumors floating around. We’re told the last couple of episodes were terrible because one of the Duffer Brothers’ ex-wives supposedly ghost-wrote earlier seasons and wasn’t involved this time. We’re told the writing fell apart. We’re told plot holes exist because the creators simply gave up keeping track of their own mythology.
What we do know is this:
We have a show that many people loved.
We have a show that many people didn’t love.
And we have a rapidly growing segment of fans who believe what we watched wasn’t real at all.
That it was an illusion.
That it was Conformity at its best ..or worst.
And that a “real” Episode 9 is coming to clear everything up.
We’re waiting with bated breath and anticipation.
Just like the kids waited for Michael Scott to walk into that school and fulfill their dreams.
So yeah.
We’re Duffer’s Tots.
We’ve got songs planned.
We’re standing in the auditorium.
We’re watching Netflix refresh.
And predictably when Episode 9 never uploads it’s going to feel a lot like watching Michael Scott walk in with laptop batteries and say, “I tried.”
