Last night the Duffer Brothers appeared at a live Happy Sad Confused podcast event in Los Angeles and for a fandom already hanging on every rumor surrounding Stranger Things 5 and the so called “Conformity Gate” theories, the event immediately became dissected online in real time. Livestreams started popping up before audience members were politely asked to stop recording because the discussion was being taped officially for a future podcast release. But by then the attendees had already started taking notes…
According to attendees, the Duffer Brothers touched on everything from Vecna inspirations to the emotional ending of the series, awkward moments involving Noah Schnapp discussions, Season 2 regrets, the future animated series, music licensing nightmares involving Prince, The Beatles and Michael Jackson, and even strange behind the scenes stories including Joe Keery allegedly officiating a wedding in a Scoops Ahoy costume.
One thing that immediately stood out from fan reactions online was the feeling that the Duffers seemed surprised some viewers believe Eleven is dead. That alone is probably going to launch another avalanche of theories. At the same time, when “Conformity Gate” was brought up, the brothers reportedly didn’t really engage the theory directly but instead appreciated how closely fans pay attention to the details in their work.
That answer probably won’t satisfy people who spent months turning Stranger Things into a forensic investigation.
Some of the bigger revelations or talking points from attendees included the Duffer Brothers admitting they would redo the controversial Season 2 Episode 7 if given the chance. They reportedly clarified that the episode was never intended as a spinoff setup and said they simply wanted to take a big creative swing instead of remaking Season 1 over and over again. They also admitted that ending production on the final season was emotional and that filming the final scene deeply affected them, especially watching Finn Wolfhard perform it in what was allegedly one take while the rest of the cast watched emotionally from behind the cameras.
Fans online also became hyper focused on comments involving Noah Schnapp and Will Byers. According to audience notes, the Duffers discussed spending a lot of time with Noah during production, mentioned how many questions he asks, and referenced incidents where he allegedly scared production crews by climbing onto things or nearly hurting himself during filming. Some fans interpreted parts of the conversation as awkward or tense while others thought it was simply the brothers joking around in a blunt way that didn’t necessarily land with everybody.
Another interesting point involved Will Byers’ story arc.
The Duffers reportedly said that at one point a new love interest for Will may have been discussed, but ultimately they decided his journey was more internal and personal instead of being driven by another outside character.
Byler was never in the cards..
The brothers reportedly talked about the challenge of securing music rights for the series and mentioned artists like Prince, The Beatles and Michael Jackson as some of the hardest names to clear. There were also discussions involving why “Purple Rain” was chosen creatively, although some attendees admitted they missed portions of the explanation while trying to take notes quickly.
Meanwhile the future of the Stranger Things universe was also teased. The animated series appears to be moving forward and was reportedly described as already greenlit for another season. Questions about the live action spinoff were handled far more cautiously with the brothers refusing to reveal much other than saying they do not want to rush it and that it has to be “awesome or forget it.”
And perhaps the most fascinating thing about the entire event was not necessarily what was said… but how people reacted afterward.
The Duffer brothers gave us excitement for the past decade and over the past 5 months have become very divisive in the entertainment world. The divisiveness is clearly on display even after the event last night, it doesn’t seem so much damage control was being done but instead the duffers were just being themselves. And that can be appreciated, but the fandom being themselves didn’t seem to appreciate it that much.
In the end this was just a show but as many shows go for so many people it was more than a show and characters that we got to know as though they were real and we had hopes and aspirations for those characters that many times were deflated. But the biggest deflation of all probably came after the show was done when people point it out all of the plot holes and themes such as time travel never really explored.
The appearance on this podcast probably will not do much to assuage fans who are upset.
