On New Year’s Eve, Stranger Things: The Finale debuted simultaneously on the streamer and in roughly 600 cinemas — more than a third belonged to AMC, the country and world’s largest chain — before holding encore showings throughout New Year’s Day. At AMC alone, the theater giant said that The Finale earned $15 million from the $20 food and beverage credits purchased.
The total summation for all theaters showing may have been near $30 mil.. a true cultural moment..
MORE…
Netflix didn’t have to worry about reporting grosses for Stranger Things, since fans reserved a seat by purchasing a concession voucher directly from the theaters.
AMC and Cinemark Theatres both charged $20, plus fees in certain instances.
Regal Cinemas and several others charged $11, a reference to the name of the show’s lead character.
Earlier this week, the Duffers said on social media that 1.1 million vouchers had been sold. By New Year’s Day, Steve Buck’s leading research and exit polling firm EntTelligence showed admissions at 1.3 million…
The other day, we said goodbye to Stranger Things. We actually posted something here thanking the show and its creators for a full decade of memories—anticipation, fan theories, speculation, and fun. And it’s worth reminding ourselves: at the end of the day, this is a TV show. In this case, maybe one of the most important television shows ever made—but it’s still fiction.
However… Over the past 48 hours, a lot of fans have become enamored with a possibility now being called Conformity Gate.
Here’s the theory: the final episode of Stranger Things wasn’t quite right. There was too much conformity as the happy endings unfolded—especially during the Hawkins High graduation scene. To many fans, that ceremony didn’t represent freedom at all, but rather suggested that everyone was still a prisoner of Vecna, their minds quietly under his control.
People have pointed out that during the graduation, the students all sit with their hands folded in the exact same way—just like Vecna. The audience behind them mirrors the posture too. There’s also renewed talk about unreleased footage—specifically a Mike and Will basement scene that fans have demanded access to for years. The Duffer Brothers have told Variety that there really isn’t much cut footage and that this scene may not even exist. But that hasn’t stopped the speculation.
So what we’re left with is a familiar and fascinating mix: clues, theories, and the same kind of obsessive deep-dives we’ve been doing for ten years now. Hidden gems in trailers. Posters. Morse code. Radio stations. Easter eggs layered on top of Easter eggs. All the breadcrumbs the Duffers trained us to follow.
But the real question is: should we still be following them? Is there any chance Conformity Gate is actually real?
Here’s some screenshots without endorsements from the most fun speculation of all.
Here’s what we do know. There are spin-offs coming. One of them could explain why the old man in the cave had a suitcase containing the rock that infected Henry. We also know there’s an animated series coming to Netflix—and the beauty of animation is that kids don’t have to age. They can stay young forever if you want them to. And let’s be honest, there are probably more spin-offs on the way.
I’ll admit this: after seeing Stranger Things in a theater—by the way, I successfully avoided social media for 24 hours before watching it in IMAX—I floated a theory to some friends. When Hopper says he’s moving to Montauk, what if he knows Eleven is alive? What if he has her? What if he got a deal he couldn’t refuse, backed by the government, to leave Hawkins and relocate so experimentation could continue elsewhere? After all, it was the ’80s. The Cold War was winding down. The Soviet Union was nearing collapse.
Maybe that’s a silly theory. But there have been plenty of silly theories over the years.. and that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Why not join in?
But there is one that got me. One of the Conformity gate theories asks why there’s no leaves on trees and why during the graduation scene in May it looks like it’s in the autumn. Could this be a true continuity failure or perhaps, should we dive deeper.
And maybe this is the biggest sign of all that we’re going to miss the hell out of this show. For the last two days, Conformity Gate has been fun. We’ve been anxiously hopeful that WSQK might come back, even though it’s been taken off the air and the only hint of future activity seems to be possible merchandising. But all of this just proves how uniquely powerful this show was. Stranger Things united us.
But then again back to the conspiracy why did the binders change in the final episode? Continuity area yet again or are we being messed with because there’s no coincidences like Lucas told us when he broke the fourth wall..
It brought people together on forums, websites, and social media in ways no one expected. People became friends who never would have crossed paths otherwise. Just like Dustin said during his graduation speech. In their fictional world, the events in Hawkins brought people together unexpectedly. The same thing happened in the real world.
I don’t think we’re ever going to see another show like this in our lifetime. There will be other great movies and shows. There will be water-cooler moments. But this one was different. We knew it was special while it was happening.
And now that it’s gone, there’s a deep sense of loss. Watching the final scenes play out in a packed theater was something I won’t forget. People applauded. And then, during that last wave of nostalgia, the room went quiet. Adults and kids alike. Walking down the theater steps afterward, there was this somber hush. It wasn’t a funeral march—we were grateful—but it felt like a funeral in one important way: something was gone that we can’t get back.
The magic of waiting for each season. I remember exactly where I was in 2016. I remember the summer of 2019 when Season 3 dropped and everything felt lighter and more fun. I remember where I was when Season 4 released. This show marked time in our lives. It mattered.
So if the Duffer Brothers were clever enough to hide a twisted ending and Conformity Gate turns out to be real.. bring it on. I won’t complain about extra footage or another chapter. But realistically, I think it’s over.
Except… it’s never really over with us, is it? Sometimes these spin-offs work. Often they don’t. But because we fell in love with Stranger Things, we’ll give each one a chance.
As I write this, Stranger Things is about to air for the final time ever on Netflix. This is it—ten full years of fan theories, trailer hunts, and that thrill of waiting for the next chapter. More than almost any recent show, it became woven into our lives.
Think about it: for a decade it was the constant entertainment that we either watched over and over, or used as fuel for long, run‑out online discussions about what could happen next. That kind of presence is rare—on a scale you’d normally reserve for shows like MASH* or Cheers, the ones people remember for a lifetime.
Whatever you feel about tonight’s final episode, remember the bigger story: this show gave us a decade of shared moments—of fear, wonder, jokes, and community. Ross Duffer wrote that they all watched it together, and now the rest is history for these talented actors.
So here’s to Stranger Things, and here’s to the memories we made along the way. Cheers.
And just for posterity’s sake here’s the moment on the squawk radio wsqk station right after the countdown to New Year’s. The station was off the air and hours but we had a lot of enjoyment from this as well..
It’s Stranger Things Day. The finale is here, dropping on New Year’s Eve tonight across the world. This amazing, decade-long journey of Stranger Things is coming to a bittersweet end. It’s been memorable. It’s been great. Except for this season, which a lot of people seem to hate. But what if we’ve all been played? Let me explain.
There’s a very popular TikToker, username Flayed, who’s been making the rounds with a theory that Vecna isn’t just destroying Will’s memories but collectively, our memories as well. And when you start connecting the dots, a lot of things suddenly line up.
It all goes hand in hand with the WSQK Squawk radio station that the creators chose to build for this show. It slightly breaks the fourth wall — actually, it breaks it quite a bit. We can listen to the station as glitches happen in real time, Morse code appears, and strange ads play for skating rinks we’ve never heard of before. There are also jokes about walking into basements and locking doors if you want privacy — a subtle nod to the idea that Will and Mike were found in the basement at some point, and that this whole Byler situation really did happen.
And it gets deeper.
Is it possible that Vecna has been breaking the fourth wall this entire time? He stares directly at us on multiple occasions. Lucas does it too when he says, “There are no coincidences.” Colors change. Objects don’t look the same. On the radio station, announcer Vance Goodman even says that a button he always pushed is suddenly a different color.
There are hints everywhere that something is wrong with time — or reality itself. That there’s a wrinkle happening not just in Hawkins, but in the way memories exist. People remember things differently. Events don’t line up the way they should. Even we, as viewers, are arguing about scenes that may not be what we think they are. Everyone has been debating the coming-out scene, arguing about whether it worked or didn’t. But what if we all missed a much bigger clue?
The store Will talks about doesn’t serve milkshakes — at least not in the 1980s scenes. But it could have in the 1950s, when a younger Henry might have been a customer. And when everyone gives Will a final hug after that scene, Joyce doesn’t. Maybe that’s the moment she realizes Will isn’t sharing his memories anymore — that something feels wrong, altered, or incomplete. It’s a cool theory. And it’s the last one I’m going to talk about, because the show ends tonight. But if this theory turns out to be true — if the Duffer Brothers didn’t just break the fourth wall, but actually pulled the entire world into the story — if they made us debate moments that didn’t really happen because Vecna wasn’t just destroying the characters’ memories, but ours as well… My God.
That would be a brilliant ending. One that would blow everyone out of the water. The final trailer didn’t give us much. Just flames, fire, and red everywhere, along with Hopper giving an inspirational speech about one last battle — with Eleven, we think. But maybe it’s not Eleven. Maybe it’s Joyce. Maybe they all have to confront their own demons — what they did to Henry when they were kids.
Hold on tight. And if you’re going to a theater to see it, don’t spoil it. Let the theater experience be the very first time you see it. Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone. And happy Stranger Things.
A lot of people are upset by the twists and turns that Stranger Things Season 5 has taken. Some fans are enraged, others are bored, and a surprising number were so confused that they needed The Duffer Brothers themselves to confirm what the plot actually was. So let’s talk predictions.
The final episode drops on New Year’s Eve, both on Netflix and in theaters. We’ll be among the people seeing it in a theater on New Year’s Day, which means I’ll be shutting off every facet of the internet and social media until about 5:15 p.m. on January 1st. I really don’t want the ending spoiled. That said, let’s talk about the ending.. at least what could be cool.
A lot of people have said that an ending where the boys are revealed to be sitting around a table ten years ago, finishing a Dungeons & Dragons game, with everything revealed as just a story, would be a terrible ending. I’ve come around to thinking it wouldn’t be so bad. It would mean Eleven never existed and everything we saw was imagined. That’s bold, and honestly, it might work.
Another theory that’s been floating around involves a scene we haven’t seen yet, Hopper talking to an adult Mike on a bench. Maybe instead of a traditional ending, they figure out the wormhole and travel back to November 6, 1983, preventing Will Byers from ever being taken by the Demogorgon. But in doing so, they create a reverberation where many other things never happen, friendships never form, lives take different paths, and Mike never becomes who he was supposed to be. That’s an interesting concept too.
Now for a crazy theory. The show would have to be brave to pull this off—and history suggests they won’t, because they’ve chickened out every time they’ve had the chance—but it’s strange how Henry kept warning Holly not to go into the woods because the monsters were there. When she did go into the woods, she found Max. After that long monologue, Max tells Holly she can’t come with her and has to find her own way out, which puts Holly in even more danger. Then Max later says, “The song didn’t bring me back. You did.” What if Max is actually dead?
There are tons of other fan theories out there, most of which probably won’t happen. Every time the show has faced the opportunity to kill off a main character, it hasn’t followed through. The final episode is titled The Right Side Up. To us, that implies the Upside Down was never opened at all—and the only way to fix that is to go back in time and stop it from ever happening.
If that’s the case, everything resets. We’ll see.
This finale has to be epic. Otherwise, the accusations that this is heading toward a Game of Thrones–style ending will stick, and ten years of buildup will have been for nothing. Duffer Brothers, it’s all on you. Let’s hope you made the most of it.
Either way, Joyce still owes Hopper a dinner at Enzo’s..
It’s pretty amazing .. for a show that got almost everything right for the better part of a decade, it somehow managed to get almost everything wrong with its finale.
The most recent episode of Stranger Things , Season 5, Episode 7 , is now the lowest-rated episode of the entire series, even rating lower than The Lost Sister episode from Season 2.
This isn’t just a mixed reaction. It’s an overwhelmingly negative one.
On one side of the fan base, the coming-out scene involving Will Byers has sparked frustration from viewers who wanted more — maybe a more intimate, personal moment between Will and Mike Wheeler, or at least a different approach to how it was handled.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are fans who don’t believe the scene should have been included at all, claiming the show “went woke” and echoing the familiar “go woke, go broke” refrain pushed by more conservative commentators. But what if there’s more to this story? What if there were lost scenes? Lost footage? A different cut of the episode altogether?
One claim in particular suggests a key sequence was cut in order to keep the season’s rating from crossing into more mature territory, bringing it down to something more acceptable for Netflix. Now, to be clear, we don’t know if any of this is true. But we’re sharing it because it’s popping up across multiple fan sites and forums, and because speculation is part of the fun, especially when the reality has been a little disappointing. For a show that stands as one of the biggest series in television history, and unquestionably the biggest in Netflix’s catalog, it’s hard not to wonder what could have been when what we’ve gotten so far just hasn’t lived up to the legacy.
Will’s storyline with Vecna/Henry was reportedly shortened, removing key developments.
A planned plot of Eleven and Mike traveling to Camazotz to rescue Will was allegedly cut.
Scenes exploring Will’s sexual trauma, initially intended to make the show TV-MA, were toned down.
Important Mike and Will moments—including music-centered scenes featuring Just Like Heaven by The Cure—were removed.
A basement one-on-one scene between Mike and Will never made it into the episodes.
Max and Will were initially part of a team with Eleven and Holly to explain their closeness, but these interactions were cut.
A dramatic fake-out death for Will, echoing his Season 1 CPR scene, was also removed.
Character Dynamics and Plotlines
The Eleven & Max reunion appeared out of character, possibly because the original reunion scene was cut.
Max and Will’s sudden closeness may have been explained in a removed Camazotz plotline.
Some interactions, such as Robin and Mike arguing or Maya Hawke mentoring multiple characters, seem incomplete due to missing scenes.
The Mike & Eleven tub scene was shortened, removing wide shots seen in trailers, possibly referencing cut plotlines.
Vecna blocking Eleven out of his mindscape raised logical inconsistencies—suggesting a previous attempt to enter Camazotz was removed.
Missing Characters and References
Raphael Luce (young Henry Creel) filmed scenes that never appeared, including more appearances of Henry giving blood.
Gabrielle Nevaeh’s character (Patty Newby) in the tie-in play The First Shadow was absent from the season.
Mind Flayer mentions were limited, contradicting the play’s storyline.
Certain songs and the WSQK Collection vinyl were not used, despite being promoted.
Some characters teased for Volume 2, like Chance and other bullies, never appeared.
Evidence of Editing Decisions
IMDb initially listed longer runtimes for episodes, supporting claims of cuts.
A leaked style guide included dialogue not featured in the final season, suggesting removed scenes.
Episode editing continued late into December, long after earlier episodes were completed.
Crew members were restricted from posting behind-the-scenes content, hinting at sensitive material.
Merch items and Easter eggs (like the ‘For Will’ mixtape) were not referenced in the episodes.
Statements from Cast and Crew
Jamie Campbell Bower indicated that Vecna’s darker moments were planned but not shown.
Noah Schnapp mentioned dissociating during Will’s coming out scenes.
Finn Wolfhard teased a song tied to Mike that never appeared in the final cut.
The Duffer Brothers noted unusual last-minute edits and expressed frustration with executive interference.
Shawn Levy confirmed the heavy emotional weight carried by Finn and Noah in filming, implying significant content was intended.
Whether all of this is true or not.. fans are demanding a release of THIS version…
The directors cut.. if only it really was the past, just like the lost VHS director’s cut of Halloween 6 existed only in strange online circles, maybe this TV-MA version would too..?
This morning, a lot of Stranger Things fans are waking up a little jaded. Spoiler alert: Will Byers is gay.
Listen, fans have known that since season one, episode one, when Joyce Byers explains to Jim Hopper what people say about her son Will. That part isn’t shocking. If anything, Will having a coming-out moment was inevitable, and yes, that moment can be celebrated. But all that building up to some moment where Will and Mike would have this special embrace? Some fans longed for it and they did not get it.
But at the same time, the show deserves criticism because the larger storyline has gone completely off the rails.
Plotlines have become subplots that have subplots of their own. Characters endlessly gather in circles, drawing plans on boards, debating whether those plans will work, then seemingly not doing the plan at all. Instead, they get attacked by demogorgons anyway, only for miracles to happen where everyone escapes without injury.
Which brings us to the biggest spoiler of all: no one has died.
Everyone was bracing for a major loss. The Duffer Brothers warned us about a “very sad Christmas,” yet here we are scratching our heads. Fans will still be fans, and I’ll still be one too, but the episodes presented last night were strange and confusing. There was far too much dialogue, and characters we’ve watched develop for four seasons suddenly don’t act like themselves anymore.
We’re still hopeful the final season and the series finale will blow us away. But so far, we’ve been blown away by boredom. It has to be said. I don’t want to say it, but there is simply too much going on. There’s that famous episode of Happy Days where Fonzie literally jumps over a shark. That moment became shorthand for when a television show loses its way. Jumping the shark happens to a lot of good shows. That’s part of why Seinfeld remains legendary. It knew when to end before that moment arrived.
So the question becomes: did Stranger Things jump the shark, or in this case, jump the demogorgon? And if it did, when did it happen? Was it season five, episode by episode? Or did it quietly happen sometime late in season four and we just didn’t notice at the time?
We still love the show. We still can’t wait for the series finale. But the stretch getting there has been tedious, strange, and more boring than it should be.
And quite frankly, if the idea was that affirming Will’s sexuality would somehow make the show better, that’s fine. He did it. But it added nothing to a plot where we already knew exactly who Will was. Worse, it teased fans who expected an emotional payoff between Will and Mike, only to have Mike essentially ignore him in that moment.
Historically speaking, Indiana had decriminalized homosexuality in 1977. But in 1986 there was a law giving restrictions on marriage. That context seems to matter but the show didn’t explore it too much given the rapidness of how they had Will–while the world was ending–decide to come out then. It was his arc.. and it was his moment. But it seemed that it was fit in during a strange time when it was not placed correctly.
Despite season five going down a strange path, we’re still fans, and there were some genuinely cool and redeeming moments. There was an awesome reference tonight involving A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, where Holly was talking to Max and had to return to a frightening memory of being with her friends watching Nightmare 3.
That episode was directed by Frank Darabont, who was also involved with Nightmare 3. There were also some solid nods to Phantasm, along with a few moments that were genuinely unique and well-crafted. Unfortunately, those highs are paired with negative aspects that are probably too numerous to list.
It also gave us a really cool poster that was designed for the show that has a huge likeness and homage to NIGHTMARE 3:
But we go from that to then Max bringing Holly along to get out of the upside down or whatever it is… just to tell her stick around and she can’t come with her? Odd..
And speaking of botching things up? Suddenly MAX says that the song is ‘not important’? It’s not? The entire theory from season 1 is how music guided people through the darkness of the upside down..
At this point, it feels like Stranger Things has dropped the demogorgon somewhere along the way.
At this point it feels like fan theories of the show have better plots and storylines than what the Duffers gave us.. we think. That last show could still be redeeming but we have yet to see time travel…or anything besides Hopper and the kids debating whether they can fly helicopters and kill Vecna. Or whatever they are trying to do…
We just have to figure out when it happened and hold our breath for one truly incredible, climactic battle at the end.
You’ve all been broadcasting the wrong runtimes for the second half of Stranger Things Season 5. The official runtimes were released today, and they’re not what’s been floating around online. Here are the real, confirmed episode lengths:
Chapter 5 – “Shock Jock”: 1 hour, 8 minutes Chapter 6 – “Escape From Camazotz”: 1 hour, 15 minutes Chapter 7 – “The Bridge”: 1 hour, 6 minutes Chapter 8 – “The Right Side Up”: 2 hours, 8 minutes Yes the finale is a full movie.
And honestly, The Right Side Up already sounds like the perfect mirror-image ending to five seasons spent trapped in the Upside Down. If that title doesn’t feel like a victory lap, I don’t know what does.
So please stop spreading fake runtimes. These are the official numbers. And remember: everything drops in just hours on Christmas Day.
19-year-old woman named Leah Palmirotto died after falling from the roof of an old, abandoned building in Atlanta, Georgia..
She was with friends exploring the building at night (around 1 a.m.). They climbed over a fence to enter, despite it being fenced off with “no trespassing” signs.
The building is on Emory University’s Briarcliff campus. Built in the 1960s as the Georgia Mental Health Institute (a psychiatric hospital), it closed years ago.
It is famous for being used as the exterior (and some interior) of Hawkins National Laboratory in the Netflix show Stranger Things She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are investigating, but it appears to be an accident during urban exploring (visiting abandoned places).
So everyone has been talking lately about Stranger Things Season 5 and the idea that Mr. What’s It is based on a true story from 1962, a supposed incident where a group of children all saw and drew the same mysterious man wearing a hat.
Here’s the scoop. There probably is no true story from 1962.
What seems to be happening is that the same urban legend keeps getting repeated over and over across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, with no facts to back it up. There is no documented mass sighting of a Hat Man in 1962. There is no verified location. There is no teacher testimony. There are no archived newspaper articles. And there is no evidence anywhere that the Duffer Brothers ever said Henry’s Mr. What’s It character was based on an incident like this.
In fact, if anything, the character feels closer to something like A Wrinkle in Time than it does to a real world event. That doesn’t mean there isn’t something familiar about him, though. Because while the 1962 story appears to be made up, the Hat Man himself is not new.
The Hat Man has existed in human stories for a very long time, just under different names. In past cultures, shadow figures wearing cloaks or wide brimmed hats show up in folklore tied to night terrors, death omens, or spiritual visitations. Medieval Europe had depictions of dark watchers who stood at the edge of the bed. Victorian ghost stories often described tall men in hats appearing in doorways or hallways. Even older traditions talk about night spirits or watchers who observe silently rather than interact.
What’s interesting is how consistent the imagery is across time. A tall figure. A long coat or cloak. A hat. No clear facial features. No speech. Just presence.
In modern times, most Hat Man encounters are tied to sleep paralysis or intense fever dreams. People who experience it often describe being awake but unable to move, with a crushing sense of dread. And there he is, standing in the corner of the room, in the doorway, or at the foot of the bed… watching.
That idea was explored directly in the 2015 documentary The Nightmare, which focuses entirely on sleep paralysis experiences. The film features multiple people who had never met each other, all describing nearly identical encounters. In that documentary, the Hat Man is essentially the final boss of sleep paralysis. He doesn’t scream. He doesn’t chase. He just looms, silent and terrifying, while the person trapped in that half awake state cannot escape.
So while it may not be true that the creators of Stranger Things based Mr. What’s It on a specific mass sighting from 1962, it is very possible that the Hat Man mythology itself influenced what they created. The idea of a shadow figure that exists between worlds, between sleep and wakefulness, between childhood fear and cosmic horror, fits perfectly into that universe.
But here’s where we have to pump the brakes.
There is no real story that connects a 1962 Hat Man incident to the show. The posts making these claims all recycle the same language. They use AI generated images. They never give an exact location. They never cite a real source. And they never link to an actual quote from the Duffer Brothers.
If anyone out there can find a legitimate source, a real interview, a verified quote, or documented evidence that such an incident occurred and that it inspired the character, send it our way. We will research it. We will correct ourselves. We will say we were wrong.
But until then, this is an urban legend built on top of another urban legend.
We’ve been studying paranormal history for decades. We know about mass UFO sightings. We know about documented cases of mass hysteria in schools in Africa. But when it comes to the Hat Man and California in 1962, there is nothing. Not a single credible mention.
So for now, we’re sticking with this. The Duffer Brothers did not base Mr. What’s It on a 1962 incident because there is no evidence that incident ever happened.
And if the Duffer Brothers ever want to reach out and say otherwise, we’d absolutely love to talk.
