Over the span of major U.S. holidays Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, “Stranger Things” fans eagerly looked forward to the release of new episodes on Netflix.

The highly anticipated television series began in 2016, making the show nearly 10 years old. As the show has progressed, it has drawn in loyal followers who had grown up watching, and many had high hopes for the season finale. However, many fans were disappointed by the ending.

Jonathan Lee ’26 described the finale as “anticlimactic.” The directors, Matt and Ross Duffer, even confessed that they began filming the final season before having a finished script.

Harper Parsons ’27 claimed that “I felt like I had to dumb myself down in order to enjoy the finale.”

After being unsatisfied with the ending, many fans theorized that there was actually a secret episode that would come out after the final episode. This theory became known as “Conformity Gate,” where many fans drew connections from previous episodes to piece together a message

Interview hosts asked the actors if they knew anything about Conformity Gate, but were met with only slight laughs, and fans became disappointed as the day came and went with no new episode.

Cyrus Jimenez ’25 stated, “I wanted the Conformity Gate to be real.”

Though fans may not have been impressed with the closing scenes of a beloved show, many social media influencers did post, reminiscing on touching scenes in previous episodes and how the show and the actors grew up with the viewers.

And as the main characters graduate and move on, fans nostalgically waved goodbye to their favorite characters, and say hello to their own futures.

Erin Quan ’26 reminisced, “For over a decade, we’ve done more than just watch a show; we joined the Party. Their journey proves that while the Upside Down is vast, it’s no match for a bond forged in the fire. In the end, they showed us that no matter how wide the Gate opens, love is the only force strong enough to close it.”