This winter, the beloved TV show Stranger Things finally came to a close after five hit seasons. On its decade-long run, the show made millions of die-hard fans, all obsessed with the 80s nostalgia and sci-fi atmosphere the show created. With such an impressive cast and award-winning visuals, fans were ecstatic to see the story unfold.
Junior Naomi Allen stated, “I can’t wait to see what happens next! I wonder if Chrissy will finally wake up…”
Though expectations were high, it seems the original ending fell short.
In a post-premiere interview, Matt and Ross Duffer, creators and writers of Stranger Things, discussed the creative process in making the episode.
They said, “ChatGPT isn’t super good at writing cohesive scripts or remembering plot points, which is why it’s not as good as last season. We tried to upgrade to ChatGPT+, but we ran out of money after spending $480 million on Finn Wolfhard’s acting lessons. We really wanted him to be very emotional this season, especially in his relationship with Eleven.”
Wolfhard, who plays the main protagonist, Mike, is nominated for ten Emmys, including “Most Nonchalant,” “Most Glances at a Male Costar’s Lips in a Season,” and “Least Passionate Embrace with Decade Long Love Interest.”
Despite the accolades, the story failed to close out important plot points and fix continuity errors. So much was left unanswered, leaving many fans frustrated and looking for answers– that couldn’t have been it? Right?
Junior Leo Milch, who attended the finale’s premiere, said, “I was utterly confused, and quite frankly a little bored by the episode’s repetitiveness. By Will’s 5th nosebleed, I was like, ‘Can someone get this guy a tissue already?’”
Saddened by the original conclusion, the world believed that Stranger Things was over.
But there was one more secret in store.
After the season finale’s premiere, there was a surprise viewing of an exclusive 9th episode, titled “Conformity-Gate.”
Coming in at over 3 hours long, Conformity-Gate answered all of our burning questions.
It was revealed that the 8th episode, the original ending, was a false narrative created by Vecna to distract from the real story.
Conformity Gate provided viewers with new lore, exciting fight scenes and intense emotions.
Sophomore Logan Gladstone said, “Throughout the entire episode, I was in tears. The music was so beautiful and complimented the cinematography wonderfully. But what really got me was when Hopper turned to the camera and said, ‘I guess there have been stranger things.’”
New romances have emerged, too. Characters, Jonathan Byers and Steve Harrington, who have long fought over Nancy Wheeler’s love, have finally squashed their beef. The two share a passionate kiss during a fight scene with Vecna.
“Their love has been building up for a decade, so it really feels earned,” says actor Joe Keery, who pitched the idea.
After waking up from her nap, Max Mayfield finally gets some screentime, in which we see her walking up to the podium during graduation, only to not receive her diploma.
When Max is shocked, the principal says, “You’ve been in a coma for two years and only have a 9th-grade education. You have a 0.2 GPA; there is no way you are graduating with the rest of your friends.”
Sadie Sink, who plays Max, has been nominated for an Emmy as well, for “Slowest Run while in Immediate Danger.”
On the other hand, there was one member of the original Dungeons and Dragons group who didn’t have a ton of screentime.
In his short time on screen, totaling two minutes (a whopping one and a half minutes more than he had in the rest of the series), Lucas Sinclair gets personal with a powerful speech about what it’s like to be the only black person in Indiana.
He comments that outside his friends and love interest, he simply does not exist. Before he can finish his speech, however, he is brutally ripped apart by a Demogorgon.
Junior Liora Goldberg said, “I was gutted when Lucas was killed off. I mean, we’ve truly gotten to know him so well over these last 10 years. For example, I remember when he played guitar upside-down. No, wait, that was Eddie. Um, when he escaped the Russians. No, no, that was Hopper. Or… okay, I don’t exactly know what he did, but he was definitely there.”
Speaking of demogorgons, they are actually the main characters of this episode. After fans complained about the lack of monsters in the final fight scene, the Duffer brothers responded, as all twins do, in sync, “They [demogorgons] were just hanging out somewhere else.” Ross added, “It’s not really important, but I guess if the fans want to see them, I can have my wife write it in before the divorce is finalized.”
Overall, Conformity Gate is everything the fans could have wanted: more wigs, gorgeous cinematography, and a beautiful concluding musical number.
