The way duffers had a perfect opportunity to deny conformitygate in this interview on Wednesday, but they didn't.
Instead, they talked about another piece of media that takes place in a dream and has an alternate ending. They said that if they could make a reference to an '80s movie, they would choose "A Nightmare on Elm Street," which is known for having an alternate ending in which the fight with the villain turns out to have only occurred in a nightmare. đ
And like I could see that being a way to "bait" people who believe in conformity gate but it's one of many references to media that features something that isn't real or has an alternate ending.
They've already talked about a fake play in The First Shadow, which they wrote along with seasons 4 and 5 (because no, they didn't go to film the finale without writing a script, that's bs) and premiered it in 2023.
Like the whole Joyce plot is that she will be staging a fake play and is using Oklahoma as a cover (which, by the way, first act ends in a dream) to actually stage Dark of the Moon.
The Truman Show which is about living in something that is not the real reality was on the inspiration board.
Dude Derek is literally playing a game (Ghosts 'n Goblins) where after defeating a boss, you have to restart the game on a higher level to get the true ending. Stranger Things already used a game Dig Dug in Season 2 as a way to foreshadow underground tunnels. Why is it brilliant attention to detail in Season 2, but now in Season 5, it's just a coincidence that means nothing?
I swear atp the whole crew and cast of the show could come on stage and say "yes conformitygate is real, new episodes next week" and some people would still say it doesn't mean anything and that we are reading too much into it but how on earth can these probably hundreds of pieces of evidence that people find be just a coincidence?!