#conformitygate hints

[upsidedownlurker]

Valentine's Day: The Vanishing of Stranger Things 5

ok this is such a shot in the dark but shhhh

I'm very interested to see what happens on Valentine's Day. There are four fairly big factors connecting Valentine's Day to conformitygate/lovewinsgate, and they all have things in common.

I'm warning you now, this could be a total nothingburger...

...but on the off chance that it's a little somethingburger, here we go!

1) Major holiday release pattern

Vol 1: Thanksgiving

Vol 2: Christmas

Vol 3: New Year's

The next major holiday is Valentine's Day.

Following this pattern...

New major holiday -> new episode(s) within 24 hrs

Valentine's Day -> new episode(s) within 24 hrs

Based on typical marketing patterns, I doubt that they would cold-release an episode with no warning... but to play devil's advocate, they haven't followed typical marketing patterns at all since the finale, so that's pretty irrelevant.

2) Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

This was a big inspo for ST5.

Joel [Mike is dressed like him] wakes up on Valentine's Day with his memories of Clementine [Will is dressed like her] erased.

That day, as strangers without memories, they meet again in Montauk.

The day after, they discover the truth through cassette tapes.

Following this pattern...

Memories erased on Valentine's Day -> memories re-discovered the next day

Episodes erased on Valentine's Day -> episodes re-discovered the next day

And what do you know – the day after Valentine's Day is the Duffers' birthday, if that means anything.

3) 38 Crawls

"Tomorrow it begins." January 7th.

The 38th crawl was the final crawl, which ended their wild goose chase for Vecna. (and it's also the day Dustin/Holly/Hopper went M.I.A.)

38 days after Jan 7th is February 14th – Valentine's Day.

Following this pattern...

38 crawls -> people go missing -> they discover vecna did a thing

38 days -> episodes go missing -> we discover vecna did a thing

There were 38 crawls; "No sign of Vecna, no end in sight". Until the final crawl where everything got weird; Hopper, Dustin and Holly all went missing. Soon after, they discovered Vecna + what he did, and how he was the reason Holly went missing.

So... 38 days; "No sign of new episodes, no end in sight." Until the final day where everything gets weird. The O.G. episodes go missing, blah blah blah. Soon after, we discover Vecna + what he did, and how he was the reason the episodes went missing.

4) Love beats fear

A major theme of the play is that love beats fear, but in the play, fear wins – implying that the opposite will happen in the show. Well, "love beats fear" is a major theme of Stranger Things too; El's love for her mother/friends/Hopper, Max's love for her friends/Lucas, Joyce/Jon/Mike's love for Will, etc. Love always saves the day. Valentine's Day is the holiday of love.

Also, as of editing this post, the play is apparently being filmed this week. Hmm. Inch-resting.

Following this pattern (loosely)...

Fear beats love in the play -> Love beats fear in the show

Fear beats love on Valentine's Day –> Love beats fear the next day

As I've said before, I don't like guessing release dates; unlike theorising about the show's plot points, release dates involve a lot more extraneous variables.

However!

My understanding is that it would be preferable for episodes to be registered for copyright by the end of February, so if they were gonna make any changes, they should do so in February. The most relevant/well-known date in February is Valentine's Day. That is the February holiday. If literally anything is going to happen this month, then that's the day to look out for... anything.

So, just putting this out there in case it's true...

My crack theory with ZERO reliable evidence is:

All episodes of Stranger Things/Season 5 will go missing from Netflix on Valentine's Day, and be returned along with something new the next day – on the Duffers' birthday.

As I said, it's a bit of a crack theory with zero reliable evidence. PLEASE don't get your hopes up just to get disappointed, I'd feel so bad hahaha. I'm just putting this out there. Just in case it happens, so I can brag about it to absolutely no-one (because no-one cares).

...And if nothing happens on Valentine's Day? Well, nothing happened today or yesterday either, so, ok then... :P

(Or, my alternate crack theory: the First Shadow is released on Valentine's Day and a new ep is released the next day... but this is not likely to happen because of the new cast + timing, unless they somehow filmed w/ them earlier)

[upsidedownlurker]

Conformitygate Hints - A Timeline

On December 31st, Episode 8 dropped.

After the WSQK broadcast* on Jan 1st, Stranger Things continued to release a steady stream of press/interviews, many of which included similarly cryptic hints, at a rate of 1-2 hints every few days.

...

The Timeline

Jan 1 - Bonus WSQK episode with hints (+5 days…)

(infamous "it's all up to interpretation" interviews with the Duffers steadily release)

(jamie + sadie do interviews with jimmy fallon)

(the final Puzzled level unlocks - Jan 1)

Jan 6 - Jamie's odd skit w/ Jimmy Fallon, in which he counts down from 12 // and // Jan 7 - “Scenes from…” daily twitter countdown begins (+4 days…)

(Puzzled officially ends - Jan 8)

(maya does an interview with jimmy fallon)

Jan 11 - Final "Scenes from..." post // and // Jan 12 - Mockumentary released (+6 days…)

(daily "Scenes from..." plus other twitter posts continue)

Jan 18 - Finn Wolfhard on SNL // and // Jan 19 - the final Stranger Things twitter post: Episode 8 credits (+3 days…)

(charlie + nell do interviews with jimmy fallon)

Jan 22 - Nell's odd skit w/ Jimmy Fallon, in which EXIT signs are constantly featured // and // Jan 23 - Live Stranger Things Quiz (+???...)

...

They've been steadily, consistently posting new content since Episode 8, and this pattern has continued for over 3 weeks now.

No new ensemble interviews. No special merch drops. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing special. Except it should be special!

What is going on?

Does this sound like the FINAL EVER press tour of the show that MADE Netflix?

No! They're releasing press + content in the same way they've done throughout each season as new episodes came out – a steady release of content to keep the show on people's minds and keep the momentum going.

But why?

What are we waiting for?

The show's supposed to be over.

...

New Hints

Jan 28-29 - ??? (+3-6 days...)

Feb 2-4 - ??? (+3-6 days...)

Feb 7-11 (the SuperBowl is Feb 8) - ??? (+???...)

...

In terms of the extra episodes theory, I think that a lot of us...

underestimated how long we would be left to "sit with the silence"

overestimated how clear they would be about confirming or denying our theory, and the clues outside of the show

Therefore...

If this steady stream of press continues, so does the possibility of this theory being true.

If this steady stream of press fizzles out, then so does the theory.

...If it ends up being the latter, then all of us stragglers can finally get off the bus, and complain about how they not only told the opposite story they told us they would, but also made a lot of weird choices for a final press tour, an entire cryptic radio station and some strangely written skits/sketches, all for no reason.

But they're still trying to keep us on the bus, so... here we are!

¯\(ツ)/¯

...

(Seriously, why would they make a skit prominently featuring the exit signs that are such a big part of the conformitygate theory, knowing they'd be fanning the flames? Literally–)

(And why do they keep avoiding calling Episode 8 the finale, or willingly mentioning conformitygate?)

...

*WSQK was broadcast during Season 5's run, with the presenters Vance Goodman (Vecna) and Mindy Flair (Mind Flayer) giving us clues about the show – like Robin does. These broadcasts were supposed to end on Dec 31st with the show. But instead, they lasted one more day. On Jan 1st, V and MF claimed to be running on "backup power". They gave us several new, cryptic clues, about MF's "gate" being left open, how WSQK "really took over this town" and that we should sit with "the silence", get comfortable with it. Finally, they played Heroes (the song from the end credits) and the Stranger Things intro theme.

[upsidedownlurker]

Analysing Jimmy Fallon's skits w/ Nell and Jamie

These were released late January, and both are FULL of hints for conformitygate. I haven't seen anyone fully analyse 'em, so here we go.

Contents

Jamie's skit explained

Nell's skit explained

Conclusions

Jamie – Every clue + explanations

The workout is called "turn the pounds upside down, vol 3."

Continuing the theme of things being turned upside down/rewinding/reversing.

Vol 3. mentioned (the finale).

Jamie: OPEN THE GATE, are you ready? 1, 2, 3, 4...

Jamie asks us, the audience, if we're ready to open the gate.

POSSIBLY hinting at a fourth volume, considering the "vol 3" mention earlier.

Push them out, pull them in (x4).

He says this four times.

POSSIBLY a reference to what the promo/arg would do. Push us out then pull us back in.

Okay everyone, I believe YOU [points to the audience] have dormant powers and I know that if we work together, we can awaken those powers.

Vecna says he wants to work with us: the audience.

This is also what Vecna said in the show, before he used the kids' powers to begin his November 6th plan. We are those kids.

You are the light... you are the light.

Emphasising that we, the audience, are the light.

What is the light? In Season 5, Vecna tells the kids it's a "better world". But in Season 4, he tells Eleven the opposite.

"The light is not your friend. The light is a lie." Vecna, Season 4.

To Vecna, the light represents everything WRONG with the world. It means avoiding trauma and darkness, lying to yourself.

"I have discovered another world [...] this world is much like ours, only good, free of monsters and darkness. It is the light.” “As the light reaches the darkness, the light will expel the darkness, your loved ones will be saved, and you… you will be heroes.” - Vecna, Season 5.

We are the light, therefore he merged our world with theirs.

He achieved his plan, and they became heroes – signified when "Heroes" plays in the credits of Episode 8.

But the light is a lie. Vecna lied about the light; the kids [we] were villains, not heroes, and their loved ones [our beloved characters] were not saved, they were harmed.

Let's channel our energy. Tomorrow it begins.

Tomorrow it begins -> it began on January 7th. [38 crawls later -> Feb 14, Valentine's Day]

POSSIBLY: This skit was released on the 6th. (suggesting November 6th) suggesting that in-show, Vecna was able to start his plan on November 7th.

Let's do the CLOCK! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

Once again, emphasising that "12" is important, and that this number relates to Vecna's clock.

POSSIBLY: I've theorised for a while now that there will be 12 episodes, because of the 12 victims, 12 hrs on a clock, Vecna finally getting Will on November 12th, the idea of "turning back the clock" to reverse the episodes etc... and now this skit.

Nell – Every clue + explanations

Massive EXIT sign in full view, which they cut to four times.

Exit signs are shown way more frequently in Season 5, possibly inspired by the Truman Show, representing freedom and illusions vs. reality. Literally a big, red, glowing sign telling you to escape now.

Artwork by Piet Mondrian in the background.

Piet Mondrian's philosophy is similar to Vecna's; wanting humanity to reach perfection through the creation of something "beautiful".

A fire alarm keeps ringing and ringing. Voiceover: "Attention! There's a fire in the studio. Please move to the nearest exit immediately!"

In the show, a "mall fire" is used as code for what really happened at Starcourt mall – the work of Vecna/the Mind Flayer.

Therefore: Vecna/the Mind Flayer is in the studio.

Jimmy and Nell agree they should probably go, but they don't leave. They repeatedly ignore all of the warning signs and casually sit there chatting instead.

Yet another sign that something is very wrong.

An image of Jimmy Fallon and Bradley Cooper playing Russian Roulette with eggs (lol) is zoomed into for a few seconds.

In the video...

A guy called "Higgins" presents them with 12 eggs. They must smash them in their faces, and avoid the 4 raw ones. It gets down to the last two, which they both end up smashing on each other's heads. That's what the image depicts – the moment they both lose the game.

This is another hint that everyone lost in Season 5.

Principal Higgins is the guy that Dustin blames for making the school too conformist. He proceeds to flip him the bird and show his Hellfire t-shirt... but everyone cheers; they all approve of this.

12 smashed eggs. 12 victims.

Massive EXIT sign is still in full view. Jimmy and Nell continue to ignore that they should obviously be escaping right now.

Really hammering in the exit sign imagery and escape themes. Especially considering they do the exit sign thing in the show.

Jimmy: Testing, 1, 2, 3. Sibol? Supol? Ss-ss-ss... [sounds like "Superbowl"... what a tease, jimmy]

Footballer: "Get to the stairwell! This whole place is about to go up in flames!"

Two stairwells are important this season. The stairwell Holly falls down in Camazotz, and the stairwell to Mike's basement. The final scene of the show is a stairwell. [Stairwells can represent dreams/illusions; the stairwell may very well have been Mike's escape from the "fire"]

The footballer came after the worker from the Jimmy Fallon show. Like how the Superbowl came after the Jimmy Fallon interviews. This suggests that, like Jamie's video, they're showing us a rough timeline of what's happening IRL.

So, after the Superbowl...

"Fernando" plays. Literally just the lyric, "Fernando" immediately after Three important things about this song:

This is the song that plays when Holly gets kidnapped.

It was re-released, with re-recorded lyrics w/ a totally different meaning. The second version became a major hit; that's the version in Stranger Things.

In each version of the song, Fernando is A) a guy who lost his love, and B) a freedom fighter being asked if he remembers the battle.

For a more detailed analysis of this song, go here.

Huge shot in the dark, but...

Superbowl footballer -> afterwards -> Fernando re-release

Superbowl -> afterwards -> Stranger Things re-release

Fire alarm and AtLite brand Emergency/Exit lights are in full view.

Again... more warning signs that Jimmy + Nell are totally ignoring. Nell gives a total nothingburger answer while smoke from the fire begins to fill the room. She and Jimmy don't notice or don't care.

Is this the Duffers parodying their own interviews? LOL.

Vecna (V.O.): "I'll get you later, this is an emergency!"

POSSIBLY: a hint that Vecna's not dead. He's literally gonna get them later lol

Nell: "I mean, I might regret this, but... I think my favourite colour is blue." Jimmy: "Yeah. That's deep."

Nell plays Holly. Holly is repeatedly compared to Mike throughout the show. Mike always wears blue. This might be one more "Holly = Mike" comparison.

Jimmy saying "that's deep" = ...it actually is deep. LOL.

What the hell does it mean?

Well, if you watch the skits for yourself, you'll notice that the writing makes zero sense – unless their main purpose is to provide us with hints. Considering how many hints in the skits also appear in the show, I'd say this is true.

So, those were my interpretations of the clues.

I think the main conclusion I've come to is – something deliberate has been going on. I don't see how these videos could exist the way they do and not be hints for something.

What is it?

When?

We shall see...

...

Bye!

<3

(Why did I keep this in my drafts for so many days??? ASDJHGFAK)