In 2026, you will be deceived, and you’ll like it.
I have seen so many wonderful theories going around the Stranger Things fandom, especially Byler and Conformitygate spaces. Season 5 was so weird, and it left so much space for theories to run wild. Of course Netflix and the show runners know that:
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And I’m almost wondering if, through a conformitygate lens, they did this as a gift to us. If this is one of their parting gifts, before we all actually let it go, move on. If this period of time, is the start of the “One Last Strange Adventure”.
Of course, some of the people who like to theorize the most have abandoned ship. They don’t want to get their hopes up. And, I think the show runners had to have known that would happen. Fans have been hurt to the point where they don’t want to rewatch the show, or say they wouldn’t watch new content even if conformitygate was real. So maybe…
They had to let the dust settle, before actually beginning a campaign spanning the year - the year we will (1) be lied to but also (2) like it.
By now, people are finding a lot of sanctity in their fandom post-finale. Fanfic is helping a lot of Bylers (myself included), variants are popping up all over the place!! Conformitygate followers are actually starting to get kind of frustrated, but continue to have fun and find new things every day. Even the frustrations with Tales from ‘85 are turning into something comical.
I think the fandom is overall, getting to a better place. A place where all fandoms do when their show ends. Which is means it’s PERFECT TIMING for the Duffer Brothers to come and fuck it all up.
As I said, I love all of the theories I’ve seen. Multiple timelines, bandersnatchgate, playgate, rightsideupgate, bobgate, lovewinsgate, Tharizdungate, and more. Sometimes, I’m like how do we even begin to know where they could be going with this-there’s almost too many directions to go in. Everyone has their own theory, in a way, we know as much about the actual end of Stranger Things as we did pre-Season 5. Almost like it didn’t even happen. Interesting…
There’s also many dates that have been speculated, that have come and gone, where nothing happened (well, no announcement, no surprise drop at least). There are many more dates in the future that ARE plausible. Nearly, one for every month of the year.
March - Will’s/Henry’s birthday
April - Tales from 85, second chance day
May - idk actually, like graduation? The epilogue ‘takes place’ in May
June - Pride Month !! hello how beautiful Byler endgame during Pride - the scripts for season 5 coming out
July - the 10 year anniversary
August - Will’s birthday from season 1
September - again, idk help me here
October - Halloween!!
And finally, November - it ends where it all began November 6th.
I personally, would hate to wait until November 6th to get a surprise drop. I would however, wait until then, for the final episode, of the final season. I’m sure you would too, whether you’ll like it or not.
Now hear me out…
WHAT IF something could happen for each of these months.
I mean, if we already believe in a fake finale, if we already know they’re taking a big risk… why would they end it on a surprise drop? There has to be some sort of promotion? To tie these theories together, we COULD be getting something à la bandersnatchgate, or trickling of episodes throughout the year. The play release on Netflix could sub in here somewhere. This would technically be BIGGER than any other season, the season would be HUGE taking up a whole year - starting in November 2025 and ending in November 2026. It would also make it so that the show does run for 10 whole years.
Some people don’t like bandersnatchgate and an interactive game? Okay, we get the release of the interactive part and follow it up with the actual corresponding episode while the next part of the interactive part starts. People who like to theorize can do so, and people who want conclusions get to be involved. After all, they know their fandom, if it’s a love letter to their fandom, all parts of it could be involved this way. It also allows for EVEN MORE theorizing if it’s weekly, biweekly, or even monthly drops.
Multiple timelines theory could play out in this way too. After all, didn’t Gaten say the ending will make you see the whole show in a new light? Maybe, we see portions of the show differently as new episodes or a new ~spin off~ is released, with a different sequence of events or characters swapped around à la playgate. Maybe we see those rumored cut scenes, EVEN THOUGH they always say there are NO cut scenes in Stranger Things! (Mike riding away on his bike, one single tear falling down his face WHERE ARE YOU!)
After all, a fake out finale is a BIG risk. It’s a big risk for the Duffer Brothers’ career if it takes too long for it to come to fruition. It makes Netflix look bad, like maybe they ruined the show because they meddled.
So… how could Netflix be convinced to do this? I’ve seen people say that they think this could be stretched out through all 4 financial quarters: Q1 - the documentary, Q2 - Tales from ‘85, Q3 - man idk, Q4 - real finale. Idk about you, but this would piss me off as a fan, and I also think they know that. Netflix doesn’t just operate on financial quarters; they need monthly subscriptions.
We need answers, and also we need people to care again, to really hype it up before the actual ending. Especially after the shitshow, people I don’t think, would trust them to pull it off if we don’t know anything and then a surprise finale in fucking November. I think the Duffers kind of maybe need to earn some trust back from their audience as well (and guys, I think THEY KNOW lying to their fans and presenting them with a fake ending would destroy some trust - the finale seems like it was done in a way to piss people off on purpose). They also need to do it before the new shows they are affiliated with start coming out.
On March 26th, Something Very Bad is Going to Happen comes out - just 4 days after Will’s birthday. It’s quite damaging to have this show so affiliated with them, especially one created by a woman, come out while their show is being accused of misogyny, queerbaiting, homophobia, racism, etc.
Maybe, you will be deceived is talking about Q1, with the documentary and the theories running amok.
And maybe, JUST MAYBE, you’ll like it is talking about Q2. We will start to see what the deception was for. We start to like the show again, we start to trust the Duffers again.
THEN You will see old friends in a new light is about Q3. Again, Gaten saying we will see the whole show in a new light, maybe after a light that is revealed to us during Q2.
And after all that, you will actually look forward to a (family - idk how that relates here lol) drama is about Q4. After all of that, we will be ready for the actual finale.
Random notes/tie-ins
- why do they still have merch coming out later in the year? Hello half & half funkos
- all of the cons cast are showing up at, starting with Noah and Gaten around the 28th
- gives them time to continue to edit/finalize missing episodes or parts of an interactive game
- big thing each quarter, but also if a new thing happens each month —> SUBSCRIPTIONS !!! Guaranteed at least for ST every month!
- build up to an actual good finale gives them time to show the audience they DID plan this, they didn’t randomly get everyone back together to fixit, and that they CAN be trusted again
- if they alter or edit or add missing scenes or episodes or whatever, they show us they’ve been planning this for much longer which is like even cooler
- they’ve been criticized for how much they did for episodic releases with the binge model, so they show that they can also do it in a SUUUUUPER drawn out way
- we can be the Maxs to guide the rest of our ST friends (Hollys) through everything we’ve found !!! 🤭
- if they can show us that they’ve planned this for a LONG TIME that means we as a collective have A LOT to go through: books, video games, comics, press, games, maybe even other work they’ve been created (hellooooo cross promotion!!! helping everyone out)
- maybe they could actually start going back and editing old seasons WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY’RE CAPABLE OF!
- yes I know they’re ’leaving Netflix’ but I’m pretty sure they’re still going to be available to work with them? Like, all their hard work will have been already set up honestly so they can make their movie or whatever.
- Tales of ‘85 can actually be real, AND ALSO part of the greater narrative
- I like to call this the GA ARG, basically we’ve gotten an ARG these last few months, and done soooo much work because we’re insane but the GA probably isn’t like that & people will need to get back into it so it makes sense it could take them longer on some of this stuff 🤷🏼♀️
- also people would have many reasons to go back and watch the show over and over and over and all the time we’re begging people to look at the show and the subtext, now would KNOW for a FACT that they need to do this to get through whatever comes next. Or they don’t need to and that’s fine and they can have their finale while the rest of us have fun! But I’m sorry WHO COULD RESIST TAKING PART IN THIS it’s so cool it’s so new
- also, they would be pissing off the homophobes for arguably longer than they pissed off the Bylers (2-3 months) if this is true 🤭 since like we already got pissed off they better not do it to us like that again