Many are wondering what time the extra episode with the “real ending” of “Stranger Things” will be dropping.
If you have been watching the internet, then you have likely seen all the fan theories about hidden messages and plot changes seemingly indicating another ending.
Many thought it would air on January 7 at 8 PM. So many thought it could be a possibility that it seemed to have crashed Netflix for some people.
When will the new ending air?
Short answer. There isn’t an episode 9 for Season 5.
Conformity Gate is not real. Earlier today, it was confirmed that there would not be another episode.
Netflix even posted “All Episodes Streaming Now” on the “Stranger Things” page.
Why didn’t Netflix correct the theory sooner?
I have a couple of theories.
- They didn’t fully know about it.
- The most likely theory– they knew but said nothing because they were getting record views of people searching for non-existent clues and rewatching the episodes over and over. The engagement was strong all over the internet, and they couldn’t buy this kind of PR. Which is likely why they said nothing until today.
The internet is not okay. Many people truly believed another episode was coming, and given the “evidence,” I can kind of understand why.
Sonríe. Creer en esa teoría del “nuevo capítulo de Stranger Things” fue, sinceramente, una experiencia maravillosa.
Éramos detectives, payasos, visionarios y emocionalmente inestables… juntos.
No me arrepiento en absoluto. Volvería a creer. 🎈🧇 #ConformityGate pic.twitter.com/FpddaBY3WN— Marqués De Tuel 🏰 (@MarquesDeTuel) January 8, 2026
People are now having to settle with the fact that the Stranger Things finale and S5 overall was just not well made…#conformitygate
— Bryan Rathbun (@Bryan_Rathbun) January 8, 2026
We didn’t get the final stranger things episode
— Shay (@ElysiumEffect) January 8, 2026
No stranger things :> #conformitygate pic.twitter.com/c7tvrlhlHD
— Krystian Dziok (@KrystianDziok) January 8, 2026
To moja reakcja od 15 minut… #conformitygate pic.twitter.com/WYgjW2axni
— Cordelia ✨️ (Hope S. Ward) | ADDICTED ERA 🎀 (@autorka_hope) January 8, 2026
maybe episode nine was the friends we made along the way #conformitygate
— naìma💐 (@naimatomlinson) January 8, 2026
netflix servers seeing thousands of people log in for an episode that doesn’t exist #conformitygate pic.twitter.com/KrQFVmS9fz
— skylitars (@skylitars) January 8, 2026
It would have been the biggest “gotcha” in TV history, and it would have been epic! But it seems no one thought of it before the fans did.
What do you think?
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