“The ending of ‘Stranger Things’ is just the tip of the iceberg — what’s buried is what’s truly terrifying.” A small detail on the new poster has sent chills down the spines of fans, as it hints at an unreleased episode. It’s not a fun easter egg, but the familiar pattern of a deliberately suppressed plot. Fans began piecing together timelines, character gazes, and visual composition — and realized everything matched alarmingly well. Previous “farewells” are now being re-examined as a calculated distraction. Social media is abuzz with debate: was the ending they saw just a safe cover for the public? And if Stranger Things truly has a final chapter waiting to be revealed, the most terrifying question is: why haven’t they let us know yet?

While some Stranger Things fans and “Conformity Gate” theorists are trying to come to terms with the fact that a secret episode of the Duffer brothers’ saga didn’t drop on Jan. 7, others refuse to believe that the hit Netflix show is actually over. An eagle-eyed few have uncovered what they believe to be more evidence of a ninth chapter in a poster for the finale, “The Rightside Up,” fueling speculation that the “real” ending has been held back and will be released in the coming days (on one specific date, according to conspiracy truthers).

The poster, which popped up on the official Stranger Things X/Twitter account, might have caused some people to spit out their coffee and spiral into contemplation, not only because it’s a striking image, but because fans are continuing to cling on to any new material that could support the viral “secret episode” theory. The colorful illustration was supposedly filled with “clues” waiting to be found by armchair detectives, who were more than happy to oblige and promptly shared their findings with other social media users.

A number of people felt that the secret episode connection in the Stranger Things poster was glaringly obvious, as they pointed out that the characters in the image appear to be under the Mind Flayer’s control – literally, based on their positioning. Others spotted hidden messages, with a few highlighting the word “lie” in the “I Believe” tagline and some pulling out the letter P in “Chapter Eight,” believing it had a number nine in it to represent the ninth episode. Another person observed, “Why is Chapter 8 never referenced as the finale?”

While Jan. 7 – the date that fans originally circled for the grand reveal – has come and gone without so much of a peep about Stranger Things, it seems that some people are not quite ready to let go and accept that the show is over. The fifth season marked the end of an era, not only for the cast and crew, who have spent the best part of the last decade working together, but also the viewers at home, as the story reached its almighty climax. However, a vocal few still believe that it was nothing more than a hallucination created by Vecna.

What’s Next for ‘Stranger Things’?

Netflix

Those looking for something to fill the void left behind by Stranger Things might be interested to know that there are a couple of projects in the same universe on the way. First and foremost, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 will hit Netflix on Jan. 12, offering viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the final season, and explaining some of the decisions that were made as the show approached its conclusion – which might be of particular interest to anyone who found the ending disappointing.

Beyond that, Netflix is set to release an animated spin-off, titled Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, that will follow the original characters (replaced by new voice actors) on an adventure that takes place between the second and third seasons. There is also going to be a live-action spin-off, described by the Duffer brothers as a “clean slate” with “a completely different story and a completely different location with completely different actors and characters.” Whether anyone wants a series without the beloved Hawkins heroes is another question, and one that will likely only get answered when more details are shared about the mystery project.