The Conformity Theory is a recently popular theory spreading throughout the Stranger Things fandom. After the last episode of Stranger Things Season 5, Episode 8: The Rightside Up, fans have found many holes and hidden clues throughout the whole episode, from the beginning to the end credits. Fans suspect that there may be a ninth episode coming out on J-7, January 7th. Only, there was no episode nine released on January 7th, but not too long after the Stranger Things documentary on how they filmed the show was released on January 12th.
A main theory that Stranger Things fans planned for the plot was that Vecna is in Mike Wheeler’s head, one of the main party members. As people watched the last episode, they noticed many small hints and clues that something was off with Mike Wheeler. As we continued to watch the last fifty or so minutes of episode eight, which served as an epilogue, people noticed quite a few things with Mike and his family. Some of the main things people noticed were that Mike, Nancy, and Karen all shared a similar hairstyle to Vecna when he took form as Mr.Whatsit.
Another thing was during the graduation ceremony. Everyone in the audience, and even the people on the stage, sat or stood with their hands in front of them held together just like Vecna does in his human form. As seasons went on, starting from season three, we see Billy Hargrove (who was being possessed by the Mind Flayer) standing with his arms in front of him, hands held together. Once we meet Vecna’s true form in season four, we find out that he stands the exact same way Billy did, leading us to believe he possessed Billy. At the end of season five, we see Will Byers, the protagonist, standing like Vecna along with the rest of his grade at their graduation. This added a great detail to the speculation that Vecna was in Mike’s mind at that moment.
Continuing on with the topic of the graduation ceremony, as we watch the scene, people have noticed that each party member from the DnD club has someone with glasses sitting behind them that look like Mr.Whatsit’s glasses. As we continue to see what the future holds for each member of the whole show, Mike shares that he plans on becoming a potential author who happens to wear the exact same style of glasses that Mr. Whatsit wore.
As we continue to watch the epilogue, we notice Will meeting with a guy in a bar somewhere in Milwaukee, WI. This man shown to us looks strangely similar to Mike but not quite the same. This is where fans suspect that Will truly is not over Mike and that he still likes/ loves him.
Fans have watched and seen parallels from The Truman Show, causing them to believe that something similar from the show could be going on with Stranger Things, with Vecna messing with Mike’s head. People have felt that the ending of the epilogue and Mike ended up looking similar to The Truman Show, causing people to believe the ending is not the real ending and that Mike will realize it’s all fake and is not real.
Fans have noticed multiple mentions of the number seven throughout the entirety of season five and the show overall. In season 1: episode 1, Will rolled the dice and got a seven before telling Mike, “The demogorgon, it got me,” which actually ended up being his fate since he was taken by a demogorgon later on. In season five, there was a pause where there were seven beats in between the lightning strikes in the Upside Down, leading people to believe there is a secret episode that would’ve come out on January 7th. The number seven also represents bad luck. As seen, the number seven has become a motif, something that has reappeared nonstop.
Overall, we’ve seen that there are plenty of examples of the Conformity Theory and evidence that there could be a possible episode nine, and that Vecna could be in Mike’s mind.
