Should the cast stay, or should they go now? Image courtesy of CNN.

HARRISON PRYOR | STAFF REPORTER | hrpryor@butler.edu

“Series Sleuths” investigates the best and worst that television has to offer. Read on to learn if the next TV prospect is binge-worthy, cringe-worthy or somewhere in between. 

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

After 10 years and five seasons, Netflix’s hit show “Stranger Things” has ended, though some fans beg to differ. In the wake of the show’s New Year’s Eve finale, disappointed viewers formed a theory known as Conformity Gate, believing that a “real” ending — one very different from the supposed finale — awaited them.

Conformity Gate and its supporters posit that the creators of “Stranger Things” — twins Matt and Ross Duffer — are fooling fans with their all-too-neat finale. The lack of stakes has led to the theory that the main villain, Vecna — portrayed by Jamie Campbell Bower — created an illusion of a happy ending that would be broken in the fifth season’s secret ninth episode.

Much of the theory is rooted in many fans’ disappointment in the final season. Despite extensive expectations and promises, no main characters died, and the heavily hyped horror elements were lackluster. Not only that, but Vecna and the monstrous Mind Flayer were defeated too quickly to justify five seasons of build-up.

Maura Brychel, a first-year theatre and computer science double major, has complicated thoughts on the finale. 

“I’ve grown up with this show, so I was very excited for the finale,” Brychel said. “I do feel like it fell short on a few things that I was really excited for. The final battle was way too short for my liking. They underdeveloped a few of the characters, especially [with Mike and El’s goodbye. It just fell flat in my opinion. But I really did love the epilogue.”

After the Conformity Gate episode’s supposed release date of Jan. 7 passed unceremoniously, new theories circulated online that the documentary “One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5”, released on Jan. 13, would act as the new true finale. Essentially, some believed that Vecna would appear in the “real world” of the documentary for a final showdown.

This now-defunct theory seems to draw inspiration from “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare”, the seventh installment of “A Nightmare on Elm Street”. The film breaks the fourth wall, showing the audience fictionalized versions of the real cast and crew of the “Nightmare” movies battling an entity modeling itself after Freddy Krueger.

The “New Nightmare” theory also connects the illusory natures of Vecna and Freddy Krueger with a cameo in the fourth season. Robert Englund portrayed Krueger in every “Nightmare” film except for the remake and made an appearance as Victor Creel, Vecna’s father, in “Stranger Things”.

Junior theatre major Joslyn Bishop felt a finale hidden in “One Last Adventure” would have been engaging but awkward.

“I’d be really intrigued, but I also feel that if they went with that route, the documentary could seem cheesy, rather than ‘Here’s the story, here’s the real thing,’” Bishop said. “If something [like ‘New Nightmare’] were to happen, it would take [away from] all of the genuine [moments].”

The documentary was, to the disappointment of many, just a documentary. However, it provided valuable insights on the writing of the show. Notably, production on the final episode began before its full script was written. The Duffer Brothers had three years between seasons to write. No matter the size of the project, a faulty script after three years of work is nearly inexcusable.

Writers’ room footage also raised alarm bells for more critical fans. While discussing the finale, the Duffers and their co-writers debated the absence of monsters in the Abyss, the newly discovered planet where the show’s staple creatures come from. The writers expressed concern over so-called “Demo fatigue,” despite monsters like the Demogorgon being one of the main draws of the show.

Some viewers believe they saw several ChatGPT tabs open on one of the Duffers’ computers. Fans have been quick to attribute quippy dialogue and repetitive conversation structures to the lack of human writing. While it is unclear how true these claims are, the accusations of generative AI use have damaged this season’s already-waning reputation.

Kaelynn Dotson, a first-year criminology and psychology combined major, contested that if the Duffer Brothers used generative AI at all, it was in a supplementary capacity. 

“I wouldn’t ever think that they used [ChatGPT] to actually just write the show for them,” Dotson said. “I feel like they really truly care about what they say, and they’re very particular, even during their script readings … about what words they use to get [their] message across.”

More accusations of the Duffers not writing their own show have surfaced in the wake of a divorce. Leigh Janiak, director of the “Fear Street” trilogy and Ross Duffer’s ex-wife, has been thought for some time to be a ghostwriter for “Stranger Things”. 

While Janiak was always public about providing help and insight during the first four seasons, her divorce from Ross Duffer in February of 2024 and the dip in writing quality in the fifth installment led fans to believe she was doing more than what was advertised.

Furthermore, die-hard fans have pointed out what seem to be minor production errors as evidence for Conformity Gate. From discolored dials to flipped doorknobs, nothing is safe from a believer.

Junior English major Meiwen Yang expressed that these fan conspiracies may just be coping mechanisms.

“I don’t know if it’s done intentionally when there’s a sign during the graduation that I was told was blank or if there’s some narration that doesn’t match,” Yang said. “We as the audience hope that the Duffer Brothers [do it] intentionally for us to see if there is a plotline or something there and not just like, ‘Hey, we accidentally did this.’ I think the most concern people have about the final episode is that it didn’t seem to be well cared [for].”

Some cannot accept that after a decade of runtime, mistakes can happen and writing can falter. Sometimes, an ending is just not as good as it should be.

“Stranger Things”, “One Last Adventure”, and other behind-the-scenes projects are available to stream on Netflix.