5 Unbelievable Fan Theories Like Stranger Things’ Conformity Gate (That Actually Turned Out to Be True)

by

When the final season of Stranger Things finished airing on Netflix, it left a huge gap in popular culture – and sparked one of the wildest fan theories ever seen on TV. Dubbed “Conformity Gate,” the theory claimed the finale was a trick, hiding a secret ending. It suggested that Eleven and her friends weren’t actually experiencing reality, but were instead trapped in a shared hallucination created by Vecna. This idea became so popular that it turned watching the show into a massive online puzzle. Thousands of fans teamed up on forums, determined to find evidence that a true ending was still coming. They meticulously examined every scene, interpreting details like mismatched graduation outfits and a paused clock in a trailer as intentional clues pointing to a ninth episode releasing on January 7th.

After January 7th, fans of Stranger Things had to accept that the hints about the “Conformity Gate” were probably just mistakes made during filming, not part of a deliberate story plan. Although that theory didn’t pan out, there’s a long history of fans correctly guessing plot points. Many fan theories have been discussed for years, and sometimes even decades, before the show’s creators officially confirmed them as true.

5) Harry is a Horcrux (Harry Potter)

Even before the last Harry Potter movies and books came out, many fans believed Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort were more closely linked than the story initially showed. A popular theory suggested Harry was accidentally a seventh Horcrux – a piece of Voldemort’s soul trapped inside him. Fans came to this idea by noticing connections throughout the series, like Harry’s ability to speak to snakes and the shared visions he had with Voldemort. They saw Harry’s lightning bolt scar not just as a mark, but as a place where this dark energy was contained, which explained why it hurt when Voldemort was near.

The idea was later proven true in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which showed that when Voldemort attacked, a fragment of his soul clung to the only living thing nearby. This meant Harry was a Horcrux – a piece of Voldemort’s soul lived inside him – and he had to confront his own mortality to finally destroy the Dark Lord.

4) The “Mother” is Dead (How I Met Your Mother)

The TV show How I Met Your Mother started with a fun and playful central question: how did Ted Mosby meet the mother of his children? But as the show went on, fans began to notice hints of sadness beneath the comedy. Many viewers started to believe that the mother, Tracy McConnell, was actually dead by the time Ted was telling the story to his kids in 2030. This idea became more popular after an episode called “The Time Travelers,” where future Ted desperately wished he had more time with his wife. Another clue fans pointed to was a scene in the episode “Vesuvius,” where Ted became very upset after someone mentioned mothers not being able to attend their children’s weddings.

For a long time, fans speculated that the ‘Mother,’ Tracy, wasn’t long for this world, and honestly, a lot of us thought it was too bleak for a show like How I Met Your Mother. But the 2014 finale completely confirmed our fears – she’d actually passed away from an illness six years before Ted was telling his kids the story. It took what was just a fan theory and turned it into one of the most divisive and surprisingly sad endings in TV history. It really stuck with me, and I know I wasn’t alone in feeling pretty gutted.

3) Boba Fett Survived the Sarlacc Pit (Star Wars)

For decades, Star Wars fans debated the seemingly undignified way Boba Fett disappeared in Return of the Jedi. The film showed him falling into the Sarlacc Pit due to a jetpack malfunction, but many believed a skilled warrior like him couldn’t be defeated so easily. Fans theorized his Mandalorian armor and survival abilities would help him escape the creature’s digestive system. Later, comic books and novels confirmed that he had, in fact, survived. However, when Disney bought Lucasfilm, those stories were no longer considered official parts of the Star Wars story.

Boba Fett officially returned to the Star Wars universe in season two of The Mandalorian, with Temuera Morrison once again playing the iconic bounty hunter. The show revealed a battle-scarred Boba Fett who had managed to escape the Sarlacc Pit. His story continued in the series The Book of Boba Fett, which even showed exactly how he used his flamethrower to fight his way out. This confirmed long-held fan theories and made Boba Fett’s survival a key part of the current Star Wars story.

2) R+L=J (Game of Thrones)

For two decades, a popular fan theory surrounded Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) true origins in both the A Song of Ice and Fire books and the Game of Thrones TV series. Fans believed Jon wasn’t Ned Stark’s (Sean Bean) illegitimate son, but was actually the secret child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. This theory, often called “R+L=J,” was based on hints within the books, like Ned Stark’s mysterious recollections of the Tower of Joy and a promise he made to his sister before she died.

For years, fans believed Ned Stark risked his reputation to shield his nephew from King Robert, who was determined to destroy anyone with Targaryen blood. This idea, often focused on clues like the blue winter rose, captivated the online community. The show confirmed this in the final episode of Season 6 with a flashback revealing Lyanna as Jon Snow’s mother. Season 7 then established Rhaegar as Jon’s father and showed they were legally married, proving the long-held fan theory – that Jon was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.

1) The Richard Donner Cut (Superman II)

Even before online campaigns pushed for the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a lost version of Superman II was a famous puzzle for movie fans. For over twenty years, people speculated that Warner Bros. held a much better cut of the sequel, originally directed by Richard Donner before he was removed from the project. Donner had filmed a significant amount of Superman II at the same time as the first Superman movie, but was later replaced by Richard Lester. Lester then re-shot many scenes, aiming for a more comedic and lighthearted feel to earn his directing credit.

For years, fans of DC Comics believed there was enough unused footage from the original Superman II to create a version of the film closer to director Richard Donner’s initial, more dramatic vision for Superman (played by Christopher Reeve). Their theory proved true in 2006 with the release of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. This restored version skillfully used existing footage and early screen tests, bringing back Marlon Brando as Jor-El and delivering the grand, sweeping story fans always felt was there. This success showed the power of dedicated fans and remains a landmark example of a community bringing a lost version of a film to life.

Looking back, which popular fan theory seems the most predictable? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/list/5-disappointing-tv-show-endings-that-wouldve-been-fixed-by-an-extra-episode/embed/#

Read More

2026-01-13 22:12