Joe Keery, however, has finally decided to come out and say it: he’s done playing along, and he’d really appreciate it if fans would move on too. During his promotional tour for Cold Storage, Keery finally broke his silence about the long-simmering “Conformity Gate” theory, which posits that Netflix has been keeping the actual finale hidden and the one they did air wasn’t really the final product. Keery, being the good sport that he is, decided to address it and, with a bit of humor and a whole lot of honesty, set the record straight.
Joe Keery shuts down viral Conformity Gate theory
In a clip shared by AP News, Keery confessed that he was aware of the theory but chose not to give it much attention, even making light of it by saying, “There’s a whole unreleased ending that nobody has seen. Yep, it’ll be very interesting to see when it finally comes out. Don’t quote me on that.” Of course, he wasn’t done being facetious, because right after, he went back to being serious and let everyone know that Stranger Things was, in fact, done and over with: “The show is all done and dusted, and what a ride it was.”
When Georgina Campbell, his co-actor, mentioned how much the series meant to the fans, especially those who grew up with it and didn’t want it to be over, Keery didn’t let up. “Stranger Things means so much to so many people, and there’s lots of people that grew up watching it and feel really like they don’t want to let it go,” and, with a tone that was both gruff and playful, ended it with these three words (in a guttural tone): “Let it go.”
The theory was short-lived, exploding almost immediately as a result of the series finale airing on New Year’s Eve. The theory was based on the fact that the series was a fake-out, designed to keep a final episode a secret. The theory began on the internet, where fans believed the series would be released on January 7. When this did not happen, theories turned to the documentary One Last Adventure being a “real” series finale. However, this did not happen either, and the theory eventually died off.
It is not surprising to hear that Keery is moving on. The series was a period of nearly a decade of his life, and it is clear that he is moving on to a new period of his life as he is acting in projects such as Cold Storage and working on a music career as Djo. He is also set to headline a major concert this summer alongside Lorde.
To fans who are still hoping to find a hidden goodbye, it is clear what Keery is trying to convey: the series is over, and it is now time to move on.
