The once enormously popular Netflix series Stranger Things came to a very controversial end on New Year’s Eve, and following months of online outcry about Conformity Gate—the fan conspiracy theory that the Stranger Things finale was actually a dupe and a real/’better’ ending was coming—and ongoing debate and complaints, the commentary seems to have died down. However, that doesn’t exactly mean that the final season has begun to be seen in a more positive light. If anything, the Stranger Things fanbase seems to be divided between fans who are happy with the final season and remember the show fondly and those who remain angry about how the show ended and refuse to engage with it anymore.
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That’s truly a shame, especially considering how beloved this show once was and just given the fact that it had an impressive run with nearly 10 years under its belt. While some minds may never change, though, Will Byers actor Noah Schnapp has just stirred up discourse again with an interview at Comic Con Wales 2026. During the interview, Schnapp was asked something he would change about the show, and he picked an aspect of season 5 that fans immediately complained about and that, unfortunately, still hasn’t been explained by the Duffer brothers, the writers, or anyone else tied to the show.
Noah Schnapp Is Totally Right About the Hive Mind
There were many complaints about Stranger Things season 5 before the end, although many of the biggest specifically came in the finale. Those included the minimal interactions between Will Byers and Mike Wheeler despite Will’s declaration of love for Mike in the penultimate episode and the fact that the final battle was bizarrely absent of any major Upside Down creatures, including Demogorgons, Demodogs, or Demobats. However, yet another confusing and frustrating aspect of the finale was the nonsensical outcome of the Hive Mind that connected the Mind Flayer, Vecna, and Will Byers, giving the latter his powers seen only in the final season and only when he was close to Vecna. Namely, that connection was limited in ways that made absolutely no sense, particularly in the end.
At Comic Con Wales, Schnapp explained, “If I could change anything? Honestly, what didn’t make sense to me is when Vecna was killed, Will didn’t feel anything. This is such a small thing, but I thought they were, like, connected and he was feeling what the Hive Mind feels, and then all of a sudden they chopped Vecna’s head off, and Will didn’t feel anything. So, I was like, I don’t understand this whole parallel that maybe we could have I don’t know. I wanted more there. But who am I to say; I’m not a writer, so I don’t know.”
Although Schnapp brushed off his own points here, these are arguments that fans have been making since the series finale, and they’re good ones. The way that the Hive Mind worked was, unfortunately, rather inconsistent, which wasn’t in keeping with the level of quality Stranger Things had demonstrated for years. (No, it wasn’t always perfect, but this glaring logical gap felt new.) Unfortunately, it feels unlikely that this question will ever really be addressed. Although Tales From ’85 remains ongoing, Conformity Gate has proven to truly be a bust, and the Duffers don’t seem to have any legitimate plans to revisit this exact story.
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Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Animation
