Posted in: Current News, Netflix, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: opinion, stranger things 5

Stranger Things 5: Maybe There's No "Conspiracy" & You're Just Wrong?

There's a "conspiracy theory" involving Stranger Things 5 Vol. 2, supposed runtimes and deleted scenes, and more, that doesn't make sense.

Over the summer, a supposed "official" rundown of the running times for each episode of Netflix and Matt & Ross Duffer's Stranger Things 5 reportedly "leaked" (with a "PROPERTY OF NETFLIX" watermark and everything). As you can see below, we were meant to believe that the final run would be close to… 19 hours long. Taking to social, Ross Duffer dropped an "lol" to make it clear that those times were "not even close to accurate." Why does this little "modern history" lesson matter? Because the final season's runtimes – specifically, the runtimes for Volume 2 – are being called into question as part of some supposed "larger conspiracy" that's caught fire (not surprisingly) on social media, the land of conspiracy theories. 

Basically, the "bombshell" only works if you make two huge leaps of faith. First, that the "reliable source" is reliable enough to believe without evidence. Second, you would have to be of the mindset that Volume 2 was pretty much a disaster that failed the series on a number of levels and made questionable storyline decisions. Right from the start, objectivity has pretty much been tossed out the window. There's also a partial list of deleted scenes floating around, with the theory being that about 40 minutes were cut from each episode. In fact, that was initially too much of a leap for us to take – that is, until What's on Netflix stepped in to make it clear that none of this was true – and got pushed back on:

With that in mind, some thoughts on the whole "conspiracy" thing to kind of offer a "differing perspective":

You Don't Have to Like "Stranger Things 5 Vol. 2," But That Doesn't Mean The Duffers or Netflix Are Out to Get You: You may disagree with the storyline decisions being made. You might be pissed because the "ship" you've been hoping for isn't going to pan out. You might find yourself cringing at the dialogue. All of that is well and good, and that's absolutely your right. But to flip that into something sinisterly shady on behalf of the show's creators and the streamer is just… a stretch.

"But We've Seen Behind-the-Scenes Images of Moments That Never Streamed!" Okay, this is an easy one. First, you can't really say that until you also screen the finale. That said, most films and television series have deleted scenes – and I would expect Stranger Things 5 to have them, too. But deleted scenes don't justify a claim of a conspiracy. As for those behind-the-scenes images teasing moments that haven't streamed? Again, you might want to put a pin in that until after December 31st. That said, there's a very good chance they may not make the cut – and again, that's no different than what we've seen go on for years now. How many times have you watched a teaser or trailer for a film or television series that included a scene or two that never made its way onto our screens? If that's the case with Stranger Things 5, then the worst thing that Duffers would've done is exactly the same game filmmakers and studios have been running for years (even some of your favorites).

So, The Duffer Brothers Left 2 Hours of "Stranger Things 5 Vol. 2" on the Cutting Room Floor? If you're buying into what's on social media, that's what you would have to believe. Because to think that, you would pretty much also have to buy into the idea that Ross Duffer was pretty much lying to us over the summer. And that raises the obvious question: what would be the point? Especially when the Duffers have gone on the record in the past, making it clear that they weren't aiming for an epically long final season after the fourth season.

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