The backlash over Vol 2 of Stranger Things 5 has boiled over into a full-blown conspiracy theory.
Rumors are swirling that over 2 hours of content was cut from the recent batch of episodes before they were released on Christmas Day. A Change.org petition demanding the release of deleted scenes has received over 260,000 signatures and counting.
What is Cutgate? Why is it spreading like wildfire within the stranger things community?
Disappointment Over Vol 2
It all ties back into one simple thing. A lot of people DID NOT like episodes 5, 6 and 7 of Vol 2. Right now, season 5 is the lowest-rated season of Stranger Things on Rotten Tomatoes, sitting at an audience score of 56%. To put things in perspective, the second lowest-rated season is Stranger Things 3 with an audience score of 89%.
There were a lot of complaints about the writing. The dialogue was either too cringe or too modern for a show set in the mid to late 1980s.
Many felt that the pacing was too slow. Out of nearly three hours of runtime, some viewers feel we only got about thirty minutes of an actual story.
Despite dropping little hints, there’s a lot we still don’t know about Vecna’s origins. This means that fans need to see the Broadway play Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Which is something the Duffer Brothers promised wasn’t necessary to understand season 5.
Will’s coming out was particularly divisive. The Byler stans were pissed about their ship not being endgame. A lot of people also thought the scene was unnecessary, that it added nothing to the main story, was “too woke”, etc. Some even said it was unrealistic since season 5 takes place in the late 80s, during the AIDS pandemic and rising homophobia.
The Breaking Point
On X/Twitter, an anonymous source claimed that entire plotlines and character arcs were removed or changed mid-filming.
This mystery source supposedly has insider information and had accurately leaked multiple scenes from Vol 1 of Stranger Things 5.
A Google Document popped up revealing what some of these missing scenes were. There was supposed to be a scene where Mike and Eleven travel to Camazotz to rescue Will. Will and Mike having more scenes together, including a “one-on-one basement scene” that would have given their arc some closure.
Also, multiple scenes between Will and Vecna were cut. Season 5 was supposed to recenter Will as the main story by focusing his connection with Vecna/Henry Creel, so an entire story arc was allegedly gutted. He was supposed to have a “fake-out death” that mirrored his CPR scene back in season 1.
A deeper exploration of Will’s sexual trauma (reminiscent of the first five minutes of season 5 that explored Will’s time in the Upside Down) was toned down, if not cut entirely from the season.
Allegedly Netflix intervened out of fear that having an arc about Will’s CSA would push the show into TV-MA rating. AKA, parents would be reluctant to allow their kids/teens to watch the show.
Why So Many Fans Believe In Cutgate
What keeps Cutgate alive is how unfinished Vol 2 feels.
Max and Will are suddenly close after she wakes up, without any explanation. Eleven’s reunion with Max doesn’t feel like they haven’t seen each other in years. Max barely reacts to Hopper being alive.
Music was promised to be integral this season, yet many tracks tied to the show never appear.
Episodes five through seven were still being edited late into December, while earlier episodes were locked months earlier. A water safety crew was listed for an episode with no water scenes. Actors and crew have referenced material that never surfaced.
None of this proves scenes were cut, but it makes the rumors harder to dismiss.
While some fans have dismissed the rumors as nonsense coming from Byler stans, this runs much deeper than some ship.
If this is true, that means that a significant number of scenes that are essential to the show’s story has been removed. It’s adding to concerns that the series finale will be a massive disappointment since there’s too much going on to wrap up in a 2 hour episode.
Where Things Stand Now
Keep in mind that all of this is nothing but allegations and rumors. Nothing has been officially confirmed by Netflix or the Duffer Brothers.
Randy Havens, who plays Mr. Clarke in the series, denied the existence of alternate footage on Instagram Stories.
Yet this wasn’t enough to stop the fandom from speculating. The only way Cutgate dies is if the finale is so good it overshadows everything that came before it. Or, maybe an alternate version of Vol 2 somehow sees the light of day.
Until then, Cutgate is filling in the plot holes the show left behind.
