Erica Sinclair

## Erica Sinclair

* 1986
* 1985
* 1984

## Biographical information

### Age

9 (season two)
10 (season three)
11 (season four)

### Aliases

Nerd (by Dustin)
Psycho, Mall Rat (by Lucas)
 Lady Applejack (*D&D* name)

### Family

Sue Sinclair (mother)
Charles Sinclair (father)
Lucas Sinclair (older brother)
Jack (uncle)

### Other relations

Dustin Henderson (friend)
Steve Harrington (friend)
Robin Buckley (friend)
Max Mayfield (friend)
Mike Wheeler  (friend)
Nancy Wheeler (friend)
Murray Bauman (acquaintance)
Joyce Byers (acquaintance)
Jim Hopper (acquaintance)
Eddie Munson † (friend)
Jason Carver † (enemy)
Andy (enemy)

### Affiliation

Scoops Troop
Hellfire Club

## Portrayal

### Episodes

— Erica Sinclair, July 2, 1985

**Erica Sinclair**, portrayed by Priah Ferguson, is a main character in *Stranger Things*, being introduced in the second season as a recurring role before being promoted to the main cast from the third season onward. She is the younger sister of Lucas Sinclair.

In 1984, she spent the months of October and November tormenting her brother, making fun of his Ghostbusters costume, touching his radio and action figures without his permission, and teasing his crush on Max Mayfield.

In the summer of 1985, following the town's Starcourt Mall opening, Erica would spend her days with her posse of friends harassing Robin Buckley and Steve Harrington for free ice cream samples at the mall's ice cream parlor, Scoops Ahoy. She is soon asked by Steve, Robin, and Lucas' best friend Dustin Henderson to climb through the mall's vents to investigate the mall's supplies that withhold Russian weapons. Erica agrees in exchange from free ice cream for life. This simple task proves to be anything but, as the quartet discover a large Russian base underneath the mall attempting to open a portal to another dimension, a portal she discovers her brother and friends have battled to keep closed for the last two years. While assisting Dustin, she soon discovers that she holds nerd-like qualities with her love of My Little Pony, politics, and skills in math. Though Erica is initially in denial, Dustin tells her to embrace her nerdy nature. After escaping the base, she soon assists her brother and friends stopping the Mind Flayer. Three months later, Erica is given Dungeons & Dragons sets by Dustin and Lucas.

In the spring of 1986, Erica's skills at *Dungeons & Dragons* rival those of the Hawkins High teens. When Lucas's basketball games interfere with Hellfire Club, Mike and Dustin are desperate to find a substitute player — and Erica may just be the dark horse they need. Later, she is informed of an entity called Vecna murdering teens around Hawkins where she joined her friends and brother in attempting to murder Vecna. After a brief scuffle with members of the Hawkins High basketball team at the old Creel House, Erica and her friends were able to fend off Vecna, but were unable to prevent four gates to the Upside Down being opened. In the aftermath, Erica and Lucas visit Max Mayfield in the hospital as she placed in a coma, following their encounter with Vecna before witnessing particles from the Upside Down falling down into the town of Hawkins.

## History

### Background

Erica Sinclair was born in 1975 in Hawkins, Indiana, to Charles and Sue Sinclair, and was their second child, behind her older brother Lucas by four years.

### 1984

#### October

##### Annoying her brother

Erica unenthusiastically watched her mother take photographs of Lucas in his *Ghostbusters* costume. She said that he was a such a nerd, causing Lucas to tell her to shut up. Erica replied by saying it was no wonder all he did was hang out with boys. Sue glared at her daughter and called her out, causing Erica to defend herself by saying, "Just the facts". Sue dismissed her and continued onward with the pictures, but Erica continued to taunt her brother by mouthing the word "nerd".

#### November

While the Sinclairs ate breakfast, Sue told Erica that she had enough maple syrup on her breakfast, but Erica shook her head and continued to pour it on. When Lucas left to hang out with his friend, Dustin Henderson, Sue turned her attention back to Erica and sternly looked at her when she continued to pour syrup. Erica whispered that she was sorry and awkwardly placed the syrup back on the table.

That afternoon, Erica, going through Lucas' bedroom, picked up his walkie-talkie to tell Dustin (who had been trying to contact Lucas all day) to shut up. Dustin asked if she knew where Lucas was and if he was with their friends, Erica continued to poke through her brother's stuff while saying that she didn't know and didn't care. Dustin said that he had an urgent message to give to Lucas, and Erica finished his sentence that it was a code red. Erica said that she had a code for Dustin instead, saying, "It's called Code Shut. Your. Mouth", and turned off the walkie-talkie.

In the morning, Erica played on her bed with a Barbie doll and a He-Man action figure she stole from Lucas' bedroom. Lucas barged in and snatched back his toy, and Erica protested that they were in love. Lucas argued that they weren't since He-Man and Barbie didn't even exist on the same planet. Erica smugly asked if Lucas was too old to have toys. Lucas avoided the subject by telling his sister to stay out of his room as he walked away. Erica yelled that if he didn't want her in his room, he should tell "his little nerdy friend" to shut his mouth. Lucas, walking back, asked what she was talking about. Impersonating Dustin's lisp, Erica repeated Dustin saying "Code Red" to Lucas. She grabbed a stuffed owl to replace He-Man and said Lucas and Dustin were a bunch of nerds as she resumed her playtime. Lucas, realizing Dustin was in danger, ran off to contact him.

#### December

As Lucas got dressed and prepared himself for the Snow Ball, he talked to himself in the mirror to practice asking Max to dance. He asked if "Max" loved the song that was playing, and Erica, eavesdropping, interrupted him and said, "Yeah, I love it. But not as much as I love you, Lukey". Irritated, Lucas told her to get out of his room and slammed the door.

### 1985

#### June

##### Spending time at the mall

At the newly built Starcourt Mall, Erica hung out with her posse of friends, eating ice cream together. She noticed Lucas, Mike, Will, and Max colliding into people in a hurry, and told her brother to "watch it" while calling him a nerd. Lucas sarcastically asked if it was past her bedtime, and Erica asked if it was time he died, causing her friends to laugh at him. The two exchanged a series of insults at one another before Max pulled him away. Later, Erica and her friends were annoyed when the electricity in Starcourt broke down, but dismissed it as nothing once it returned to normal.

Erica and her posse take advantage of Scoops Ahoy's free sample ice cream policy, much to the annoyance of Robin Buckley, the cashier. Erica asked if she could try the peppermint stick. When Robin asked if she had already tried that flavor, Erica confirmed and sternly said she would like to try it again.

#### July

##### Sneaking into the secret base

The next day, Erica returned with her posse to Scoops Ahoy, and rung the bell to get Robin's attention as she read a Russian translation book while listening to her Walkman. When she finally gets Robin's attention, Erica asked if she could try the peanut butter chocolate swirl flavor. Robin refused to give out any more samples due to Erica abusing Scoops Ahoy's company policy. Erica, frustrated, asked where the "sailor man" - Steve Harrington - was, and Robin said he was busy with "spycraft".

On July 2nd, Erica returned to Scoops Ahoy again, alone this time. However, instead of receiving any ice cream, she was asked by Dustin, Steve, and Robin attempted to crawl through a series of air ducts connecting to a storage room allegedly holding Soviet equipment after Dustin had intercepted a Russian transmission from the mall itself. When Erica asked what was in this for her, the older teens provided her with ice cream treats convince her. As Robin and Dustin informed her what route to take through the air ducts and open the the door to the storage room for them, Erica started to doubt in doing this task as she was told there were armed guards and believed there to be booby traps, despite Robin and Dustin assuring her otherwise. In the end, Erica agreed to do so, but only on the condition that she receives free ice cream for life. Erica succeeded in accessing the storage room and opened the door for Dustin, Steve, and Robin, where they found mysterious, green substances encased in glass containers. Suddenly, they heard strange noises and decided to leave, intending to take a container of the green substance with them.

However, Dustin could not open the door like Erica did earlier as the buttons were not working all of a sudden. At that moment, the room was revealed to be an elevator and began descending rapidly. The group started screaming as the elevator kept going down at a fast pace. Erica and Dustin kept pushing the buttons to stop the elevator to no avail until the elevator came to a sudden stop, causing everyone to crash onto to the floor. As everyone recovered, Steve tried to open the elevator door by pushing the buttons, but Robin revealed that they could not open the door due to them being electronically locked like the loading dock door which can only be unlocked with a keycard like the Russians have.

    At this news, Erica starts to berate Dustin, Steve, and Robin for putting her in this situation. Erica says although she is missing a sleepover at her friend, Tina's, she explained how angry her mom would be at Dustin, Steve, and Robin for making her miss her Uncle Jack's birthday party and endangering her. Steve, having enough of Erica's attitude, snapped at her, yelling he does not care about her own problems and that they would be killed by the Russians if they remained trapped in the elevator where her mom would not find them. As Erica is taken aback by Steve's rage, Dustin suggested they climb out of the elevator due to noticing a hatch on the elevator's ceiling, only to discover they are thousands of floors below the mall, leaving them unable to climb to the surface. As a result, Erica and Dustin went to sleep as Robin and Steve tried to find another way to open the elevator door to no avail.

The next day, with everyone still stuck in the elevator, Erica decides to open the container of the green substance, only to be stopped by Robin. Erica then explained her intentions of drinking whatever was in the container by pointing out that the human body would die if it does not get enough water. Although Robin pointed out that the green substance is not water, Erica states she would rather drink than die of dehydration before she took the container back from Robin. Their conversation was soon interrupted when Robin heard some Russians driving a kart, approaching the elevator which prompted Erica and Robin to hide on the elevator roof with the boys. As they watched two Russians take some Imperial Panda boxes, Steve notices Erica holding the container of the green substance which gave him an idea on how they can escape the elevator. Once the Russians leave, Steve quickly dropped down from the elevator roof and used the container to hold the door open where Erica was the first to escape, followed by Dustin, Robin, and Steve. After Steve managed to exit the elevator, the door crushed the container, revealing green substance to be radioactive material when dissolves into the floor. Erica is jokingly asked by Robin if she still wants to drink the contaminated substance before Dustin reveals they have entered an underground base. With no other options, Erica joins Dustin, Robin, and Steve in entering the base.

##### Rescue & Escape

The next day, when stopping at a giant fan within the air ventilation tunnels, Erica listened to Dustin explain how Will was kidnapped and taken to an alternate dimension called "The Upside Down" in 1983 where he and the rest of his friends also met a girl named Eleven who had telekinetic powers and was a test subject from Hawkins National Laboratory. She also listened how Dustin and his friends encountered a monster from the Upside Down called "The Mind Flayer" last year where they stopped it from invading Hawkins. Though Erica believed everything Dustin told her, she was doubtful of her brother being involved with the supernatural encounters in the past two years. When Erica calculated how long they have been crawling through the vents and how long it would take for them to get back to the elevator if they rescued Steve and Robin, Dustin became giddy to discover that Erica was a nerd herself, much to her disdain. As Erica tried to insist she was not a nerd, Dustin pointed out because she had great math skills, knowledge on politics, and loved *My Little Pony*, all of those tropes made her a nerd as he revealed his knowledge of the storyline in *My Little Pony*, much to Erica's shock. When asking Dustin how he knew so much about *My Little Pony*, Erica was dismayed to hear that Dustin proudly considered himself a nerd. After they turned off the fan, Erica and Dustin proceeded to continue crawling through the air ventilation tunnels.

After crawling through the ventilation system for sometime, Erica and Dustin entered a room where there were more canisters of the green substance. They spotted a transport cart, but noticed the keys were not inside the cart. As Dustin looked for an extra pair of keys around the room, Erica noticed a large cage in the room, prompting her to ask her how big the Demogorgon he first encountered. When Dustin answered the monster was nine feet tall, Erica continued to look around the room where she managed to find a taser prod. When Erica suggested they use it to rescue Steve and Robin, Dustin pointed out to her that they had no idea where the older teens could be and that the Russians had more weapons than they did. Upon getting into the cart, Erica was urged by Dustin to trust him in figuring out a way to escape from the base before starting to drive the cart around the base with a pair of keys he had found.

After rescuing Steve and Robin, Erica and Dustin flee in the loading car with Steve and Robin sitting in the back. As Dustin drove the loading car, Erica and Dustin heard the older teenagers complaining about the speed of the car, despite not driving so fast and how they were laughing hysterically. After crashing the car into some barrels near the elevator, Dustin and Erica got Steve and Robin out of the car where Dustin proceeded to use the keycard to open and activate the elevator so he and his friends could escape from the base.

    However, once in the elevator, Erica and Dustin were bewildered to see the Steve and Robin acting very high. When Steve fell to the ground, after pretending he was surfing on a dolly, Erica watched Dustin check his temperature and examine him where he found his eye pupils being dilated, causing Erica and Dustin realized the Russians had drugged Steve and Robin. Erica then watched Dustin try to snap Steve out of the drugs' effects and ask him where he had parked his car as they needed to escape the mall so the Russians would not catch them again. However, Steve revealed the Russians had stolen his car keys while being held captive, leaving Erica and her friends stuck at the mall.

While Erica was laying low, Erica asked Dustin where he was going, to which he said, he was going to "find us a ride." and instructed her to watch the drunk Steve and Robin. Later, Dustin returned to his spot next to Erica where he asked her, if she had eight AA batteries, to which she said, she did not have, then he said that will have to go to "plan B". When Erica asked what "plan B" was, Dustin turned his attention to where Steve and Robin would have been sitting, and, in an increasingly concerned tone, he asked Erica, where they were. Upon this, Erica and Dustin searched for Steve and Robin, only for them to find them in a bathroom stall, where they saw them laughing in a sober state, and when Dustin asked them, "Okay, what the Hell?", where Steve and Robin laughed even more. Steve, Robin, Dustin and Erica then joined the leaving crowd of the Mall, where Steve stated that, they may not want to go to Dustin's house, and reveals, that in his drunken state, he told them his full name. When Steve and Dustin argue about this, Robin redirected their attention to the guard at the exit. When the group saw this, they aborted and hid behind a *Great Cookie* countertop, before they heard a car honking, and saw Eleven controlling the car and she flung it toward the mall guards, killing them instantly. When Scoops Troop reunited with the Party, Erica asked what Lucas was doing there and was surprised to see Eleven. They, then confused each other with the, Mind Flayer and Russians, and argued about it. Meanwhile doing so, Erica saw an exhausted Eleven collapse to the floor, before she asked, what was wrong with her. She then saw something moving in her left leg, and was disgusted to see it, before Jonathan made an incision in her left leg, and Eleven forced the creature out and saw Hopper step on it and saw Joyce and Murray.

#### October

##### Receiving the DnD kit

In October, Lucas and Dustin arrived at Erica's room in the Sinclair house, where Dustin held a box labeled "Donations", and knelt before her and gave her a D&D booklet from the box, sparking her interest in Dungeons and Dragons.

### 1986

#### March

##### Joining Hellfire

By 1986, Erica has now become an avid player of D&D despite the increasing stigma that the game promotes Satanism. The day before Spring Break, Dustin Henderson and Mike Wheeler search for a substitute for Lucas in their D&D club, the Hellfire Club, since he was busy playing for their school's basketball team. After failing to find someone at Hawkins High, Dustin gets an idea as he and Mike run towards Hawkins Middle. That night, Erica struts down the halls of Hawkins High with an American flag strapped to her back as she follows Dustin and Mike towards their club. At first, the Hellfire Club's leader, Eddie Munson, and his cronies reject Erica for her youth and believe her to be inexperienced. But Erica tells him that her character, Lady Applejack, is a chaotic good half-elf rogue, level 14 that is a cold-blooded killer, causing Eddie to smile and convince him to let her join the club's campaign.

As the group ventures forth into Eddie's campaign, they're disheartened to learn that Vecna remains alive. Eddie asks if they should flee or fight to the death. Mike, Dustin, and Erica decree they choose the latter, and cause the table to chant "TO THE DEATH!". The battle proves to be difficult, as everyone with the exception of Dustin and Erica lucks out of defeating Vecna, They ask for a timeout and round up in a circle, who both have twelve hit points left. Eddie taunts them and says there is no shame in running, but Erica and Dustin agree that they can take Vecna out and continue onward. Dustin roll of the D20 causes him to miss, but Erica's role lands them a critical hit that kills Vecna, landing them victory and causing the group to cheer. The group leaves the building as they celebrate, not seeing Lucas watching them in the distance, hurt that they didn't attend the game that he won.

In the morning, Erica was painting D&D figures at her desk when the doorbell rang. After Mrs. Sinclair forced her to get the door, Erica opened it to find Jason Carver standing there. He asked if she knew where Lucas was since they were supposed to go out, and Erica replied that Lucas has "taken a step down from Max" as she began to close the door. Jason blocked her from closing it fully with his hand, asking if Erica was the little sister who played Dungeons & Dragons. Erica asked what it meant to him, and Jason asked if she knew Dustin Henderson. Erica said that not only does she know him, she's "bled with him", and said that he was probably with Jason's "cheater boyfriend". Seeing if her parents were listening, she told Jason to tell Lucas that she's been covering for his absence the last two days, and calculated through the daily percentage rates how much Lucas owed her before he'd buy her a Nintendo. Jason was left perplexed as Erica slammed the door.

##### Vecna's curse

Erica, along with her parents, watched a breaking news story of the death of Patrick McKinney, the third victim of a string of killings that have begun to plague Hawkins. Erica and her parents later attend a town meeting, with Officer Calvin Powell declaring a curfew. Suddenly, Jason, alongside his fellow basketball teammates, interrupted the meeting and proclaimed that the person responsible for the deaths was Eddie Munson, and said that Hellfire was a sadistic cult. Erica stood up and said that it was "bullshit", saying that Hellfire was simply a club for nerds. Sue pulled her back down to her seat as Erica whispered, "Just the facts". Erica's protest proved to be unsuccessful, as the town joined Jason on searching for Eddie and members of the Hellfire Club. The Sinclairs, the Wheelers, and Claudia Henderson grew concerned over their children.

The three families drove to the Wheeler home, only to find no one home. Karen said that they should've been back from a movie by now, but Erica gently told her that they probably lied to her. Karen walked over to her phone, and Erica asked if she was calling the theater, but Karen corrected her and said she was calling the police.

That evening, Dustin, Lucas, and Max were picked up by the police from Lover's Lake and were interrogated in the Wheeler living room on Eddie's whereabouts. The three lied and claimed that they hardly knew Eddie, and Erica stepped in and said that that was a "bunch of bull". Charles and Sue yelled their daughter's name, but Erica argued that they were lying and "the whole couch was on fire", much to her parent's frustration. When Lucas claimed he wasn't lying, Erica said that the "fire" was consuming them. Office Powell decided to interrogate one person at a time, taking Max first. In the kitchen, Dustin comforted Lucas that Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Eddie weren't in the Upside Down and that they were laying low to avoid "the law". Erica, sipping a juicebox, mocked his analogy by asking if this was "Gunsmoke: The Stupid and the Ugly". Lucas attempted to shoo Erica away, but Erica said that either he told her what was going on, or she would tell Dustin what she found under his bed. Dustin, curious, asked how gross it was on a scale of 1-10, and Erica said it was 100. Lucas stopped her and explained that the perpetrator of the recent murders was an entity from the Upside Down named Vecna, and that they were at Lover's Lake because a Gate had opened there. He finished off by saying that if Erica told anyone about this - including their parents and *especially* Erica's friend Tina - that he would smother her in her sleep. Erica, not skipping a beat, asked why the Commies opened up a gate there of all places. Lucas said that the Commies weren't behind this, and Dustin suddenly started to wonder how a Gate opened up in the first place. As the trio jumped from room to room to avoid the cops hearing them, Dustin and Lucas realized that by every killing Vecna committed, he opened a Gate to the Upside Down via psychic connection. Erica said that what they were saying was incomprehensible, and told Dustin to "please be kind, rewind". As they headed back to the kitchen, Dustin asked Erica if she recalled the Gate the Russians attempted to open up the year prior, to which Erica asked what the point of the laser they used was.

Later on, as Dustin continued to ponder Vecna's motives, he noticed Erica not paying attention and asked if she was listening to him. Erica confirmed that she was, and asked if Vecna communicated through lights. Dustin and Lucas confirmed, and Erica pointed to the Wheeler dining room chandelier that was pulsating rhythmically, saying that she believed Vecna was with them. Dustin, discovering the lights were spelling "S-O-S" in Morse code, realized that Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Eddie were in the Upside Down.

Lucas and Dustin snatched a Lite-Brite kit from Nancy and Mike's younger sister, Holly, while Erica gave her a pack of Skittles in exchange to keep her quiet. The trio went to Nancy's room and put all of the pegs onto the Lite Brite kit. After plugging and unplugging in the toy, Dustin and Erica cheered and hugged one another when the quartet from the Upside Down successfully began to communicate with them. Erica, Dustin, and Lucas slowly spelt out Nancy's words together and realized that the gate in Lover's Lake was guarded. Dustin told them to meet one another at the Gate at Eddie's trailer. After fetching Max once she finished her interrogation, the quarter climbed through Nancy's window down to the garage. Phil Callahan, entering the room to look for them, discovered through the window and yelled at the kids to come back. Erica, holding a pocket knife, lodged it into the tires of the police cars and took off with the kids. The parents and police officers called for them to no avail.

Once arriving at the Munson trailer, Dustin used a stick to break through the coating of the Gate. He, Erica, Lucas, and Max happily greeted Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Eddie through the hole. Placing a mattress over the Gate, Dustin tied bedsheets together to make a sturdy rope that floated between the Gates. Erica, mesmerized, said that this was the "craziest shit" she had ever seen while high-fiving Dustin. Though Robin and Eddie climbed through successfully, Nancy was cursed by Vecna before she could leave and put in a trance. The crew on the other side searched Eddie's room for music to play for Nancy. Steve yelled to Erica from the Upside Down to hurry. Erica gave Steve's message to the crew as they tore through Eddie's room and couldn't find anything. Nancy was released from Vecna's trance, with Vecna giving her a disturbing message to deliver.

##### Battle at the Creel House

By morning, the group relocated to Max's trailer. A disheveled Nancy told the group that Vecna was originally a boy named Henry Creel that possessed telekinesis. He murdered his mother and sister, and slipped into a coma as a result of overexerting his powers, causing his father to be sent to Pennhurst for the murders and drove himself to become insane. Henry, awakened from his coma, was taken by Dr. Martin Brenner, and became One, the very first child test subject of Hawkins Lab where he was predeceased by other numbered experiments, including Eleven. Nancy further told the group of what the future entailed; downtown on fire, dead soldiers, and an army of monsters invading their homes to kill them and their families. The group then realized that Vecna's signature clock chimed four times, each chime representing a kill, and that he only needed one more before the end of the world commenced. Nancy argued that they needed to return to the Upside Down to kill Vecna permanently. Robin, confused, asked what they were calling Vecna now that he had three aliases, and Erica said to continue to call him Vecna. Robin said that Vecna was more powerful than them and it wouldn't be a fair fight, but Dustin said that since Vecna and Eleven shared the same strengths, they would also share the same weaknesses. Erica questioned what he meant, and Dustin clarified that whenever El is in the Void, she is put in a trance-like state and can be vulnerable to outside forces. Since Vecna invades minds through the Creel house attic in the Upside Down, he would be vulnerable to be killed by the group. Since Max was still marked, she volunteered to bait Vecna into her mind so they could kill him.

Realizing that they needed weapons, Eddie opened up a phonebook to show the group The War Zone, an army surplus store far out from Hawkins so they avoid cops and "angry hicks". Erica argued that it seemed counterintuitive to avoid angry hicks by going to a place named the War Zone, but Nancy said that that they didn't have a choice since they needed the supplies. Since the group had no mode of transportation, Eddie lead them to his neighbor's RV. Sneaking in through a window, Eddie hotwired the car and had the group take off with it as the couple failed to catch them. Arriving at the War Zone, Max, Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Erica agreed to be quick on their shopping since the store was mobbed. As Erica threw weapons into her wagon, she began to panic when she saw Lucas' teammates from the basketball team everywhere. She and the others quickly bought their items and returned to the RV. Erica told Lucas that his old friends were there as Steve took the RV back on the road.

In a field, the group began to build their weapons. Lucas and Erica were left to make spears. As Eddie asked how they were coming along, Lucas put his thumb up and smiled, only for Erica to tell him to flip it around. Dropping her spear to fix his, Erica told a confused Lucas that his was too loose and that this wasn't a basketball game where "the whistle blew and his shoes fell off". Lucas defended himself and said that his shoes never fell off, and Erica smugly said that it was hard for his shoes to fall off since he never left the bench. Lucas then questioned why she showed up every one of his games. Erica told him she didn't go to the one that mattered, and added that their parents always forced her to go. Lucas called her out and told her that their parents couldn't force her to do anything. Erica ended the conversation by saying, "Even though you're a bench-riding loser, you're still my brother. Just the facts". The two would later play with their spears in the field.

That evening, Lucas, Max, and Erica are dropped off at the Creel house with bug zappers. The three slowly walked towards the entrance and began their part of the plan. Each of them searched a floor of the Creel house with their shoes off to avoid making noise. They used the bug zapper to locate Vecna's presence, and notepads to communicate. On the first floor, Erica's zapper lit up, and found Max and Lucas to tell them she had found Vecna. Downstairs, she asked through her notepad to commence Phase One of the plan. Lucas nodded his head, and Erica ran out to the small playground across the street. A man walking his dog, noticing Erica and the lights in the Creel house, alerted Andy through the phone, who in turn alerted Jason.

After Steve, Nancy, and Robin signaled to Erica through the Upside Down they were at the Creel House on the other side, Erica flashed her flashlight to Lucas. When Lucas flashed back, Erica told the trio in the Upside Down that Lucas and Max were commencing Phase Two by allowing Vecna to enter Max's mind. When Max was cursed by Vecna once again, Lucas signaled to Erica from the attic. Erica told the trio to initiate Phase Three. The plan came to a halt when Andy and Jason pull up to the playground and Andy chased Erica away. Andy finally caught Erica and tackled her to the ground. Erica called Andy a "meathead" and commanded her to let go, and Andy threatened to break her arms if she didn't stop and called her a "little shit". When Andy got distracted from hearing a gunshot from the Creel House, Erica incapacitated Andy by hitting him in the crotch. As Andy writhed in pain, Erica knocked him out by hitting him with her flashlight. Bolting back to the house, Erica screamed her brother's name. She banged on the locked attic door as Lucas and Jason were fighting one another. Though he knocked Jason unconscious, Lucas was unable to prevent Vecna from breaking Max's limbs, though she was released from the curse before she fully be killed. Erica finally broke through the door and called for Lucas, only to stop in horror to find Lucas cradling Max's body. He yelled for her call an ambulance and hurry, and Erica ran back down the stairs. Max unfortunately succumbed to her injuries and allowed Vecna's plan to come to fruition, with four Gates from each murder sight ripping across Hawkins and causing a massive hole to form at the center of town. However, Max was revived by Eleven through the Void by her restarting Max's heart, and Max was transported to the hospital.

##### The beginning of the end

Erica supported her brother at the hospital as he read a book to a now comatose Max, whose limbs were placed in casts. As Mike, Eleven, Will, Jonathan, and Nancy arrived, the crew looked over Max's body in sadness. After they left, Erica and Lucas watched in concern together as spores began to fall from the sky, the Upside Down's invasion beginning to unfold.

## Personality

When first introduced, Erica initially comes off as the typical annoying little sister, insulting Lucas and his friends at any given chance, much to her brother and parents' irritation. She has her own set of friends that she hangs out with, and enjoys abusing the sample privileges of Scoop's Ahoy, an ice cream shop in Starcourt Mall. According to Lucas, their parents are unable to "make" Erica do anything they want, likely due to her high intelligence and her requirement to be paid/compensated for any service.

However, despite her abject disapproval of nerds, Dustin points out her gift for mathematics, her knowledge of politics and her interest in My Little Pony made her just as nerdy as he was. It's also implied she sneaks into his room and steals his stuff, such as Lucas' *He-Man* action figure. Erica is very politically knowledgeable for her age and has a patriotic attitude toward her country.

By the time she becomes a middle schooler, Erica has fully-embraced her nerdish love of D&D, though her attitude and flair remain. She’s quick to stand up for what she believes in, telling Jason off at the town meeting and saying the Hellfire Club is “a club for nerds” rather than a Satanic cult. When Lucas and Dustin reveal that Vecna is the culprit in the recent string of murders, Erica remains unfazed, and escapes alongside Dustin, Lucas, and Max from the Wheeler house to help Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Eddie. Erica proves to care of her brother and puts her smart-aleck nature to the side. She is shown to be supportive of her brother, coming to his basketball games, despite insisting her parents make her attend Lucas's games. Erica shows further support where she sticks by her brother as he grieves over Max's comatose state, showing she knows when to be there for the people she loves.

## Relationships

### Familial

**Sue Sinclair**

Erica seems to have a good relationship with her mother though she does criticize Erica for teasing her brother and eating too much junk food.

**Charles Sinclair**

Erica seems to have a good relationship with her father though he also reprimands Erica for teasing her brother and using foul language.

**Lucas Sinclair**

Erica would taunt her older brother Lucas and annoy him, becoming a source of irritation for him. In 1985, when Erica learned about Lucas and his friends' encounters with the Upside Down and its monsters, she did not believe that Lucas was involved in any of it despite believing everything that happened. That changed, however, when Lucas came to her rescue at Starcourt Mall. Though Erica still annoyed Lucas, the two worked together in defeating the Mind Flayer and closing the Gate. Three months later, Erica was given all of her brother's and friends' *D&D* set which she accepted; hinting the two would grow a better relationship with each other and that Erica would accept her nerdiness.

In 1986, Erica occupied her brother's place in Hellfire Club due to his membership in Hawkins Tigers' basketball team preventing him from attending one of the campaigns. Erica tried in vain to defend her brother and fellow members of Hellfire from Jason Carver's accusations of Hellfire being a Satanic cult. When she threatened Lucas to tell Dustin what she found under his bed, Erica learned more about the Upside Down as well as Vecna, who was murdering teenagers throughout Hawkins. Dustin shared with the Sinclair siblings his theory of Vecna creating gates between the two dimensions through psychic connections that he established with his victims, which was eventually confirmed to be the case.

Lucas and Erica participated in the plan to take down Vecna, though they were interrupted by Jason and his basketball teammates in the abandoned Creel mansion. When Erica found her brother cradling a blind and mutilated Max, she called for an ambulance, only for Max to succumb to the injuries inflicted by Vecna, causing Vecna's gates to destroy a large portion of Hawkins. Erica presumably helped her brother carry Max to the ambulance when the latter's heart began beating again as a result of Eleven's intervention. Two days later, Erica watched as Lucas read a story to Max and reunited with Mike, Eleven and Will. Around an hour later, Lucas and Erica were shocked and concerned as they watched spores from the Upside Down descending over Hawkins as part of the invasion Vecna had planned.

### Non-Familial

**Dustin Henderson**

Erica was very dismissive to her older brother's friends, including Dustin Henderson. When Dustin tried to get in touch with Lucas to inform him about D'Artagnan, Erica did not bother to help Dustin and turned off Lucas's Supercom.

However, in 1985, they soon formed a friendship when Dustin requested Erica's help in discovering a secret Russian base underneath Starcourt Mall. Erica did not bother believing Dustin about Upside Down and its monsters, despite not believing her brother to have witnessed all of it. When Dustin found out Erica was a nerd, Dustin would playfully call her a nerd, much to her annoyance as he slowly convinced her to accept it. The two worked together in rescuing Steve and Robin from the Russians and then protecting and caring for them after they were drugged with truth serum. Erica did not believe the existence of Dustin's girlfriend, Suzie until he confirmed her existence by contacting on Cerebro. As Dustin and Suzie sang *Neverending Story*, Erica was shocked and out of annoyance, ended their transmission after Suzie gave out Planck's constant and the two started expressing their love for each other. Three months later, Erica is shown to still be on friendlier terms with Dustin as she was given the Party's *D&D* sets.

Nearly nine months later, Dustin asked Erica to replace Lucas in the newest campaign in Hellfire Club and reassured her that people's beliefs that the club promoted satanism were fake. She ultimately agreed and used the nickname "Lady Applejack." She ultimately won the game, much to Dustin's surprise and joy. When interrogated by Jason Carver over Dustin's whereabouts, she insisted that she not only knew Dustin but had also "bled with him." Upon listening to Jason declaring Hellfire to be a Satanic cult, Erica tried in vain to defend Dustin, Eddie and the other members by insisting that it was merely "a club for nerds." When Erica threatened to tell Dustin something that she had found under Lucas' bed, she claimed that it was 100% gross before being informed of Vecna's existence. Despite their best efforts, Dustin, Erica, Lucas and their allies were unable to kill Vecna and prevent him from opening four gates.

**Robin Buckley**

In the summer of 1985, after the opening of Starcourt Mall, Erica became a frequent customer at Scoops Ahoy where she kept asking for samples of different flavors of ice cream, much to the annoyance of Scoops Ahoy employee, Robin Buckley. When Dustin couldn't fit into the air vents to get to the secret room at the mall guarded by the Russians, Erica was asked by Robin to help them as she was small enough to fit through the vents. Erica, agreed to help, on the condition that she gets free ice cream for life, which Robin accepted. As Erica climbed through the vent, Robin guided Erica to the secret room and seemed relieved when Erica made it out of the vent and entered the room safe and sound. When trapped in the secret Russian base underneath Starcourt, Robin helped Erica and Dustin escape when they were spotted by Russians, leaving Robin and Steve to be captured. However, Erica and Dustin managed to come to Robin and Steve's rescue and escape the base together, as they protecting the older teens as they were drugged with truth serum until they were cured. Both Robin and Erica continued to work together in helping stop the Mind Flayer.

In 1986, Erica joined her brother, Robin and the others in the fight against Vecna, with Erica acting as the communicator between groups. Though Robin, Steve and Nancy greatly injured Vecna, Max's temporary death created the final curse gate, which converged with the others to form a rift between Hawkins and the Upside Down.

**Steve Harrington**

In the summer of 1985, after the opening of Starcourt Mall, Erica became a frequent customer at Scoops Ahoy where she kept asking for samples of different flavors of ice cream. It's possible she irritated Steve for taking advantage of Scoops Ahoy's free ice cream samples, much like she did with Robin. However, when Robin asked for Erica's help to crawl through the air ducts to a secret room that the Russians occupied, Steve agreed to the idea and was willing to give Erica free ice cream treats, in exchange for her cooperation. Once Erica arrived to the room safe and sound, Steve gave out a sigh of relief. However, after becoming trapped in the room which turned out to be an elevator, Erica started to blame Steve and the others for putting her this situation, only to be taken aback when Steve snaps at her, saying that he doesn't care and they would be dead if they remain trapped in the elevator, much to Erica's shock. When exploring he secret Russian base underneath Starcourt, Steve helped Erica and Dustin escape when they were spotted by Russians, leaving him and Robin to be captured. However, Erica and Dustin managed to come to their rescue and escape the base together, protecting the older teens as they were drugged with truth serum until they were cured. Both Steve and Erica continued to work together in helping to stop the Mind Flayer.

In spring 1986, Erica joined her brother, Steve and the others in the fight against Vecna, with Erica acting as the communicator between groups. Though Robin, Steve and Nancy greatly injured Vecna, Max's temporary death created the final curse gate, which converged with the others to form a rift between Hawkins and the Upside Down.

**Murray Bauman**

In the summer of 1985, Murray and Erica formally met at the Starcourt Mall as they and the others planned to shut the Gate being opened in the Russian base. As Murray struggled to read the map given to him of the base's layout, Erica corrected his errors and pointed out how flawed his plan to storm the base was, while also calling Murray "Mr. Bunman". Murray asked why a "four-year-old" was speaking to him, causing Erica to reply that she was ten and calling him a "bald bastard", much to Murray's shock.

**Eleven**

In the summer of 1985, Erica was told of Eleven through Dustin explaining how her powers saved Hawkins multiple times, with Erica more skeptical of Lucas' involvement than El having powers. Erica would meet El for the first time when she saved her, Dustin, Steve, and Robin from Russian guards in the Starcourt Mall. When their two groups reunited, Erica was surprised to see El in person, and soon watched in shock as she used the last of her powers to pull out a piece of the Mind Flayer from her punctured leg.

In the spring of 1986, Eleven spied on Erica and her friends through the Void to discover they were planning to confront Vecna in the Upside Down, causing her to desperately desire to return to Hawkins and save them. The two reunited after the opening of the gates, meeting in Max's hospital room.

**Mike Wheeler**

Like the rest of Lucas' friends, Erica wrote Mike off to be a "nerd".

In the summer of 1985, Mike and Erica joined their respective groups at the Starcourt Mall, and the two showed concern when the Mind Flayer began to infect her leg. When Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will hugged one another, Erica sarcastically told them not to cry while once again referring to them as "nerds".

In the spring of 1986, Mike and Dustin nabbed Erica from Hawkins Middle to substitute Lucas' position at Hawkins High's D&D club, the Hellfire Club. Mike was shown to cringe when Erica insulted Eddie's hair, but was relieved when Eddie was impressed and welcomed her into their club. The two soon joined battling Vecna in Eddie's campaign, with Mike cheering for Erica as she defeated Vecna with a critical hit. When Eddie was accused of being a culprit of a string of Hawkins High murders and having the Hellfire Club be a Satanic cult, Erica stood up for Eddie and his friends at the town meeting, saying Hellfire was simply a "club for nerds". The two reunited after the opening of the gates, meeting in Max's hospital room.

**Eddie Munson**

In the spring of 1986, Erica arrived to Eddie's Hellfire Club campaign as a substitute for her brother, who was leading the championship basketball game. When she arrived with Mike and Dustin, Eddie immediately rejected their offer, saying that Hellfire Club wasn't a babysitting club. Unlike the boys, who were terrified of Eddie's unpredictable nature, Erica stood her ground by pronouncing she was eleven and called him a "long-haired freak". Eddie, amused, asked who she was and what her class was mockingly. Erica soon put Eddie in his place by announcing her levels were extremely high and stealthy as her character, "Lady Applejack". Eddie, surprised, admitted defeat with a smile and welcomed Erica to Hellfire with a handshake. Soon, Erica joined the boys and Eddie in battling Vecna in Eddie's campaign, with Erica winning the game by scoring a critical hint, causing Eddie to cheer for her.

When Eddie was accused of being a culprit of a string of Hawkins High murders and having the Hellfire Club be a Satanic cult, Erica stood up for Eddie and his friends at the town meeting, saying Hellfire was simply a "club for nerds". When discovering Eddie and the others were linked to a new threat in Hawkins, Erica joined the other kids in rescuing them through the gate forming in the Munson trailer. Upon discovering how close Vecna was to ripping a gate into the world, Eddie and Erica worked together to get to the War Zone and stock up supplies to infiltrate the Upside Down to kill Vecna permanently. The two would soon go their separate ways to enact their plan. How Erica reacted to Eddie's death is currently unknown.

**Max Mayfield**

Max and Erica have had limited yet cordial interactions with one another. In the spring of 1986, when Jason arrived at the Sinclair house searching for Lucas, he told Erica that they were supposed to go out. Erica sarcastically remarked that her brother had taken a "step-down" from Max, hinting that she holds Max up higher than her brother and their friends. Max and Erica reunite when Max, Dustin, and Lucas are taken to the Wheeler house to be interrogated on Nancy's location, where Erica soon realizes a new threat has arrived to Hawkins. She joined the kids in fleeing the Wheelers on their bikes, riding to the Munson trailer to rescue Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Eddie. When Nancy was placed under Vecna's curse, Erica yelled for Max and her friends to find music fast, but Max said their efforts were unsuccessful since they couldn't find anything. Upon discovering Vecna's true identity and how close he was to ripping a gate into the world, Max and Erica worked together to get to the War Zone and stock up supplies to infiltrate the Upside Down to kill Vecna permanently. Erica, Max, and Lucas were soon dropped off to the Creel house, and the group worked together to find Vecna's presence via electric bug zappers. Erica communicated with Lucas and Max outside through flashlights, but the plan went awry when Jason and Andy arrived to sabotage.

When Erica incapacitated Andy and made her way back to the Creel house, she was horrified to find Max severely injured from Vecna's curse and in Lucas' arms, with Lucas hysterically telling Erica to call an ambulance. Erica ran back downstairs, but Max initially succumbed to her injuries, causing the four gates to rip open and destroy Hawkins. However, Eleven resurrected Max by restarting her heart, with the Sinclair siblings attending Max by her bedside in the hospital, showing Erica cared deeply about Max.

**Jason Carver**

In the spring of 1986, the death of Chrissy Cunningham drove Jason to vengeful insanity, pinning the blame on Eddie Munson and the members of Hellfire, including Erica. When arriving at the Sinclair house in search of Lucas, Jason was taken aback to find Erica at the door. He told her that the two of them were supposed to go out, but Erica sarcastically remarked that her brother had taken a "stepdown" from Max as she attempted to close the door. Jason blocked it and asked if Erica was Lucas' little sister that played D&D, and pestered her by asking if she knew Dustin Henderson. She told Jason Dustin was probably with Lucas, telling him that Lucas owed her an increasing amount of money for covering for him while he partied, before slamming the door in a confused Jason's face.

At the town hall meeting, as Jason accused Eddie and Hellfire of being the ringleader of the murder spree, Erica called his claims "bullshit", saying that it was merely a club for "nerds", but Jason only used this against her as he used biblical quotes to rally the crowd against the club.

While shopping at the War Zone, Erica stopped in her tracks in fear as she watched an increasingly unhinged Jason interrogate Nancy on the boys' location. That evening, after getting a tip that Erica and Lucas were at the Creel house, Jason and Andy sped off to see Erica hiding out in the playground across the street, with Andy chasing Erica away while Jason searched the house for Lucas. The two siblings got the upper hand of each boy separately, though how Erica reacted to Jason's death remains unknown.

## Family tree

*note: family trees are only visible on desktop.*

## Memorable Quotes

* "Just the facts!"
* "I've got a code for you instead. It's called code: "Shut your mouth".
* "Bunch of nerds."
* "Isn't it time you died?"
* "The problem is I still haven't heard what's in this *for Erica*."
* "You can't spell America without Erica."
* "Child. Endangerment."
* "Free ice cream. For. Life."
* "Um, I'm ten, you bald bastard!"
* "I'm eleven, you long-haired freak."
* "My name is Lady Applejack. And I'm a chaotic good half-elf rogue, level 14. And I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way, and stab them in the back with my poison-soaked kukri. And I'll smile as I watch them die a slow, agonizing death. So, we gonna do this, or we gonna keep chitchatting like this is your mommy's book club?"
* "Crit-Hit!"
* "Go out? I see he's taken a step down from Max."
* "That's bullshit! The Hellfire Club isn't a cult, it's a club for nerds!"
* "Holy shit. That was incomprehensible. You lost me at Mother Gate. Please be kind. Rewind."
* "I guess this is just a minor misdemeanor!"

## Trivia

* In an interview with Priah Ferguson, it's revealed that Erica was originally named Tina, a name that's possibly used as an Easter egg since Erica's best friend is an unseen girl named Tina. Priah says the scene she auditioned for was on a couch where Lucas came in and she began her typical wisecracks.
* Erica is the second youngest sister of a member of the Party, after Holly Wheeler. Erica has learned about the Upside Down and its inhabitants while Holly noticed them, but was ignored.
* Despite her brother Lucas' prominence and her own prominence in the show starting from the third season onward, the existence of Erica was only hinted at throughout the first season, while the other Party's siblings were involved or introduced throughout the plot. At Will Byer's funeral, in the episode "The Flea and the Acrobat", a young girl can be seen standing with Lucas' parents. Priah Ferguson does not portray the young girl (nor do either of the adult actors appear as Lucas' parents in subsequent seasons).
* Erica was the second person of color to join the main cast, after Lucas, and would be followed by Argyle in the fourth season.
* Her nerdiness is displayed through her love of politics (specifically her favoritism towards Capitalism and her hatred for Communism), her talent in mathematics, and her knowledge of *My Little Pony* lore. Her nerdish side is enhanced when gifted Dungeons & Dragons books by her brother and Dustin, and in the fourth season when temporarily joining the Hellfire Club.
* Erica is the second character in the series debuting as a recurring character before returning as a main character, behind Steve Harrington, and would soon be followed by Murray Bauman.
* Erica is seen using a Scoops Ahoy cup as a paint cup in "Dear Billy".
* Season 3 is the only season where she has appeared in every episode.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair
2. ↑ "The Battle of Starcourt"
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8x-pDw3YwM