| “ | We have a lot of rules in our party, but the most important is, 'Friends don't lie.' Never ever. No matter what.
— Lucas Sinclair, November 3, 1984
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” |
Lucas Charles Sinclair, portrayed by Caleb McLaughlin, is a major protagonist in the first, second, and third seasons of Stranger Things. He is one of the best friends of Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson and Will Byers and Eleven.
During the events of Season 2, following Max's arrival at Hawkins, he developed feelings for her, eventually forming a special bond with her. At the end, he and his friends assisted as a distraction to burn the the Mind Flayer's external core for Eleven to close the Gate for good.
Quick Answers
Who portrays the character of Lucas Sinclair in Stranger Things?
What is the relationship between Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield in Stranger Things?
Who are the members of 'the Party' that Lucas Sinclair is a part of in Stranger Things?
Does Lucas Sinclair die in any season of Stranger Things?
Who is Lucas Sinclair's best friend in Stranger Things?
History
Background
Lucas was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair, living with them in Hawkins, Indiana. He was best friends with Mike Wheeler and Will Byers from a young age. In grade four, Dustin Henderson arrived at their school and joined their friend group. They would often gather at Mike's house to play Dungeons & Dragons; this hobby was developed as early as 1979. The four boys had a great relationship with their science teacher Mr. Clarke, and they were members in the AV Club he ran. They would take part in the annual science fair, winning almost every year.
1983
On the evening of November 6th, 1983, Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Will played Dungeons & Dragons in Mike's basement. Mike, acting as Dungeon Master, summoned a Demogorgon, which ultimately defeated Will's character. While they looked for missing dice, Mike's mother Karen insisted it was time for his friends to leave; shortly after this, Lucas, Dustin and Will cycled home.
The next day, Will did not show up to school, which perplexed Lucas, Mike and Dustin. As they played with Mr Clarke's newly delivered Heathkit, they were summoned by Principal Coleman to talk with Police Chief Hopper. Hopper confirmed to the boys that Will was missing, and asked about Will's way home the previous night.
The boys investigated their friend's disappearance that evening and accidentally encountered the escaped Eleven, who they allowed to stay in Mike's basement, making a pillow fort for her to sleep in.
Lucas and Dustin noticed Mike wasn't at school, since he was at home to accommodate El. After school, Dustin and Lucas came to Mike's house, discussing Eleven and what could have happened to Will. Lucas said that they should tell Karen about Eleven, but El used her telekinesis to prevent him from opening the door to leave. Later that evening, El attempted to explain Will's situation; she flipped their Dungeons & Dragons board upside down, on top of which she placed Will's player piece and then the Demogorgon piece. This gave Lucas, Mike and Dustin a vital clue as they continued to theorize about what happened to Will.
Lucas, Mike, Dustin, and El commenced "Operation Mirkwood", where El led them through the woods to find evidence relating to Will. They eventually arrived outside the Byers household, where El said Will was hiding. This statement confused the three boys. After seeing police cars race by, they followed in pursuit on their bikes. They saw what appeared to be Will's corpse being dragged out of the local quarry; this lead the boys to feel distraught and angry with Eleven, who they believed was lying.
After El tampered with Mike's radio to project the sound of Will quietly singing, Mike decided to show this to Lucas and Dustin, who wondered if Will had become a ghost. After further discussion the boys decided to bring El to their school so she could use the Heathkit to communicate with Will, which was much more powerful than the boy's portable radios.
After dressing Eleven in a pink dress and blonde wig, the boys brought her to the Middle School. Mr. Clarke told the group that they had to attend an assembly for Will's death before they could use the radio. During the assembly, the bully Troy made crude jokes about Will, which angered Mike and lead him to confront him after the assembly. Troy attempted to hit Mike, but Eleven froze him in place and made him urinate on himself using biokinesis, much to the amusement of the boys and their classmates. They continued to the Heathkit. With El tapping into the device, they overheard Will talking to his mother through a temporary portal to the Upside Down - however the radio overheated and caught on fire. After returning to Mike's basement, the boys theorized that Will was stuck in the Vale of Shadows, a "dark echo" dimension of death and decay, which El labeled the Upside Down.
At Will's funeral, the boys discussed the possibility of alternate dimensions with Mr. Clarke. He described scientific ideas and concepts, utilizing the metaphor of the flea and the acrobat. He mentioned that a gate between dimensions would have adverse affects on the electromagnetic field in their dimension. Later that day, Dustin experimented with a compass, noticing that the needle did not point towards true north, and the boys guessed that there must be a gate nearby influencing the electromagnetic field, like Mr. Clarke had said.
The group followed their compasses, believing if they went 'North', they would be lead to the Gate. However, Eleven was misdirecting the compasses for the boys' safety because she considered it too dangerous to enter the Upside Down. When the boys realized that El had been doing this, they argued about her; Mike was more sympathetic and trusted her, while Lucas was critical of her help. The two boys ended up fighting; Eleven used her powers to push Lucas off Mike and into the air, injuring him. This angered Mike and left El upset, who vanished from the scene.
A rift grew between Lucas and the two other boys, who continued to argue about Eleven. Lucas attempted to once again find the Gate while Mike and Dustin searched for El.
Lucas has a realization
Lucas used his compass, following the needle. He eventually arrived at Hawkins National Laboratory; he was unable to pass the wire fence surrounding the laboratory. After climbing a tree, he used binoculars to watch over the laboratory grounds, and he saw that multiple vehicles were setting off towards the suburbs of Hawkins. Realizing Mike and Dustin could be endangered, Lucas informed his friends that 'the bad men are coming'. He climbed down from the tree and began to cycle as he continued to co-ordinate with his friends over radio, until they were cycling together through the suburbs. Eleven, who had been found by Mike and Dustin and riding on the back of Mike's bicycle, used her abilities to prevent them from harm.
The group reached a deserted field, where Lucas, Mike and El reconciled. After they realized the laboratory was still looking for them, they hid in an abandoned bus. Chief Hopper found them, taking them to the Byers household to meet with Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy. Together they broke into the middle school, creating a makeshift sensory deprivation tank which El could use to enhance her psychic abilities. They learned that Will was alive, barely surviving in the Upside Down.
While Hopper and Joyce infiltrated the laboratory and Nancy and Jonathan set a trap for the Monster, the four kids remained at the school.
As part of an "agreement" with Dr. Brenner to gain passage through the Gate, Hopper revealed El and the boys' location to laboratory officials. Agents broke into the school, capturing El and the boys. Eleven killed most of the agents, using biokinesis to make them bleed to death, however, this "drained" her of energy and strength, causing her to collapse. Without her protection they were recaptured; but the Monster, attracted by pools of blood spilling from dead bodies, burst through the school wall via a temporary portal. The surviving agents were understandably distracted, releasing El and the boys, and they ran in panic to Mr Clarke's classroom with El to hide. Eventually, the Monster broke into the classroom and nearly attacked them. In spite of being drained, El intervened, using biokinesis to pin the M
onster against a wall, while also immobilizing Mike to prevent his intervention. El looked back at her friends, telling Mike goodbye before turning to face the Monster. She used her last remaining power to disintegrate the Monster, a process which appeared to make herself also disintegrate. The boys frantically looked for her in the classroom, but she was gone.
Lucas, Mike and Dustin were the first visitors aside from Jonathan and Joyce to see Will in hospital. They caught up with Will, telling him about the events which transpired in his absence.
One month later, on Christmas Eve, the four boys once again played Dungeons & Dragons. This time, Mike summoned the Thessalhydra, but his friends' characters triumphed over the enemy.
1984
On October 29, Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Will went to the Palace arcade. When Dustin lost a game of Dragon's Lair,
Dustin, Lucas, Mike & Will enjoy a game of Dragon's Lair
Lucas gloated about still having the top score. Dustin countered that he still had the top score in Centipede and Dig Dug, but Keith, an arcade employee, informed him that was no longer the case. Checking the scores, the boys discovered that an unknown person using the alias “MADMAX” had beaten Dustin's high scores. Keith stated he would tell them the identity of MADMAX in exchange for a date with Nancy, though Mike refused these conditions.
In Mr. Clarke's class the next morning, the boys witnessed a new student, named Max, arrive. Because of her name's similarity to the alias used at the arcade, they suspected she was MADMAX. As they were spying on her, they noticed her drop something in a trashcan. After retrieving the note, they discovered it had “Quit spying on me creeps” written on it, indicating she knew they were watching her. After school, Dustin and Lucas again spied on her while playing a game at the arcade, coming to the conclusion that she was “incredible.”
The next day, the boys went to school dressed in their Ghostbusters costumes, only to discover that no one else had dressed up for Halloween. After debating on when to ask Max to go trick-or-treating with them, Lucas and Dustin decided to ask her after class. Once their class had ended, they approached and introduced themselves to Max. She wasn't pleased with the confrontation, calling them “stalkers”. When they asked if she wanted to go with them, she didn't answer, simply walking away instead. That night, as the boys were trick-or-treating, Max jumped out and scared them with her Michael Myers costume. She then joined them in their trick-or-treating.
Dustin brought a strange creature, which he had named D'Artagnan, to school the following day, showing it to Lucas, Mike, Will, and Max. He explained he had found it in his trashcan and that he believed the creature to be some sort of pollywog. When Dustin concluded that he had discovered a new species, Lucas suggested that he show the creature to Mr. Clarke. However, after noticing it resembled a slug he had thrown up the year before, Will realized Dart originated from the Upside Down. Before Dustin could show Mr. Clarke, Mike took Dart and urged everyone to meet again in the AV club room, excluding Max. When Dart started to emit a screeching sound, the boys opened the proton pack to witness it grow a pair of hind legs. Mike then tried to attack Dart, which caused it to flee and run loose throughout the school. Will eventually found Dart in a bathroom; it screeched, causing Will to run away. Soon after, Dustin arrived to retrieve Dart. When the others arrived, Dustin hid Dart under his hat and lied saying he had not seen it or Will.
The following morning, Lucas, Mike, and Max – who had no knowledge of the creature's current location -- searched for Dart in a dumpster behind the school. Later, Mike explained to Dustin and Lucas that, on Halloween night, Will had a vision of a shadow-like creature. He then decided that they needed to catch Dart, since catching him could provide a vital clue on what was going on with Will. After school, Lucas tried talking to Max, who was upset at the way they had treated her. When Lucas tried to explain that there were reasons for their secretive behavior, Max asked if they had done the same with El. He tried to reassure her that the situations were different, but Max's patience had reached its limit. She walked away, telling Lucas she no longer wanted to be a member of their party.
The next day, Lucas went to his father for advice, asking how he makes up with his mother when she's mad at him. He responded that he first apologizes, then gets her whatever she wants. Using this advice, Lucas came up with a plan to reconcile with Max, heading to the Palace. With Keith's help, he made it so it appeared that the Dig Dug cabinet was out of order. Keith then led her to an employees only area, saying there was a functioning game there, but in reality it was part of Lucas's plan so they had a safe place to talk. He then explained the events of the previous year to her. However, she didn't believe him.
The following day, when Lucas was retrieving one of the toys from his sister, he discovered that Dustin had been trying to contact him. He then contacted Dustin, who told him to meet him at the junkyard. Before heading there, he stopped by the Hargrove house to find Max, telling her he had proof that what he said was real. After sneaking out through her window, Max got on Lucas's bike and together they headed to the junkyard, meeting up with Dustin and Steve. Together, they fortified the abandoned bus and created a trap to lure in Dart.
As the group were waiting in the bus, they suddenly heard a screeching sound. The sound's source was revealed to
Lucas & Max chat over the abandoned bus
be Dart, who was joined by several other Demodogs. As the pack attacked the bus, they suddenly stopped, leaving the junkyard. Following the Demodogs, they realized they were heading to Hawkins Lab. Arriving at the lab, they discovered Nancy and Jonathan, who were looking for Mike and Will. They were all forced to wait outside the lab, due to the lab's power being out. Eventually, the power came back and the group was finally able to get passed the gates. They reunited with Joyce, Hopper, Mike, and Will, and together they all escaped the lab.
At the Byers' house, Lucas, Mike, Dustin, and Max speculated about the shadow monster's weakness. When they realized that the shadow monster controlled everything in a hive mind, they compared it to the Mind Flayer, a monster from Dungeons & Dragons that similarly controls the minds of its victims. They also speculated that, if they killed the Mind Flayer, they would kill everything it controlled. Mike then proposed that, in order to discover the Mind Flayer's weakness, they'd have to take Will someplace he couldn't recognize and try to get through to him. After making the backyard shed unrecognizable, they attempted to interrogate Will. While the Mind Flayer had taken over a majority of Will's mind and body, a part of Will managed to subconsciously signal to them in Morse code. Deciphering his message, they discovered the way to stop the Mind Flayer: closing the Gate. Soon after, the phone in the Byers' kitchen rang, giving away their location.
As the house was being surrounded by a pack of Demodogs, the group armed themselves with Lucas preparing his slingshot too. Before the pack could
Lucas & Dustin reunites with Eleven
attack, however, Eleven, who was presumed to have been disintegrated, had surprisingly arrived and eradicated them. After some heartwarming reunion, together, the group came up with a plan: Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy would exorcise the Mind Flayer from Will's body while Eleven and Hopper would go to the lab and close the gate.
While waiting at the house, Lucas, Mike, Dustin, and Max decided they'd distract the Demodogs by burning the tunnels so Eleven and Hopper could safely reach the Gate. Before they could begin their plan, Billy arrived looking for Max. Steve tried to intervene, but the two ended up in a fist fight. With one of the syringes used to sedate Will, Max was able to puncture Billy's neck, making him lose consciousness. Using Billy's car, Max drove the group to the pumpkin patch where the entrance to the tunnels was located. Making their way to the hub, they doused the entire area in gasoline and set it ablaze. On their way out of the tunnels, the group encountered Dart. Recognizing Dustin, Dart did not attack and was easily distracted by Dustin giving it another Three Musketeers bar, allowing the group to escape.
On December 15, Lucas attended the Snow Ball along with Mike, Dustin, Will, and Max. There, he and Max shared a kiss as they danced.
1985
Personality and Traits
Lucas kept his friend group grounded in the plausible and the pragmatic. Even during fantastical D&D campaigns, Lucas was hesitant when speculating about the more unlikely events and scenarios. He was initially wary of Eleven and her powers, which further displayed a hesitation towards the abnormal. His sustained realist approach, even during unfathomable situations, indicated that he took the task of finding Will incredibly seriously, and was determined to find him. Despite sometimes putting on a defensive and reactionary shell, Lucas was ultimately sweet-natured and had good interests at heart.
Relationships
Familial
Due to him serving in the Vietnam war, Lucas learned a few from his father about how to handle the military gears and often brought them with him to defend against any peril. Lucas also secretly asked his father on how to apologize to a girl, thus showing that Lucas has enough trust in his father whenever he needs help.
Lucas and his mother were shown to be very close, taking photos of him on the occasion of Halloween and the Snow Ball while also warning his sister not to make unpleasant remarks about him.
Lucas's sister Erica was a source of irritation to him as she constantly taunted his every actions and annoyed him.
Non-Familial
Lucas and Mike lived next door to each other for their entire childhoods, quickly becoming best friends. However, this friendship was tested following the disappearance of Will and the arrival of Eleven. Mike was sympathetic towards Eleven and believed she could help find Will, while Lucas suspected that she was manipulating them in order to gain food and a bed. Mike and Lucas began to occasionally argue about Will and Eleven due to their differing opinions. This even broke out into a fully fledged fight, though Eleven brought the scuffle to an abrupt end. Mike and Lucas were on bad terms for a while, refusing to apologize to one another. Dustin suspected that Lucas was jealous that Mike's attention was primarily going towards Eleven. However, after Lucas realized that Eleven was only trying to protect them, he apologized and made up with both her and Mike.
Lucas and Dustin generally got on well; they were sometimes unified in their doubt or disbelief when confronted with strange events and possibilities. However, they would occasionally argue, especially when a certain girl would catch both their attentions. Their friendship grew colder when he discovered that Dustin lied to him and the group about Dart, but they eventually made up and remained friends.
As with Mike, Will had met and become friends with Lucas from an early age. Like Dustin and Mike, Lucas was determined to find Will, but Lucas became tired of both Mike and Dustin's approaches to doing so. He saw Eleven's presence as a distraction from finding Will, and he did not accept Dustin's plea for them all to work together. For a while, Lucas instead attempted to seek out Will on his own until he realize the dangers of the Upside Down and the corruptness of the Hawkins Lab agents. After Will had been rescued, Lucas, along with Mike and Dustin greeted Will and told him of what he missed while he was gone.
Lucas was initially suspicious of Eleven, dismissing her as a "psycho". Although Dustin and Mike made efforts to become friendlier, Lucas kept some distance from her, viewing her as a distraction from the search for Will. Eleven, lacking social skills and confidence, was unable to convince him that she was truly on their side. When Eleven was discovered to be manipulating the boys while they searched for the Gate, Lucas grew angry, accusing her of being traitorous. After Eleven ran away, Lucas had little interest in finding her. However, after Lucas realized that she was justified to keep the boys away from the dangerous forces at Hawkins Lab, his opinion of her changed. Following the kids' reunion, Eleven and Lucas apologized to one another, and remained friendly. A year later of her apparent death, Lucas revealed that they reminisced her when she was later found to be alive and reunited with them.
Lucas and his friends had a great relationship with their school science teacher, Mr. Clarke. He was more than willing to help the boys further their interest in science, even purchasing a ham radio for them.
When Lucas and his friends, along with his entire class, was introduced to Max Mayfield by Mr. Clarke, Lucas and his friends grew curious of her and her name as someone named "MADMAX" had beaten Dustin's high score on Dig Dug at the Palace Arcade. As Lucas and his friends watched her, Max had noticed them and left them a note saying "Stop Spying On Me! Creeps!" Later, Lucas and Dustin find Max being dropped off at the arcade and playing Dig Dug and realize that she is "MADMAX." As a result, Lucas, along with Dustin, becomes infatuated with Max. Lucas and Dustin invite Max to come trick-or-treating with them without consulting Mike, but when it seems like Max doesn't accept their invitation, Lucas looks disappointed. However, when Max appears and joins in on trick-or-treating at Loch Nora, Lucas looked overjoyed. Despite agreeing with his friends to not tell Max about the events and the true circumstances of Will's disappearance last year of 1983, Lucas seemed bothered when they not included her as they discussed the possibility of D'Artagnan being related to the The Upside Down.
After D'Artagnan escaped and Max confronted Mike about his behavior towards her, Lucas offered Max to help them for the creature, but she refused as she angrily told him how she was tired of being excluded from the party. Lucas tried to explain they didn't mean it and that there were secrets they couldn't tell her, but Max stormed off to meet her stepbrother.
After secretly getting some advice from his father on how to apologize to a girl, Lucas decided to meet Max at the arcade and tell her all of last year's events, including the Demogorgon and Eleven. However, after Lucas told her, Max did not believe him and even when he stopped her from speaking about it out loud, she still didn't believe him, asking for proof which Lucas sadly says that he can't. Before leaving the arcade with her stepbrother, Max takes Lucas's hand and tells him not to follow as he asks if she does believe him and watches her go.
Later, Lucas goes to pick up Max at her house to show her that what he told her was real after hearing from Dustin about D'Artagnan being an adolescent Demogorgon. As they waited in the junkyard, Max explained how's she's affected by her parent's divorce, her mother's remarriage, and her stepbrother's abuse as she apologizes to Lucas for her behavior. Lucas cheers her up by saying how he admires her, doesn't compare to Billy, and how he enjoys talking to her, which Max responds she enjoys talking to him as well. After seeing a Demogorgon in the fifth stage of its life cycle up close, Lucas and Max hold hands before letting go and Max apologizes to Lucas for not believing him.
Later, when Billy finds Max at the Byers house, he attacks Lucas as Max watches in horror. As Billy beats up Steve, Max goes up to stand up to her brother as Lucas watches with worry, but he becomes shocked as she threatens and orders him to leave her and her friends alone. As they go to the pumpkin patch to burn the tunnels, Lucas helps Max on how to get there and they aid each other as they, along with their friends, burn the tunnels. A couple of months later, on December 15, Lucas, Max, and their friends attend the Snow Ball. Max asks Lucas to dance with her which he happily accepts. As they dance, Lucas and Max share a kiss and embrace, thus beginning a romantic relationship with each other.
Despite this, their relationship has been somewhat rocky, with Lucas claiming they have broken up and gotten back together at least five times by the summer of 1985.
Appearances
| Season One appearances | |||
| The Vanishing of Will Byers | The Weirdo on Maple Street | Holly, Jolly | The Body |
| The Flea and the Acrobat | The Monster | The Bathtub | The Upside Down |
| Season Two appearances | |||
| MADMAX | Trick or Treat, Freak | The Pollywog | |
| Will the Wise | Dig Dug | The Spy | |
| The Mind Flayer | The Gate | ||
| Season Three appearances | |||
| Suzie, Do You Copy? | The Mall Rats | The Case of the Missing Lifeguard | The Sauna Test |
| The Flayed | E Pluribus Unum | The Bite | The Battle of Starcourt |
Comics
| The Other Side appearances | |||
| Issue 1* | Issue 2* | Issue 3* | Issue 4 |
*Can be seen in flashbacks
Family tree
note: family trees are only visible on desktop.
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Memorable Quotes
Lucas:
- "If I get another 3 Musketeers, I'm gonna kill myself."
- "I was looking for study hall. Bye!"
- "Eat shit!"
- "Goodnight ladies!"
- "If there is something out there, I'm gonna shoot it in the eyes... and blind it."
- "He's in deep shit right about now."
Lucas to Will:
- "Don't be a pussy! Fireball him!"
Lucas to Mike:
- "I'm done. Over."
Lucas to Dustin:
- "Would you shut up about Lando?!"
- "While you were scrounging around like a homeless bum, I mowed Old Man Humphrey's lawn."
Lucas to Eleven:
- "A spit swear means you never break your word. It's a bond."
- "Everything I said about you being a traitor and stuff, I was wrong. I'm sorry."
Lucas to Mike, Dustin & Eleven:
- "Do you hear me?! The bad men are coming!"
- "He's insane."
Lucas to Erica:
- "Get. Out. Of my room!"
Lucas to Max:
- "It's not a joke. It's public knowledge."
- "'You're cool, and different, and you're super smart."
- "Totally tubular."
Trivia
- According to the Montauk pilot script, Lucas's original surname was Conley. His parents were described to be wealthy though they didn’t have a good marriage. However, this relationship has been partly shifted to Mike’s parents.
- During the first season, Lucas's Dungeons & Dragons character was a Knight.[1] In the second season, his character was changed to a Ranger.
- Lucas is the only dark-skinned member of the Party.
- Lucas was also the only main character to be dark-skinned until his sister joined the main cast in Season 3.
- In Lucas's family, his parents and his sister have a lighter shade of brown skin while he is the only one in his family to have dark brown skin.
- Lucas is the first member of the Party and character to have his full name revealed, as mentioned by his sister in E Pluribus Unum.
- Lucas prefers New Coke than the original Coke.
Gallery
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For this subject's gallery, see Lucas Sinclair/Gallery. |