Erica has not left Stranger Things (though she does miss a few episodes of season 5)

You can’t spell America without Erica, but apparently you can bring fans the first two episodes of Stranger Things season 5 without her. 

The first four episodes of the final season of Stranger Things are streaming now, and fans will quickly notice the absence of one original character in the early episodes of the season. Erica Sinclair does not appear in the first two episodes of season 5, and what makes her absence even more annoying is that there is no explanation as to where she is during these episodes.

There’s no quick line to explain where she is or what she’s up to. We just simply don’t see her at all in either episode, which is sure to create a sense of confusion for fans. Thankfully, her absence is not connected to a cast exit, as Priah Ferguson remains a part of the cast. In fact, we get to see Erica back in action by the third episode of the season, where she plays a key role and delivers her signature Erica sass. 

Warning: Spoilers to come. 

Stranger Things 5 episode 3 brings Erica into the picture 

After keeping her on the sidelines in the first two episodes of the season, Erica finally makes her Stranger Things season 5 debut in the third episode of the season.

In the episode, we see Erica enjoying Mr. Clarke’s science lesson when Lucas and Mike show up outside the door, creating a scene as they try to get her attention. She gets a hall pass and heads out to ask the boys what they want, giving them a minute to explain themselves. 

Lucas and Mike explain that they need her help, which is when the writers acknowledge her absence in the first two episodes, as Erica questions why she should help them now after she wasn’t invited to the crawl — aka the recon mission that kicked off in episode 1. Lucas proceeds to explain that the crawl went poorly, but our unbothered queen isn’t interested in caring given they couldn’t even bother to include her. 

They go over their plans and why they need Erica’s help in getting close to Derek Turnbow using her friendship with his sister, Tina, but Erica wants no part of the plan. Turns out, she and Tina are no longer friends and Tina is now her nemesis. Just when it looks like Erica is out, Mike mentions how Tina won’t want to talk to Erica ever again after the plan is enacted, and she quickly signs on the dotted line and agrees to help. 

Later in the episode, Erica shows up at the Turnbow house and gives an Oscar-worthy performance to convince Tina she’s sorry. The fake apology works and earns Erica a seat at the family’s dinner table where she serves up a drug-laced pie designed to knock out the family so that Lucas, Mike, and the rest of the gang can get the family to safety and set a trap for the Demogorgon coming for Derek. 

The scene ends with a hilarious moment for Erica when Tina, who refused to eat a slice of the pie, watches her dad, mom and brother all pass out. When Tina yells for Erica to call 911, Erica sneaks up behind her telling her “I told you to eat your damn pie,” as she then leaps onto Tina’s back and injects her with a syringe to knock her out the hard way. 

From there, Erica heads out with Joyce, Robin, and Will to get the Turnbow family to safety. She then plays a very small role in the final episode of part 1, appearing in just a few scenes as a background player which is disappointing as we’d love to have seen more of Erica after her return in episode 3. Thankfully, we have another four episodes left in the season, and we’re hoping Erica will get more screen time in those episodes than she received in the first part of the season!