Lucas Sinclair

"We have a lot of rules in our party, but the most important is, 'Friends don't lie.' Never ever. No matter what."

- Lucas in Digdug.

Lucas Sinclair, portrayed by Caleb McLaughlin, is a major protagonist in the first two 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.

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 with his binoculars 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 Monster 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.

Skills & Abilities

 * Slingshot Proficiency: Lucas is shown to be have skilled accuracy when using his Wrist Rocket against treats and danger situations. When a Demogorgon came after him and his friends, he was able to shoot 3 rocks at it and didn’t miss once.
 * Brawling: Lucas isn’t so proficient in fighting but he could hold against opponents with his own barehands, he wrestled with Mike before Eleven broke it up and kicked Billy in the gut when pinned by him.
 * Expert Tactician: As being the ranger in the group, Lucas knows many ways of seeking enemy territories and obtaining knowledge to strategize to his friends of how to avoid the outcomes that treats could persuade them with. He followed his compass to Hawkins lab, climbed up a tree to use his binoculars to view company trucks and finds out that those who seemed like natural people around their neighborhood were government spies stalking them to get after Jane/Eleven but he warned Mike and Dustin to get on their bikes and escaped before they caught them. Then when he asked for advice from his father about how to calm a girl down, he choose to tell Max the truth about everything of the upside down, demogorgans, and the government spies in secret knowing that they wouldn’t allow them to live if they heard him spill it to which Max nearly did but managed to get away with it allowing both of them survival.

Equipment

 * Wrist Rocket: In dangerous situations, he carries a slingshot for weaponry to protect him and his allies from their enemies.
 * Binoculars: Lucas was given binoculars by his father who once used them in his days in war, and brings them out to see at long range distances.
 * MK1 Knife: After his father retired from the army he used to use as a melee tool in the war, then he gifted the knife to Lucas who now keeps it for secondary defense weaponry.
 * Supercom Walkie: Like the rest of his friends, he has a walkie talkie that allows him to contact each of them when socializing or when there’s trouble.

Trivia

 * In the original pilot script, Lucas' surname was Conley.