Joyce loses Will's voice and Lonnie calls it grief
Shaken after the wall went quiet, Joyce insists Will was right there; Lonnie tells her it is all in her head and the funeral is tomorrow.
S1E5 · Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat
20 moments · 28 min of essential viewing in a 52-minute episode.
Moments, in order
The party decodes Will's radio message: the Upside Down
Piecing together 'home, dark, empty', Eleven flips the board and the boys name the Vale of Shadows, a dark echo of Hawkins where Will might be.
Jonathan tells Lonnie he only ever makes things worse
Lonnie plays the concerned father and tells Jonathan his mother is sick; Jonathan throws back years of absence and gets told to behave at the funeral.
Will's funeral and the joke about Jennifer Hayes
The pastor asks how God could take someone so young while the boys, unconvinced Will is dead, note who is crying so they can tell him later.
Joyce remembers Will the Wise and the green fireballs
A memory at the graveside: young Will explains why a wise wizard still needs fireballs, and Joyce promises new crayons because they look like cabbages.
Nancy and Jonathan map the monster and decide to kill it
Over a map of every sighting, Nancy and Jonathan realise the creature stays within a mile, and Jonathan loads a gun rather than take another photo.
Mr. Clarke explains the flea and the acrobat
At the wake the boys ask their science teacher how to reach another dimension; he answers with a tightrope, a flea, and a gate that would need enormous energy.
Dustin's compasses do not point to true north
Eleven dodges the question of where the gate is, then Dustin grabs every compass: a gate strong enough to bend magnetic north would also point the way.
Steve apologises to Nancy and asks her to a movie
Steve admits he was a total dick, mentions the baseball bat, and offers a night of pretending things are normal; Nancy, busy with the funeral, says no.
Joyce throws Lonnie out: the lights stay up until she dies
Joyce sees Lonnie came for lawsuit money, not for Will, and orders him out, swearing to keep the Christmas lights up as long as there is a chance Will is alive.
Jonathan teaches Nancy to shoot and remembers the rabbit
Target practice: Jonathan recalls the birthday hunt his father forced on him, Nancy describes her parents loveless marriage, and both say screw that.
Hopper drunk-dials his ex-wife
Alone and drinking, Hopper calls Diane to say he does not regret their seven years together; she asks him to take care of himself and hangs up.
Is the weirdo acting weird?
On the compass hike Dustin needles Lucas about distance, Mike wonders if Eleven is off, and Lucas asks whether the weirdo can act weirder than normal.
Eleven remembers Papa and the bath
A flashback on the tracks: Brenner tells a younger Eleven they are going farther than ever before, and she quietly agrees to the bath.
Pretentious creep versus suburban girl
Nancy asks why Jonathan took her photo; the answer stings, and each admits they had almost started to think the other was okay before the insults fly.
The compasses loop back and Lucas accuses Eleven
The setting sun shows the party has walked in a circle; Lucas sees fresh blood on Eleven's nose and calls her a traitor, and she can only say it is not safe.
Hopper tells Joyce she was right about Will's body
After sweeping the house for bugs, Hopper admits he went to the morgue the night before: the body was a fake, and Joyce has been right the whole time.
Mike and Lucas fight until Eleven throws Lucas
Lucas calls Eleven a stray dog and maybe the monster, Mike tackles him, and Eleven ends the brawl with her mind, knocking Lucas out cold.
The wounded deer is dragged into the dark
Nancy and Jonathan find a deer hit by a car; Nancy insists she is not nine anymore and takes the gun, but something pulls the animal away before she can shoot.
Nancy crawls through the tree and vanishes
Following the blood trail, Nancy climbs into a hollow tree and comes out somewhere wrong; Jonathan calls her name into empty woods.
Playlists touching this episode
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