History Recap / StrangerThingsS1E5ChapterFiveTheFleaAndTheAcrobat

* FoldThePageFoldTheSpace: In Episode 5, the science teacher uses this method to explain to our kid heroes how they could create a doorway to the "Upside Down" dimension. He takes a paper plate, folds it and pierces it with a pen.

* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: Lucas and Eleven have a fall out which makes the former decide to go and look for Will all by himself and the latter to leave the group until her BigDamnHero return at the end of Episode 6.

* SwissCheeseSecurity: Hopper has no trouble sneaking into the Hawkings Lab building without anyone noticing.

-->"Well, if it did, I… I think we’d know. It would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment. Heck, it might even swallow us whole. Science is neat... But I'm afraid it's not very forgiving."

In the woods, Nancy and Jonathan find a wounded deer. The creature drags the deer away, and Nancy follows the trail of blood to a portal to the Upside Down. She crawls through and discovers the creature feasting upon the deer. She snaps a twig and draws the creature's attention.

Hopper manages to evade the lab's security and discovers a portal in the basement of the lab. But no sooner has he found it, before the lab's guards catches him and knock him out. He wakes at home and discovers a hidden microphone. His deputies pay him a visit to inform him that Barb's car was found, but Hopper finds the state's involvement suspicious.

'''Joyce:''' ''NYU, Lonnie!'' He's wanted to go to NYU since he was '''''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis six. years. old!]]'''''\\
'''Lonnie:''' '''''[[SureLetsGoWithThat So then he goes to NYU!!]]'''''

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Hop storms into Joyce's house with a sign warning her to keep quiet, it might be bugged. He starts scoping how he'll start his search. . . and sees all the strands of Christmas lights. His expression is 100% this trope (lights being excellent places to hide bugs, easy access to electricity for them). When we catch back up to them, Hopper is sitting with an exhausted posture and expression that says "Yeah, that ''really did'' suck."

Hopper manages to evade the lab's security and discovers a portal in the basement of the lab. But soon has he found, before the lab's guards catches him and knock him out. He wakes at home and discovers a hidden microphone. His deputies pay him a visit to inform him that Barb's car was found, but Hopper finds the state's involvement suspicious.

Will's father Lonnie assures Joyce her experiences are hallucinations. Hopper discovers a portal in the basement of the lab but is knocked out by the lab's guards. He wakes at home and discovers a hidden microphone. His deputies pay him a visit to inform him that Barb's car was found, but Hopper finds the state's involvement suspicious.

Will's father Lonnie assures Joyce her experiences are hallucinations. Hopper discovers a portal in the basement of the lab but is knocked out by the lab's guards. He wakes at home and discovers a hidden microphone. Sheriff's deputies inform Hopper that Barb's car was found, but Hopper finds the state's involvement suspicious.

** A not-entirely-deliberate example, since Lonnie doesn't actually know about the genuine paranormal events occurring within the house and genuinely does think Joyce is simply having a breakdown out of stress and grief. However, he's barely been back a day before managing to almost convince Joyce that she actually is losing her mind and just imagining seeing Will again, and he brings up the idea of suing the quarry company in a rather insidious fashion that smacks of this kind of manipulation. She quickly snaps out of it upon discovering the compensation forms he's planning to use to try and cash in on Will's death, however, and it's implied that this isn't the first time Joyce has had to deal with Lonnie playing these kind of mind games with her.

* AwfulWeddedLife: Jonathan and Nancy discuss their parents' marriages [[https://youtu.be/OIQHJGAHmiI as this]],

* PerspectiveReversal: Up to this episode, Jonathan has been convinced that his brother's disappearance has been under natural circumstances and that he's now dead, while Joyce has insisted that something unusual is happening and that he is still alive. In this episode, thanks to discoveries made in the previous one Jonathan has now come to believe that his mother is right, while Joyce (thanks to Lonnie's manipulations) begins to doubt herself and believe she's going insane. Ultimately subverted, however, since Joyce wises up to what Lonnie is doing and realises that she isn't going crazy after all.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Sure, Lonnie is a deadbeat dad trying to cash in on his son's apparent death, but he is right: that gorge is ridiculously unsafe. It's just a sheer dead drop over the side into the water around a hundred feet down. Later, we see Mike nearly fall in, too. Even if Will really wasn't killed there, someone likely would be.

The boys determine Will is trapped in an alternate dimension Eleven calls the "Upside Down," and he is being pursued by a monster similar to a Demogorgon. After Will's funeral, the boys ask their science teacher Mr. Clarke about alternative dimensions. He explains that a high-energy spacetime tear could theoretically create a passage between dimensions, and that such a phenomenon would create a disruption in the Earth's electromagnetic field. Using their compasses, the party heads into the woods to search for such a a disruption. Eleven remembers encountering the creature during a lab experiment, and afraid, she redirects the compasses. Lucas notices and confronts her. Mike defends her, he and Lucas fight, and Eleven telekinetically flings Lucas off Mike. While Dustin and Mike tend to the unconscious Lucas, Eleven disappears.

The boys determine Will is trapped in an alternate dimension Eleven calls the "Upside Down," and he is being pursued by a monster similar to a Demogorgon. After Will's funeral, the boys ask their science teacher Mr. Clarke about alternative dimensions; he explains that a high-energy spacetime tear could theoretically create a passage between dimensions, and that such a phenomenon would create a disruption in the Earth's electromagnetic field. Using their compasses, the party heads into the woods to search for such a a disruption. Eleven remembers encountering the creature during a lab experiment, and afraid, she redirects the compasses. Lucas notices and confronts her. Mike defends her, he and Lucas fight, and Eleven telekinetically flings Lucas off Mike. While Dustin and Mike tend to the unconscious Lucas, Eleven disappears.

The boys determine Will is trapped in an alternate dimension Eleven calls the "Upside Down," and he is being pursued by a monster similar to a Demogorgon. After Will's funeral, science teacher Mr. Clarke tells the boys that a high-energy spacetime tear could create a passage between dimensions. Using their compasses, they search for a disruption in the Earth's electromagnetic field. Eleven remembers encountering the creature during a lab experiment, and afraid, she redirects the compasses. Lucas notices and confronts her. Mike defends her, he and Lucas fight, and Eleven telekinetically flings Lucas off Mike. While Dustin and Mike tend to the unconscious Lucas, Eleven disappears.

* OneOfUs: In-universe example: the boys' chemistry teacher, who is an RPG geek like they are.

Hopper discovers a portal in the basement of the lab but is captured and sedated by the lab's guards. He wakes at home and discovers a hidden microphone. Sheriff's deputies inform Hopper that Barb's car was found, but Hopper finds the state's involvement suspicious.

Nancy and Jonathan consider the evidence that they have found so far, and reasons that both Will and Barbara might still be alive. They decide to team up and arm themselves with a gun before they go searching the woods near Steve's house, as that is where the monster has been spotted the most.

Will's father Lonnie comes to town and tries to convince Joyce that she has imagined everything since Will's disappearance. Later, she discovers he is only interested in suing the company responsible for managing the quarry where Will's body was found, and she angrily demands he leave.

The boys determine Will is trapped in an alternate dimension Eleven calls the "Upside Down," and he is being pursued by a monster similar to a Demogorgon. After Will's funeral, the boys question Mr. Clarke on the nature of alternate dimensions, and he tells them a high-energy spacetime tear could theoretically create a passage between dimensions, and that such a portal would create great electromagnetic disturbances. Using their compasses, they go into the woods to search for a disruption in the Earth's electromagnetic field. Eleven remembers encountering the creature during a lab experiment, and afraid, she uses her powers to redirect the compasses. Lucas notices and confronts her. Mike defends her, he and Lucas fight, and Eleven telekinetically flings Lucas off Mike. While Dustin and Mike tend to the unconscious Lucas, Eleven disappears.

Hopper discovers a portal in the basement of the lab but is captured and sedated by by the lab's guards. He wakes at home and discovers a hidden microphone. Sheriff's deputies inform Hopper that Barb's car was found, but Hopper finds the state's involvement suspicious.

%% HandlingSpoilers: Recap pages: An episode recap page is, by default, a spoiler. Readers of these pages are expected to have watched the episode in question. Therefore, there are no spoiler tags on recap pages.

* OneOfUs: In-universe example: the boys' chemistry teacher, who is an RPG geek like them.

* DudeNotFunny: Mike tells off his bullies for laughing at Will's memorial assembly, which Eleven manages to stop from escalating into a fist fight.

Nancy and Jonathan consider the evidence that they have found so far, and reasons that both Will and Barbara might still alive. They decide to team up and arm themselves with a gun before they go searching the woods near Steve's house, as that is where the monster has been spotted the most.

The boys determine Will is trapped in an alternate dimension Eleven calls the "Upside Down," and he is being pursued by a monster similar to a Demogorgon. After Will's funeral, the boys question Mr. Clarke on the nature of alternate dimensions, and he tells them a high-energy spacetime tear could theoretically create a passage between dimensions, and that such a portal would create great electromagnetic disturbances. Using their compasses, they go into the woods search for a disruption in the Earth's electromagnetic field. Eleven remembers encountering the creature during a lab experiment, and afraid, she uses her powers to redirect the compasses. Lucas notices and confronts her. Mike defends her, he and Lucas fight, and Eleven telekinetically flings Lucas off Mike. While Dustin and Mike tend to the unconscious Lucas, Eleven disappears.

'''Lonnie:''' '''''So then he goes to NYU!!'''''