This post contains spoilers for Stranger Things 2.
Whether or not you agree that Stranger Things 2 is better than season one, there's no denying that the new episodes are superior in a handful of tangible ways. Eleven is a better character, Steve gets to be a nicer person, Hopper goes full daddy, and Samwise Gamgee shows up as Joyce's new boyfriend — it's all great! But none of this is as important as the addition of Priah Ferguson as Lucas's little sister Erica Sinclair, who's officially snatched the title of "Person in Hawkins Least Likely to Put Up With Your Shit."
Erica first appears in episode two, watching while Mom Sinclair takes photos of Lucas's Ghostbusters Halloween costume. Erica seems not to have inherited Lucas appreciation for all things sci-fi, because this is her reaction to Lucas's posing:
Such skepticism! "God, you're such a nerd," she adds, as if the look weren't enough to crush a man into a million pieces. "No wonder you only hang out with boys." Mom Sinclair admonishes Erica for roasting her brother, but Erica, undeterred, simply changes tactics and decides to mouth her insults. This is a master at work. Take notes.
The next time we see Erica is in episode five, when the Sinclairs are having a nice family breakfast. The alleged point of this scene is for Lucas to ask his father for advice about how to make up with a girl who's upset at him, but this is overshadowed by Erica's crippling addiction to pancake syrup. The sounds of her squeezing the bottle can be heard underneath the entire conversation, and once again she ignores her mother's directives. Erica is not here for your rules. She is here for pancake syrup and she will have it, even if it means her pancakes are so soggy they're basically pudding.
Erica doesn't just roast her brother, though. She also has no time for his nerdy friends, specifically Dustin, who won't stop screaming "code red" into the walkie talkie when Dart eats Mews. "I got a code for you instead," she replies. "It's called code shut your mouth." How Dustin recovered from this burn I'll never know, because if Erica had said this to me I would have died on the spot, or at the very least never picked up a walkie talkie again.
While Erica was in her brother's room quieting Dustin, she also stole Lucas's He-Man doll for purposes unknown. In episode six, it becomes clear that Erica has appropriated He-Man as a male escort for her doll. "Oh, He-Man," she says, "Thank you for saving my life. What strong muscles do you have?" He-Man and the doll are kissing as this happens, of course, and when Lucas storms in to retrieve He-Man, Erica is not at all embarrassed that her brother has caught her making her dolls make out. Instead she (1) roasts him again for being too old to play with toys and (2) insults all his nerdy friends one more time.
Then, instead of relegating her doll to a life of spinsterhood, she grabs a stuffed owl from her bed and starts making it kiss the doll. Erica is such a trendsetter that she's down for her toys to engage in interspecies relationships. Who needs He-Man when you've got a nocturnal bird of prey?
Erica's final appearance comes in the season finale, when Lucas is getting ready to attend the Snow Ball and practicing lines in the mirror. As you might have guessed, Erica is not having it, and stands in the doorway calling him "Lukie" till he kicks her out. It's truly a shame that Erica doesn't go to the same school as the older kids, because you know she could crush Billy in less than five minutes. I don't know if Erica gets an allowance, but if she doesn't, she could probably make some extra cash teaching the other Hawkins kids how to destroy their enemies using nothing but words. Actually, that should be a spinoff — Erica Sinclair's Roast Academy. That one's free, Duffer Brothers.
