Picking up right where we left off in the previous episode, Goosebumps: The Vanishing episode 5 shows us Anthony's point of view from within Fort Jerome. Recall the teens witnessed him lurking around in his hazmat suit and assumed the worst. In reality, Anthony was investigating the hidden underground chamber, believed to be the source of the spores.
We pivot to CJ, who finally steps into the spotlight. CJ is bored with being his parents' delivery driver and wants to step into a managerial position. He convinces his mom that he has good ideas and could do well with a promotion, but he'll have to prove himself first.
Easier said than done because, as you might have guessed from the title "The Boy Who Cried Monster," people have a hard time believing CJ's crazy stories, even though we know he's telling the truth. For instance, he delivers food to a creepy manor where an older woman is acting strangely, eventually giving him a serious jump scare. His mom doesn't believe him.
Well, things get even worse for CJ when Anthony calls him to deliver some chicken soup. After his latest foray into Fort Jerome, Anthony is very sick and realizes that his hazmat suit has a small tear in it, meaning he's now infected. Actually, it looks like something far more serious is happening to him as one of his eyeballs literally pops out in front of poor CJ and then he kidnaps the kid.
Something has taken possession of Anthony's body and he goes back and forth between acting like himself and whatever entity is inside him. The thing possessing him ties up CJ and tries to force him to drink a glass of that black goo we've been seeing everywhere. CJ gets saved by a visit from Jen, who now believes Anthony about all the weird stuff happening. She learns from Alex about the self-driving car and digs up a videotape she took from that night, offering it to Anthony.
He, or the thing inside him, gets pissed at Jen for holding out on him all this time and kicks him out of the house, but it gives CJ enough time to escape his bindings. When Anthony returns, CJ jumps him, but Anthony quickly gets the upperhand. Luckily, at just that moment, Trey, Frankie, Cece, and Devin arrive. Trey (who is now out of the hospital and has had a major change of heart) intervenes, decapitating Anthony in the process. It doesn't kill Anthony, or the thing possessing him. Instead they just get to talk to their dad's bodiless head on the floor before quickly escaping to regroup.
Outside the house, they run into Alex. She and Cece make amends. Now the gang is together and all of the teens are finally on the same page. They prepare to go watch the VHS tape that Jen brought to see if they can pick up some new clues.
Well, except for Devin. Earlier in the episode he meets a mysterious girl named Hannah at the park. Even though she's clearly a walking red flag, Devin agrees to go with her back to Fort Jerome, which she claims used to be a summer camp known as Camp Nightmare. He gets pulled away when Frankie calls him for help but decides to return to her instead of going with his friends, which I'm sure will end badly.
Back in the basement, that woman we previously saw impersonating Trey's doctor shows up to take Anthony's decapitated head away in a bag.
All episodes of Goosebumps: The Vanishing are now streaming on Disney+.