By: Kelly Kearney
As the evil entity abducting Derry’s children grows more powerful with every fear-soaked encounter, Major Hanlon’s wife, Charlotte, begins stirring up a different kind of trouble. Disturbed by Hank Grogan’s sudden arrest, she digs into the case herself. As a vocal advocate for Black Americans and equal rights, Charlotte can’t ignore the sloppy police work and blatant inconsistencies that led to Hank being hauled off to jail.
While she offers Hank her help, Chief Bowers—backed by the military—pushes hard to frame the string of missing kids on the quiet local film projectionist. With Hank behind bars, the town has its convenient villain. And that public pressure valve gives General Shaw exactly what he wants: room to pursue the real threat lurking beneath Derry, the force responsible for the missing and assumed dead children.
Snapshots of a Fear Eater
We open with the newest members of the Losers’ Club—Lily (Clara Stack), Ronnie (Amanda Christine), Will (Blake Cameron James), and Rich (Arian S. Cartaya)—marching straight into Chief Bowers’ (Peter Outerbridge) office with what they believe is irrefutable proof of what killed their friends. Will managed to snap a photo of something in the graveyard that looks like a clown lurking behind the headstones. Even more shocking, they all believe they captured their dead friends on film too.
Unfortunately the town is under some curse that prevents the adults from seeing the truth that terrorizes their children. So unsurprisingly, when Bowers flips through the prints, the images don’t show what the kids saw. The four missing kids are nowhere to be found, and the final frame—the one the Will insists shows a clown standing in plain sight—reveals nothing more than weathered stone statues to Bowers’ adult eyes. He dismisses them immediately, calling it childish meddling and threatening them with consequences if they don’t stop sticking their noses in police business. He singles out Lily, warning that if she keeps “interfering,” he will send her straight back to Juniper Hill.
Outside the station, shaken and furious, the kids try to make sense of it. If the clown wanted them dead, he had plenty of chances—but he didn’t take them. They all agreed, it felt like he was playing with them. Will admits he’s heard whispers around town of a dark presence missing children. Searching for answers, Lily turns to her only sympathetic adult— the kind nurse Ingrid (Madeleine Stowe) from the hospital. The woman vaguely remembers children going missing decades ago, but is unable to recall details. Still, she urges Lily to keep digging because sometimes kids see the truth when adults cannot.
Meanwhile, Charlotte (Taylour Paige) gets her own unsettling visit when Rose (Kimberly Guerrero) appears at the Hanlon home with a refinished piece of furniture for their new life in Derry. Charlotte welcomes her in for tea, and their light conversation about Canada, travel, and military life gradually slips into something more concerning. Rose asks about the classified pipeline project Leroy (Jovan Adepo) is working on and Charlotte reveals only what she knows: it’s so top secret her husband isn’t allowed to discuss it with her. When Charlotte nervously pivots to ask whether she should be concerned about Will and the local missing children, Rose’s soft smile only deepens the tension. “Derry is a beautiful place,” she says. “But things do happen from time to time.” She reminds Charlotte to keep her loved ones close and to call her if anything ever feels off.
At the military excavation site, General Shaw (James Remar) rewards Dick (Chris Chalk) for his keen eye during the flyover that tracked the strange entity buried under Derry. In exchange, Dick and his friends get their own private hangout space—finally free of the racism that poisons the local bars and the misery of their leaky tents. For a moment, life feels almost normal.
What’s not normal is telling kids they can survive a nuclear blast by hiding under their desks. Back at school, the kids are sitting through a Cold War–era “Duck and Cover!” filmstrip teaching them about nuclear war safety tips that it likens to a turtle retreating to its shell for safety. While Lily tries to stay focused on the film and not her best friend– who she’s recently been on the outs with, Marge (Matilda Lawler) keeps staring at her from across the room–desperate, conflicted, and almost afraid to speak to Lily. It’s as if she is gathering the courage to ask for something.
It Comes for Will
After school,Will’s day unravels further when Charlotte uncovers details about the kids’ investigation. Pressured, Will confesses about the graveyard meetup and how something came after them, something tied to the missing children. Rather than believe him, Charlotte clamps down—no more graveyards, no more late-night adventures, and no more running around with friends after school. Since they’re new in town I would not like to ruffle any feathers. She’s tightening the leash on her son–School and home only. She thinks she’s protecting him but Will knows Nothing will keep him safe if fear is what attracts it.
Later that night at dinner, Leroy attempts a father-son check-in about Will’s first week of school. Will stonewalls him but when Charlotte slips Ronnie’s name into the conversation, Will gets flustered. Father presses him for more details about the girl, and clams up retreating to his room. Later, the parents whisper-argue about boundaries, Ronnie’s father’s case, and how much danger their son might actually be in. They decide Will needs air—real air and is due for a father-son bonding adventure..
The next morning,Leroy takes Will fly-fishing at the Kenduskeag River and, while Will tries to enjoy it for his dad’s sake, it’s clearly not his thing. When Leroy jokingly asks if Ronnie is his girlfriend, Will protests, andthen cracks a shy smirk that says, maybe someday. Just when the two finally begin bonding, Will gets a strike on his line—but loses the fish who takes the bait and lines with it. Leroy heads back to the car for new gear, leaving Will alone in the waist-deep river and that’s when things go from fun to terrifying in a Derry minute. The forest falls still and the river quiets until Will sees a ripple of something shimmering beneath the surface. It’s a bright fish gliding close to the surface, tempting Will to get a closer look. When he does, a charred, blackened hand shoots up from below, yanking him underwater. Through the murky swirl of river mud, a familiar face emerges—only it’s horrific, burnt and melted from a plane crash years ago. It’s his father’s face, twisted into a snarl, gurgling out: “You’ll burn, too.”
Will screams, thrashing beneath the surface as the water closes over him. Leroy sprints back, plunging into the river and hauling his son into the air. Will, shaking violently, chokes out the truth: something evil lives in Derry and it just tried to kill him while wearing his father’s face. Leroy rolls up Will’s sleeves, revealing long scratches and bruises shaped like clawed fingerprints branded onto his arms. Then, drifting between the trees along the riverbank, the two see it: a lone red balloon, eerily floating by.
Freedom Fighters and Fishing for Answers
While the Hanlons are confronting Derry’s evil firsthand, Charlotte is battling another: racism at the core of Hank Grogan’s (Stephen Rider) arrest. The more she learns about Ronnie’s father, the more convinced she becomes that Hank was arrested too fast, with no due process and little evidence. If the real monster is still out there targeting children, then Hank is just the easiest person to blame.
She takes her concerns to the police station where she demands access to Hank. Chief Bowers shuts her down since she is not a lawyer. Charlotte, undeterred, steps outside and into a phone booth where she thumbs through the white pages until she finds the number she is looking for. She calls the Grogan home and Hank’s mother, Louella (BJ Harrison), invites her over. Once they begin talking, the truth spills out that an eyewitness claimed to have seen Hank in town the night of the disappearance. She believed her son was home watching TV and wants to believe that but now she isn’t so sure. But Ronnie is sure. She knows her father wasn’t out hurting kids at the theater that night because she was there. She chooses to stay silent knowing nothing she says ever changes the minds of grown-ups in Derry.
Back at the Airmen’s hang-out, Dick takes out the trash when a shrieking, inhuman sound cuts through the woods. He freezes and sees a figure blurs between the trees calling out to him. It is his mother whispering a warning which makes Dick tremble uncontrollably.
Just then, Leroy arrives, jolting him back to reality. The two have been tasked to find this super weapon Shaw thinks is buried in Derry but both men have different understandings on what they’re looking for. after dick thanks Leroy for last week’s dinner invitation, he awkwardly explains the hangout is his “reward” from Shaw. Leroy drops his guard long enough to reveal that something attacked Will and he thinks it’s tied to whatever tried to push Dick out of the plane’s door high above the town. Dick pales as Leroy demands answers about what they are looking for. Dick can only repeat what’s true—he doesn’t know; he just follows orders.
“Mommy’s Little Helpers”
Up in the tower the kids regroup to plan their next move. Will explains how he realized IT could have killed him—twice now—but It didn’t. It’s playing with them and could be feeding off their fear. If that’s true then Ronnie wonders, “How do we stop being scared?”The whole point of fear is that it’s uncontrollable and if that’s what this monster is feeding off of the four of them will soon be its launch. That’s when Lily remembers something that might help – her mother’s pills or is she called them “Mommy’s Little Helpers.” She uses them when life gets too overwhelming or parenting too difficult. Maybe if she can get her hands on a few of those they will dull their fear and starve the creature hunting them.
The following day they’re back at school and Lily managed to swipe enough pills for everyone. She pockets hers and heads into science class where they watch a film about snails and their protruding eyes. leader of the popular girls clique, Patty (Maya McNair), nudges Marge as a clue to start their little plan. That’s when Marge awkwardly asks Lily if they can sit together at lunch and maybe try being friends again. Lily, who has been increasingly outcast and both school and the town, agrees. When she turns back to the film strip Patty gives Marge the signal that the trap is still on.
Meanwhile, Captain Pauly Russo (Rudy Mancuso) catches Charlotte returning to the station with a letter from Hank’s mother granting her permission to speak with him. The officer on duty blocks her again and goes even further by threatening to put her in a cell next to Hank if she keeps interfering with their investigation. Charlotte fires back that he is not dealing with your average military housewife.. With one phone call to the Freedom Riders, to MLK, to JFK— Derry’s corruption will be front-page news nationwide. The threat works because minutes later, she’s escorted inside.R
In the interrogation room Charlotte advises Hank to seek bail. He might only have to spend a day or two in Shawshank prison before he’s released on house arrest. The evidence against him is circumstantial and the fact that he was denied due process means a judge will have to grant his request. She does go on to say that in the process of this he will have to admit the truth of what he was really up to that night. When he stays quiet she reminds him that any prolonged imprisonment will only harm his daughter and that’s when Hank loses it he pounds his fist on the table insulted by the accusation that he doesn’t care about his daughter. Him staying quiet is all about her. When he finally breaks, he admits the truth that he wasn’t at home that night. Instead, he was with a white married woman and if that truth gets out he won’t just go to prison – he’ll be lynched. The truth will not set him free but it will more than likely orphan his daughter Ronnie and destroy that white woman’s life. There’s no telling what her husband would do if he found out what she was up to. He does need an alibi but he insists that it cannot be her.
Elsewhere, Fuller (Thomas Mitchell) updates Shaw on two concerning topics that could cause problems for the mission. Charlotte Hanlon is snooping around the case of the missing children and she’s made friends with Rose. Fuller hands over photos of Taniel (Joshua Odjick) – Rose’s nephew and his friends spying through the gates on the dig. Shaw orders Fuller to open the gates Hoping if the military seems friendly, maybe the kids will slip up and reveal something useful.
Across town at school lunch, Marge admits she misses Lily. The two have been best friends since the first grade, but everything changed after Juniper Hill. Before Lily can respond, Tim (Gabriel Mattka) – one of the jocks – swaggers and flirts his way into the moment causing Lily to blush and lose her train of thought. Marge tries to convince her to go talk to the boy and now we know how Patty’s setup will play out.
Under Marge’s direction Lily heads to the bathroom to freshen up. Her friend follows but the guilt is gnawing at Marge. In the mirror, she begins to confess about the set-up until a stabbing pain detonates behind her eye. Screaming her left eye bulges outward, grotesquely mimicking the snail’s in the filmstrip. She claws at her face, howling, and stumbles into the hallway as blood pours down her cheeks. Lily, panicked in the stall, drops her chill-pill and scrambles after her friend just as Marge bursts into the shop classroom. The room is empty, except for the humming of a table saw. Lily arrives a moment too late because in a frenzy of terror and pain, Marge lowers her swollen eyeballs onto the running blade, slicing away the protruding masses. Lily lunges, grabbing her just as Marge reaches for a wood file, desperate to finish the mutilation.
Lily tackles her to stop her – climbing on top of her and wrestling the file out of the bloody girl’s hands. That’s when the classroom door swings open and dozens of students pour into the room, drawn by the screams. They stop cold as they all see Lily kneeling over Marge, drenched in blood, gripping the sharp file. Everyone assumes the worst.
Centuries of Terror
Leroy isn’t thrilled to hear about Charlotte talking with Hank. He warns her not to go looking for trouble again as his top secret job is too important for her to stir the local pot. He makes it clear he can’t afford another arrest on her part. Charlotte brushes him off with a casual, “Don’t worry about me,” but Leroy clearly doesn’t believe her.
That night, Will lies awake, rattled by what happened at school. He can’t shake the image of his burned father attacking him. Restless, he gets up and peers through his telescope… and freezes. He sees a man walking a white dog strolling right past that infamous clown. Will screams and bolts to the corner of the room. His father rushes in, but sees nothing, and immediately blames his wife. Because of her meddling with Hank Grogan’s case, now someone is watching their house. Furious, he runs outside, shouting for whoever is there to show themselves but the only response comes from the rustling trees and a single red balloon bobbing in the branches.
The next morning, still shaken, he storms into Shaw’s office demanding to know what exactly they’ve been chasing. Shaw leads him into an interrogation room where Taniel is being questioned. The kid knows something – Dick is there too and he senses that much. Leroy watches as Hank pushes the teen to talk, warning that the military won’t hesitate to force the truth out if he doesn’t cooperate. Taniel spits in his face and Dick mutters an apology, then places his hand on the boy’s head and tightens his psychic grip. Taniel convulses in pain and In an instant, Dick is pulled inward, transported to a dark, endless room lined with doors. One swings open, bathing him in bright light, and inside sits young Taniel (Tres Garcia) and his aunt Rose
She pushes her nephew to recite the old story about the monster in the Western Woods. It’s a tale Taniel always assumed was a myth, but he has since learned “The Galloo” is real.
Dick listens as Taniel fills in the backstory of Derry and the evil that is trapped inside of it. Centuries ago, before the settlers arrived in the New World, an evil spirit slammed into the earth on a falling star. The impact scattered shards – like prison bars across the land. Those shards became the cage and, later, a weapon meant to defeat the Galloo. After their ancestors failed to kill it with weapons carved from the shards, their children devised a plan to enter into the belly of the beast to steal more shards and create a new cage to contain it. They outlined the woods as its prison and buried the shards deep within the Earth. The Galloo cannot pass by the cage it arrived in nor can it breach the perimeter made of its shards. For years the First Nation people were protected until settlers invaded their land and ignored their warnings. As expected, the Galloo fed on them like a buffet meal and grew stronger and stronger until it managed to escape the woods. Now, as the military sets up their dig site looking for those beacons of protection, that evil is hungry and stirring. When Taniel comes to, Dick is smiling because the teen told him everything Shaw and the entity itself wanted to know. Not only do they know what they’re looking for but they have a general idea where to find it. Once those shards are unearthed, so will the evil feasting on Derry.