By: Kelly Kearney
Ever since news broke of a series based on the beloved Stephen King novel and its subsequent films, the showrunners have teased a major twist—one meant to explain why the series will jump timelines in future seasons. In the season finale of “IT: Welcome to Derry,” that twist ushers in the real story behind what Pennywise the Dancing Clown actually is and why It’s power stretches across the Stephen King universe. Filled with nods to other stories and one epic return that left fans’ hearts full of joy, laughter, and tears, this revealing season finale is nothing short of cinematic.
Deadlights and The Mist
When we last left Derry, Army General Shaw (James Remar) ordered the mystical comet pillar—used by local tribes to cage Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard)—melted down, leaving a gate open for evil to crawl out and terrorize not just Derry, but the entire country. Shaw believes that fear will unite a divided nation. Every twenty-seven years this terror will awaken to devour a new generation of children and releasing a homicidal entity on America is his version of a “Make America Great Again” plan. If the streets must run with innocent blood, he considers it a worthy cost to save a country he feels has lost its way.
Speaking of innocents, in last week’s cliffhanger Pennywise used the Deadlights to entrance Will (Blake Cameron James), luring him and (as we soon discover) all the town’s children—in an attempt to alter the future. A strange mist blankets Derry after the clown’s escape, providing the perfect cover for Pennywise to eviscerate the school principal and anyone else who stands in the way of engorging itself on the town’s kids. As the fog suffocates the streets, Pennywise captures nearly every child in the school’s auditorium for a little dance and deadly trance—except this era’s Losers’ Club: Ronnie (Amanda Christine), Lily (Clara Stack) and the heartbroken Margie (Matilda Lawler). The girls evade Pennywise’s deadly coma thanks to the dagger Lily found in the sewers, which appears to be the only thing the clown truly fears.
As Pennywise leads a gaggle of flying, comatose children behind Bob Gray’s carnival wagon through the thick mist—like a demented Pied Piper playing a tuba – remaining heroes Lily, Margie and Ronnie quickly realize that Will has been taken by the clown. The mystical dagger, which they believe is the only thing capable of killing this evil once and for all, becomes their focus. Margie declares (in a prequel Easter egg), — one of many packed into the episode — “I want to kill that f**king clown.” After spotting Rich’s toy airplane stuck in a tree on Main Street, she’s determined to make the Dancing Clown pay for everything he’s stolen from her.
The girls hop on their bikes and head toward the school where they discover what’s left of their principal. Taking matters into their own hands, they leap into a milk delivery truck and follow the eerie procession of children floating behind that haunting tune.
While the girls speed toward danger Charlotte (Taylour Paige), Leroy (Jovan Adepo), Rose (Kimberly Guerrero), Taniel (Joshua Odjick), Dick Halloran (Chris Chalk) and Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider) are grappling with the aftermath of General Shaw leaving the gate to evil wide open. Leroy knows Will was taken so he heads to Dick for help. When we check in with Dick, he appears close to losing his mind as visions of the dead crowd every inch of his room on base. When Major Leroy Hanlon bangs on his door, he manages to convince a suicidal Dick to put the gun down and help him find Will. He brings Dick to Rose for the Maturin root (The episode’s second major Easter egg) and a way for Dick to take control of his visions and possibly the evil itself. Fans will remember that in It: Chapter Two Mike Hanlon (Will’s future son) explains how the Native people of the land gave him the same root, granting him visions of the evil entity’s history. Maturin is the ancient turtle who brings order to the universe in opposition to chaos. Turtle imagery has been scattered throughout the series from the box that once held the comet pillar to the god luck charm Matty gifted Lily earlier in the season – serving as a reminder that for every act of chaos Pennywise unleashes on Derry, a force of order exists to counter it.
The root gives Dick the focus he needs to see through the haunting visions that escaped the box he spent a lifetime trying to keep locked in the recesses of his mind. If Major Hanlon’s theory holds—Dick can inhabit Pennywise’s mind long enough to save the kids and close the gate with that dagger Taniel dropped in the sewers that Lily now possesses. Dick entered the clown’s consciousness once before aboard the plane, and Leroy believes he can do it again, giving them a chance to end this once and for all.
A Push Towards the Future
Back to the kids, they know that dagger is the key to trapping Pennywise back in its cage. After General Shaw melted down the comet pillar at the military base, the pillar’s sharpened shard is the only remaining piece capable of sealing the gate. The problem is that the dagger isn’t just fighting its way back toward the comet that brought both it and the evil to Earth—it also corrupts and destabilizes whoever holds it. Lily grows increasingly paranoid, nearly coming to blows with her friends when they try to take it from her. Eventually, the three girls decide to rotate the dagger, never allowing it to remain with one person long enough for its paranoia to take hold.
While the kids plan to use the dagger to kill the clown, the adults believe there’s a better solution: if the dagger can be driven into a tree at the edge of town it will complete the magical circle that traps Pennywise beyond the farthest points of Derry. Both groups converge at a foggy, ice-covered river on the outskirts where chaos erupts into a climactic showdown. Pennywise, followed by a long procession of comatose children, attempts to escape town as the adults and the girls give chase. As he dances across the ice, he can’t get close to the girls who hold the dagger like a shield. Circling them in the fog, Pennywise finally grabs Margie by the ankle, dragging her away from the group.
That’s when the third Easter egg (and the final understanding of Pennywise’s true power) emerges. Earlier, when Margie said she wanted to kill “that f**king clown,” it echoed a familiar line spoken by Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard). Fans might remember said the same in It: Chapter One, as did his adult counterpart (Bill Hader) before the Losers finally destroyed Pennywise. Before Deadlighting Margie, Pennywise calls her Margaret Tozier—the future mother of Richie Tozier—named after her childhood sweetheart, Rich Santos (Arian S. Cartaya) who, along with his friends, will kill the clown in the future. Pennywise conjures a missing poster of young Richie and taunts her with “Beep beep, Margie,” just as he once did to her son.
The revelation of her fate is chilling: Pennywise knows the future of the Losers’ Club, as well as his own defeat, while still insisting that death is also his rebirth. He doesn’t exist on a linear timeline, he moves freely through past, present and future, hunting generations of Loser Clubbers in an attempt to rewrite fate itself. Erasing entire bloodlines is what sustains him every twenty-seven years. Earlier in the season he killed Teddy Uris (Mikkal Karim Fidler) but spared Stan’s father (Finley Burke), leaving more ancestors, like the Marsh family and others, to consume if he hopes to change his destiny. Pennywise isn’t just a time-jumper—he’s determined to break free of Derry, the curse that keeps him trapped, and spread his evil worldwide, and he can only do that if he kills every Loser ancestor.
As Margie faces both the truth of her future and the clown’s jaws, her fate seems sealed—until Dick manages to crawl into Pennywise’s mind. Thanks to that maturin root, he traps Pennywise in a memory of his time as Bob Gray at the carnival, confusing him long enough for Margie And the rest of the comatosed kids to escape. She rejoins her friends just as General Shaw and his men confront the adults. Major Hanlon prepares to drive the dagger into the tree, but gunfire erupts when the Army intervenes in an attempt to help spread the clown’s fear. Leroy barely has time to hug Will before he is trapped by a barrage of bullets. Wounded but alive, Leroy hands the dagger to his son and tells him it’s up to him now. Terrified, Will begs his father not to leave him with that responsibility. For the first time, Leroy truly sees his son, and tells him he loves him exactly as he is. He believes in Will and that admission from father to son is enough for the brave boy to continue.
The Loser’s Club and the Miracle That Saves the Town
As bullets ricochet across the ice, Pennywise regenerates grotesquely, each headshot spawning another face. Amid the chaos, Taniel is killed, and General Shaw, finally facing his childhood monster, is devoured. A just death for a man who was willing to sacrifice Derry’s kids for some misguided patriotism. With the adults pinned down, the kids push forward through a powerful force field as Pennywise dances toward them. No bullet will stop his deadly dance as it looks like the kids won’t make it. That is, until a miracle appears.
The Losers’ Club was one friend short, weakening their ability to reach the tree and return the dagger to ground. Dick sees the ghost of Richie Santos racing across the ice to help his friends, flipping off Pennywise before embracing the group. Together the Losers of 1962 drive the dagger into the earth, sealing the gate and locking up the evil from spreading beyond the town’s borders. Pennywise transforms into a dragon-like creature, laughs out a, “Lively crowd” and bursts into pockets of light before retreating into the woods, entering another 27-year slumber.
The next day, the fog lifts, leaving only grief behind. At Richie’s funeral, Margie gives a heartbreaking eulogy while Dick spots the boy’s spirit gripping his parents’ shoulders. He assures them that the presence they feel is their son and he is with them–trapped in Derry and not in the carnage of Pennywise’s gruesome lair. Afterward, Will’s family prepares to leave Derry, but Rose offers them her farm and a chance to protect the town. Without Taniel,the land is too much for her to upkeep, but the recently retired Major might be fit for the job.After all, staying behind might be the heroic thing to do, and Major Leory Hanlon has proved time and again, he is a hero. Though initially hesitant, Charlotte convinces Leroy to stay. They will help the tribal elders prepare for the eventual evil awakening. Since the Hanlon’s are staying in Derry, Will shares a first kiss with Ronnie before she leaves town. He is determined to keep their bond alive through letters—hoping they reach her beyond Derry’s grip.
Dick also departs, telling Leroy he’s heading to London to work as a hotel cook. When asked if he’s experienced, Dick jokes, “I think I’ll manage. How much trouble can a hotel be?” The fourth Easter egg lands perfectly: The Shining and Danny Torres awaits.
With evil contained for decades, the title card appears: Welcome to Derry… Chapter One, followed by the final epic reveal. Back at Juniper Hill, Ingrid Kersh (Madeleine Stowe), driven mad by the Deadlights, spends years painting clowns locked behind the walls of the very asylum she worked in as a nurse. Cut to 1988, and an elderly Ingrid (Joan Gregson) hears screams down the hall. Elfrida Marsh has hung herself, and beneath the body, a man and a young girl weep. When Ingrid enters the room, the crying girl looks over her shoulder and it is revealed to be Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis)! Ingrid whispers to Beverly, “No one who dies in Derry ever really dies,” and smiles because she knows Pennywise has returned.