IT: Welcome to Derry may be set long before the IT movies, but it manages to have a major impact on the Stephen King adaptations. Welcome to Derry‘s place in the IT timeline puts it 27 years before the events of the first film: 1962 – 1989. The means it’s almost entirely focused on new characters and storylines, though some are things referenced in the movies, like the fire at The Black Spot. To its credit, the show largely does a good job of making you care about the fresh faces in Derry, but it somewhat inevitably still ends up connecting to and changing the movies.
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The finale, in particular, really goes much harder on the setups and interconnectivity than the preceding installments, as a means of bringing it all together. This isn’t too surprising in and of itself, given it’s about the defeat (for now) of Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise the Dancing Clown. But there are definitely some shocks in IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1’s ending, and they reframe how you see the IT movies, while other elements of the series go beyond that into other King stories.
8) The Hanlons Almost Left Derry Long Before Mike Was Even Born
After the battle with Pennywise is done, the Hanlons initially decide to get the hell out of dodge, which seems a rather sensible decision given the circumstances. At the last minute, though, they decide to stay behind, taking over Rose’s farm and helping work with the Children of Maturin to hold the knowledge of It and the keys to defeating it.
This adds another painful layer to the saga, as Welcome to Derry‘s Will Hanlon is the father of Losers Club member Mike. Not only does that make what he goes through battling Pennywise sadder, because it was almost avoided, but it also puts more weight on him being the one Losers Club member who himself remains in Derry as an adult, reflecting back upon the same choice his grandparents made.
7) Bob Gray Confirmed & Why IT Became Pennywise The Dancing Clown
IT fans have speculated for decades on the true identity of Bob Gray, which is one of the names the entity refers to itself as in the book. There, Mrs. Kersh refers to him as her father, adding that he was a performer. Similar teases were made in IT: Chapter Two, but the exact truth of that was never known until Welcome to Derry.
The show confirmed that Bob Gray was the original Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and that It first took the form in 1908 after witnessing Pennywise’s popularity with children. This clears up the mystery from the book and movie, and casts some scenes in a new light – Georgie, for example, is initially lured in by Pennywise being a clown, showing that It’s plan was working 80 years later.
6) Pennywise’s Time Powers Reframe His Story
Pennywise is sent back to his 27-year slumber in the Welcome to Derry finale, but not before it sheds new light on the entity. While it was always known that It came from a universe beyond our own and, as such, didn’t experience time the same way, the show effectively gives Pennywise the power to see into the future, as he reveals knowledge of his own death. This is more expansion and deeper explanation than it is brand-new addition, but it’s nonetheless startling to hear him say things like “Tomorrow. Yesterday. It’s all the same for little Pennywise.”
At the very least, this raises some questions about the creature. It is well aware of its own demise in 1962, so does that hole true in its battles with the Losers Club in 1989 and 2016? If the past, present, and future are all the same, and Pennywise is questioning whether his death was actually his birth, does that mean he could even return in the future? And if Welcome to Derry Season 2 happens, just what will Pennywise do to prevent his own future from happening?
5) Welcome to Derry Better Explains The Indigenous Tribe Key To Defeating IT
IT: Chapter Two had Mike learn secrets of defeating Pennywise from the Shokopiwah tribe, from whom he discovered the Ritual of Chûd. However, in the movies these were mostly nameless and faceless people, which felt like an oversight. Welcome to Derry serves to rectify that by telling their story and, really, making that crucial to the entire history of It. They were the first to face the entity, the ones to discover its weakness and manage to contain it within the boundary that became Derry.
Thanks to Rose and Taniel, members of the Children of Maturin, they become actual, important characters, with the former in particular given a rich history of facing off with Pennywise. They help keep the memory of It alive, passing down the information through the generations and preparing for each cycle of violence.
4) Dick Hallorann’s Story Changes How You See The Shining & Doctor Sleep
Welcome to Derry doesn’t just connect to IT, but also to The Shining and Doctor Sleep, thanks to the character of Dick Hallorann. He is mentioned in King’s book as part of The Black Spot interlude, but the TV series significantly expands upon his role in the town of Derry, revealing him to be a key part of the fight against (or, for the military, attempts to weaponize) Pennywise. It also reveals more about his mental lockbox, which we first learned of in Doctor Sleep, as it breaks open and the bad shines come out to haunt him.
We see Dick go through it in the series, as he’s haunted by the past, used by the military, and forced into mental battles against Pennywise. This gives the character new layers of tragedy, because The Shining wasn’t even close to the start of his dark supernatural experiences. It invites us to care more about him, which similarly changes rewatches of The Shining because you know more about his past and who he is as a person. And the series even directly sets that story up, as he leaves Derry to go work as a chef at a hotel in London, meaning the career that’ll take him to the Overlook Hotel was chosen as a direct response to his encounters with the clown.
3) Shawshank Prison Seems Even More Horrifying Now
Shawshank State Prison only plays a minor role in the events of IT: Welcome to Derry, as Hank Grogan is supposed to be sent there, though never actually makes it. Nonetheless, it’s a notable one. The prison was always a dangerous and corrupt place, but it feels even more horrifying as we watch how it’s used as such a threat. There’s a clear sense of panic and terror when Hank is warned about “what they do to kiddy killers in Shawshank,” showing just how terrible its reputation really is.
2) Marge Truman Is Richie Tozier’s Mother
Richie Tozier’s mother, Maggie, is a minor character in King’s book and the IT movie canon, but Welcome to Derry just made her so much more important. In the finale, Pennywise reveals that Marge is Richie’s mother, calling her Marge “Tozier,” holding up a missing poster for Richie, and saying that he and his friends are the ones to defeat him.
The reveal works, and makes it all a lot more poignant. Richie was clearly named after Rich Santos, Marge’s childhood love who died saving her life at The Black Spot, so he’s a reminder not only of that tragedy, but of the fighting spirit Rich had against Pennywise, something that Richie continues to embody. It also means both Marge and her son were plagued by the entity, but there was a final victory to be had at the very least.
1) Beverly Marsh & Mrs. Kersh’s First Meeting
IT: Welcome to Derry‘s credits scene, or epilogue, takes the show into 1988, just a few months before the events of the first IT movie. We follow Ingrid Kersh at Juniper Hill, where she discovers another patient has hanged themselves. That turns out to be Elfrida Marsh, and present in the scene is her daughter, Beverly, played by Sophia Lillis from the films, with Joan Gregson also returning as Kersh. The elderly woman attempts to offer some comfort to the young girl, saying: “You know what they say about Derry: No one who dies here ever really dies.”
This completely recontextualizes Kersh’s scene with Beverly from IT: Chapter Two. It means that the creature taking on that form wasn’t just it being some random old woman, but a very deliberate and calculated move. The death of her mother was the worst day of Bev’s life, and Pennywise was purposefully reminding her of that by taking on the form of Kersh, making it all the more harrowing a sequence.
IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 is now streaming on HBO Max.
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