It: Welcome to Derry Boasts a Gripping First Season That Will Satisfy Both New and Old Fans Alike

Image Courtesy of HBO

By Luis Zonenberg

While Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 only offered minor thrills for teenagers looking for a good scare, HBO made sure to keep supplying the thrills for the holiday season with their latest series,  IT: Welcome to Derry. The series had the biggest premiere ever for a HBO original series, drawing in over 5.7 million viewers in the first three days alone. The series received similar viewership numbers over the following weeks, receiving praise from both critics and audiences alike. As both a fan of the films and the novel as well, I was very excited to watch this series and see if it could live up to its potential. 

The series focuses on twelve-year-old Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack), who is still mourning the loss of her father, who tragically perished in a pickle factory accident a year earlier. She is also juggling that with the disappearance of her friend, Matty (Miles Ekhardt), but starts looking for him after hearing his voice from the sewer pipes in her bathroom. She works with two of Matty’s other friends, Phil (Jack Molloy Legault) and Teddy (Mikkal Karim-Fidler), to investigate his disappearance, which leads them to one of the kids who last saw Matty alive, Ronnie Grogan (Amanda Christine). 

The pilot episode pulls a clever bait-and-switch when Amanda takes the group of kids to the last location she saw Matty, the Capitol Theatre. She runs the projection reel for the Music Man, the movie which Matty snuck in to see when they suddenly see him appear in the movie itself. He blames them all for his death, unleashing a horrifying mutant baby which slaughters all but Lilly and Amanda. They try going to the police, but they don’t believe them, forcing them to look for help elsewhere. 

Meanwhile, Major Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) has just moved into Derry with his wife, Charlotte (Taylour Paige), and his son, Will (Blake Cameron James). He serves at the Derry Airbase, working under General Francis Shaw (James Remar) as they search for a mysterious weapon located somewhere in the town. Leroy works closely with a soldier named Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk), a 1st Class Airman with telepathic and clairvoyant skills that aids the Air Force in their search for the weapon.

Their search gradually transforms into a manhunt for the entity plaguing the town of Derry, Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård). Leroy especially grows weary of the operation, fearing he might be putting his son in jeopardy the more they search for the clown. This all eventually leads to a climactic showdown where Pennywise kidnaps Will, forcing Leroy and Hallorann to work together with Lilly and Amanda to not just rescue Will but also prevent Pennywise from escaping Derry as well! 

The pilot episode perfectly set the precedent for the series to follow, showcasing well-crafted scares and the rising racial tension in the town. The bait-and-switch beautifully set the tone, establishing a harsh reality that guarantees no safety for any of the characters in the show. All of this coupled with some really strong performances, particularly from the child actors, easily made this one of the best pilots to come out in years! 

The following episodes quickly showed who the real protagonists would be going forward, with the two storylines very well-defined and were well-executed overall. The main storyline with the children was easily the strongest of the two, packed with some of the most genuine scares and really emotional moments in the whole series. The other storyline with the government did feel spread thin over the first few episodes, but definitely picked up some steam as the show progressed. The main component bridging the two was the Hanlon family and they are by some of the best characters in the show. 

The series is only eight episodes long, with each episode clocking just under an hour without credits. The majority are all very well-paced and do a wonderful job of not only expanding the world, but taking the time to really analyze the characters and their individual fears. I would say that perhaps the third and fourth episodes drag on the most, with a lot of the biggest twists and scares only coming towards the end. Had they combined the two and condensed some of the scattered plotting, this would be a lean series bordering on perfection. 

I will say though that halfway through the show, I was impressed with not only the quality of the production and the scares but the writing for the show as well. Considering how the whole season was based on a single chapter from the book, I was shocked with how well defined the characters were and the performances from the cast truly elevated it to new levels. It not only feels true to the spirit of the films but the novel as well which makes this a unique but still terrifying experience that should thrill any fan of King’s works. 

The last two episodes were by far the real highlight of the show, with the seventh focusing purely on the burning of the Black Spot. The cinematography especially captured the raw fear and confined environment rather well, with the one-take sequence making for a terrifyingly immersive viewing experience for the audience. The performances here were among some of the best, with the aftermath showing the real human tragedy amidst all the supernatural elements. 

The final episode revealed some of the biggest twists and turns, with the gates wide open for Pennywise to break free from Derry and escape out into the world. The biggest reveal was the fact that Pennywise experiences time differently, revealing that he already knows that he will die at the hands of the Loser’s Club in ‘89! This added some new stakes for the finale, raising the tension as the characters raced to box the clown back in his cage so he can return to his hibernation. 

The finale was incredibly satisfying to watch, with each of the characters and their respective arcs reaching a fitting conclusion that stayed true to the tone of the show. The ending also leaves the door open for future seasons, with the stage already set for Pennywise to prevent his death as he targets the ancestors of the Loser’s Club. Granted the epicness of the final episode’s premise, I do wish they could have done more with it and explored more of the creature’s backstory. Perhaps in another season though we might yet get a better understanding of how Pennywise functions and what it really wants. 

The show overall though is a truly compelling watch, packed with enough emotion and spectacle—not to mention scares—that should satisfy any horror fan and perhaps might even convert some audiences into one. The somewhat scattered plotting and pacing might push it for some at first, but if you stick around with the show long enough, it will reward the viewers for their patience. Finding the fear in its haunting premise, It: Welcome to Derry makes for an irresistible return to the suburbs for both die-hard fans and newcomers alike. 

All episodes of It: Welcome to Derry are available to stream on HBO Max.

Rating: ★★★★☆