Pennywise holding a machete in Welcome to Derry
By
Dani Kessel Odom
Published 1 hour ago
Dani Kessel Odom (they/them) is an autistic lead writer on the New TV team, focusing on writing and content planning for streaming shows. They often assist with Classic TV coverage, as well.
They have covered events, such as Denver Fan Expo. Their articles have also been shared by professionals in the field, such as Damien Leone and Lucy Hale.
In university, they majored in English Writing with a minor in psychology. They have always had a passion for analyzing TV and movies, even taking filmography and scriptwriting classes in university. They also studied and participated in onstage and onscreen acting extensively from the ages of 7 to 18.
Aside from working at Screen Rant, Dani has worked as a freelance editor and writer over the past decade, often in a ghostwriting capacity.
Sign in to your ScreenRant account
Add Us On
Summary
Generate a summary of this story
follow
Follow
followed
Followed
Like
Like
Thread
Log in
Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
Try something different:
Show me the facts
Explain it like I’m 5
Give me a lighthearted recap
It: Welcome to Derry includes many significant reveals about the titular interdimensional shapeshifting being, but some are so shocking that they will have rippling effects on the story. Andy Muschietti’s It duology continued with the HBO Max prequel It: Welcome to Derry, and the first season is available to watch now.
The show delves into the interludes from the Stephen King book, showing some of the significant moments in Derry, Maine. This season, we saw the events leading up to the burning of the Black Spot, the augury moment that marked the end of It’s 1962 cycle.
Rather than just going over established stories from the book, It: Welcome to Derry also introduces new lore for the villain. Some of the most shocking reveals about It/Pennywise will change the way we understand the book, movies, and future seasons.
HBO Max has not yet renewed It: Welcome to Derry for seasons 2 or 3, as of the time of writing.
7 Pennywise Stole His Persona From A Real Clown Named Bob Gray
Human Pennywise Dancing Clown smiling in It: Welcome to Derry Episode 7 Trailer
In the IT book, Pennywise the Dancing Clown also introduces himself as Bob Gray, but the book never explains why. In It: Chapter Two, it’s implied that Pennywise was actually a human named Bob Gray at one point. Luckily, It: Welcome to Derry finally clarified who Bob Gray is and his connection to Pennywise.
The real Mrs. Kersh (not the Mrs. Kersh from the movie) was the daughter of Bob Gray, a human man who performed in the carnival, adopting the persona of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Despite being a rude, surly, drunken man offstage, the kids absolutely loved him. They were drawn to Pennywise’s performances.
It took the form of a child who looked like the kid from Insidious when he approached Bob Gray. He lured him into the woods and murdered him. From then on, Pennywise the Dancing Clown became his preferred form because it drew in children. This isn’t particularly shocking considering they teased this in It: Chapter Two, but it is still interesting to know.
6 Pennywise Is Trapped In Derry, Maine
Closeup of Pennywise's face after the big reveal in IT_ Welcome to Derry episode 5
One of the less shocking It reveals in It: Welcome to Derry is why the interdimensional shapeshifter never leaves Derry, Maine. The answer is more straightforward than it seems: he can’t. Pennywise is trapped within the confines of Derry, Maine.
Whether It could leave Derry was a debate before the prequel; so the surprise level will vary from person to person depending on prior interpretations of Stephen King’s works. I personally thought he couldn’t leave Derry, so it’s one of the less shocking reveals. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by the reasoning.
I thought the explanation would be interdimensional or related to the macroverse. However, episode 4 of It: Welcome to Derry confirms that the Shokopiwah tribe trapped him in the area that would eventually become Derry by burying 13 pillars in a circle formed by the meteorite It fell to Earth on. Since then, they have had a counsel to ensure It would never be able to escape.
5 Pennywise Sleeps In A Pool Of Blood & Dismembered Body Parts
Pennywise is sleeping in blood surrounded by body parts in It: Welcome to Derry
One of the more macabre but amusing reveals about Pennywise in It: Welcome to Derry is where he sleeps when he hibernates each cycle. The series depicts Pennywise waking up after the military destroyed a pillar. He was almost entirely submerged in a pool of blood with dismembered body parts all around him.
The sight was shocking enough to elicit a nervous laugh from me. It’s just so gruesome and gory. Then again, this is Pennywise we’re talking about. There are virtually no moral lines he won’t cross, as proven by his taking the form of Mrs. Kersh in It: Chapter Two.
As such, the shock of his sleeping situation fades pretty quickly when thinking it through logically. When he’s killing and dismembering dozens of people, they can’t all be floating up in the sewers due to space constraints. Plus, the body parts are a snack for him when he wakes up.
4 Pennywise Is Weak To The Meteorite Shards
Clara Stack as Lilly looking scared while holding onto glowing shard and a flashlight in IT: Welcome to Derry episode 5Brooke Palmer/HBO
In the It movies, Pennywise’s only major weakness is belief. The Losers Club can only harm him with Mike’s penetrating captive bolt because they think they can. They can only hurt him with Eddie’s inhaler because they believe it will hurt the cosmic being. However, It: Welcome to Derry introduces an actual weapon that can harm It.
As shown in It: Welcome to Derry, It is weak to shards of the meteorite, called a star in the show, that he arrived with. Pennywise is fully prepared to murder Lily Bainbridge, but it stops in its tracks because of the dagger that Taniel dropped. It’s shocking to think of Pennywise having this big a weakness, especially since the meteorite remnants still exist underground.
However, it’s also possible that the meteorite shard only works because the native people think it will work. The wise member of the Shokopiwah believed the star would be It’s weakness, so it was, which led to more people believing it would be his weakness, so it was. This would explain why Pennywise can be inside remnants of the meteorite in It: Chapter Two without it harming him.
3 Pennywise Used To Live In Peace With Humans
One huge It reveal in It: Welcome to Derry is the fact that It, called the “galloo” by the Shokopiwah people, used to live in peace with the natives. It lived in the forest long before humans lived in the area. The Shokopiwah people discovered the galloo and found a way to co-exist.
They found a meteorite dagger that would keep the entity away from their settlement. Meanwhile, they gave him the forest. While it’s not explicitly stated, it’s presumed that anyone who went into the forest was fair game for It to eat. This arrangement served all parties well until the colonizers stole the land and turned Derry into a lumber town.
The idea of It living in peace with humans still breaks my brain. Even though they explicitly described it, I cannot imagine a world where that would ever happen. It’s even more shocking and baffling to me than Pennywise being weak to meteorite shards.
2 Pennywise Experiences All Times At Once
Pennywise looking creepy in IT Welcome to Derry
One of the biggest and most shocking reveals in It: Welcome to Derry is the fact that Pennywise experiences time in a different way than humans. He isn’t bound to the linear timeline that you and I have. Instead, he experiences all times at once. He experiences his birth and death at the same time. He sees his past, present, and future all at once.
"Tomorrow, yesterday, it's all the same for little Pennywise. But it's not always easy, no. Being caged up in one place, one time.”
–Pennywise in It: Welcome to Derry
The ramifications of this are seen by the fact that It takes the form of Betty Ripsom in the finale of It: Welcome to Derry, long before she’s even born. It can summon up the missing poster for Richie to show to Marge. In the 1962 cycle, he knows that the Losers Club will eventually defeat him, so he tries to take out their ancestors.
Subscribe for Deep Derry Lore and Pennywise Insights
Want more on It: Welcome to Derry? Subscribe to our newsletter for deep breakdowns of Pennywise's new lore, the meteorite mystery, and what these revelations mean for the story — plus thoughtful horror-world analysis and theories. SubscribeSubscribe for Deep Derry Lore and Pennywise Insights
Want more on It: Welcome to Derry? Subscribe to our newsletter for deep breakdowns of Pennywise's new lore, the meteorite mystery, and what these revelations mean for the story — plus thoughtful horror-world analysis and theories. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.It stands to reason that he will know in the 1935 cycle that his attempt to kill Marge failed, so he would take a different approach to saving his life. Ultimately, many questions arise from this shocking reveal, but it makes sense that an interdimensional being from outside our world wouldn’t be bound by the same rules.
1 Pennywise Can Still Stop The Losers Club (Maybe)
The Losers Club looks at the quarry in It 2017
The most shocking revelation in It: Welcome to Derry is that Pennywise may be able to stop the Losers Club from killing him, emphasis on the maybe. It’s not clear whether Pennywise can actually save himself. We don’t know if Derry is a causal loop or if killing a Losers Club ancestor would create a parallel universe.
We only received a very brief, vague description of Pennywise’s concept of time, and it will certainly be explored more in the next two seasons. The part that’s important isn’t whether or not Pennywise can stop the Losers Club; it’s the fact that Pennywise believes that he can. This is the reason why It: Welcome to Derry moves chronologically backwards.
Whether it’s possible or not, Pennywise has a driving motivation to try and change his death in the next two seasons. He will likely get more desperate and try to take more drastic measures in It: Welcome to Derry seasons 2 and 3. He may go after the Losers Club’s ancestors or try to destroy the entire town. Either way, it’s bound to be a good time.
91
9.3/10
7/10
It: Welcome to Derry
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Horror Mystery Drama Release Date October 26, 2025 Network HBO Directors Andy Muschietti Writers Jason Fuchs, Stephen King, Austin Guzman Franchise(s) IT
8 Images
Dick Hallorann with his eyes wide looking angry in It Welcome to Derry
Bill Skarsgard's Pennywise in IT Welcome to Derry trailer 2Image courtesy of HBO Max
Kid similing in IT Welcome To Derry
It: Welcome to Derry teens looking surprised at something off screen
Close
Cast
See All-
Taylour Paige
Charlotte Hanlon
-
Jovan Adepo
Leroy Hanlon
Expand
Collapse
-
It: Welcome to Derry
40 Years Later, Stephen King’s Most Devastating Line Hits Harder Than Ever
Pennywise's Time Travel Twist In It: Welcome To Derry Explained (& How It Involves Richie Tozier)
40 Years Later, Stephen King’s Most Heartbreaking Quote Hits Harder After It: Welcome To Derry’s Ending
