Note: This article contains detailed spoilers from Episodes 1 and 2 of ‘Welcome to Derry.‘
Every Stephen King fan is loosing their mind because it’s finally here! ‘IT: Welcome to Derry‘ has already released its first two episodes, and we are finally returning to the haunting streets of Maine’s most cursed town.
This prequel promises to dig deeper into Derry’s long history of evil, expanding the mythology that the IT movies only hinted at.
For fans and audiences those who are familiar with both the films and the novel, it honestly feels like a chance to explore the layers that were left untouched on the big screen as we see our favorite Losers Club with a new light.
A Town Haunted by What It Refuses to See
In Episode 1 we see a crowded theatre showing The Music Man, where a boy named Matty Clements sneaks in without paying for the ticket. When the usher catches him, he runs off, and we meet Ronnie and Hank Grogan, who are these kind locals who try to cover for him.
Matty escapes and hitchhikes out of Derry, but the family that picks him up turns out to be abnormal. In the end of this scene we see Matty’s candy dummy falling into the sewers, showing that Derry’s evil is still alive.
Now we jump into four months later, as we see the town moves on as if nothing happened. We see two soldiers, Pauly and Major Leroy Hanlon, arriving at the local airbase, who is talking about Russia, nuclear threats, and a mysterious warehouse labeled “Special Projects.”
Hanlon seems brave and observant, but even he can sense that something is wrong in this so called clam place.
We see Matty’s disappearance is still haunting the town people, and Teddy Uris, who is a shy boy, often thinks about him. Along with his outspoken friend Phil and a lonely girl named Lilly, he begins noticing strange things.
We see Lilly’s past which already marks her as an outsider, and her father died in a jarring plant accident, but sadly her cruel classmates spread rumors that his body parts were found in pickle jars. When Lilly claims to hear Matty’s voice in the pipes, her friends doubt her.
Eventually we see the story building to a disturbing moment when Ronnie screens The Music Man again, as we see that inside the movie, Matty appears holding the same mutant baby.
It suddenly attacked everyone in the theatre, leaving only Ronnie and Lilly alive, and their terrified screams close the episode. The horror in this episode works best in quiet, and it’s personal moments.
When Teddy sees the lampshade turning into human skin, it is far more unsettling than the noisy mess of the massacre. Derry’s power lies in small details, not in grand scenes.
Episode 2, titled “The Thing in the Dark,” begins with Lilly waking from a nightmare about the theatre. The massacre is now public, and Ronnie’s father, Hank, is the main suspect.
Although he was home that night, people still believe he is guilty. In Derry, it is easier to blame someone than to face the truth.
The Soldiers, the Children, and the Circle of Fear
Major Hanlon’s story also grows deeper. After masked intruders attack him, he begins to suspect his superiors. General Shaw later admits he ordered the attack to test Hanlon’s courage. He wants Hanlon to help in a secret mission to locate something underground that can “cause fear.” The military now seems to be searching for the same entity that has long haunted Derry.
Lilly’s troubles worsen. Bullied by classmates and pressured by police, she is forced to deny what she saw in the theatre. Her guilt and fear only grow stronger. In one scene, she walks through a store and hears voices whispering from the shelves. The pickle jars show her father’s face before everything rots away. When the vision ends, she stands alone, surrounded by broken glass. Soon after, she is sent back to Juniper Hills.
Both episodes show that Derry’s evil is not only supernatural. It lives in the silence and cruelty of ordinary people. The adults ignore the horror because they want peace. The soldiers dig for power because they think they can control fear. The children search for answers because they are the only ones who still believe something is wrong.
What makes Welcome to Derry stand out is that it does not explain everything. The strange births, the military digging, and the voices in the pipes all point to the same mystery. The town seems to be giving birth to its own darkness again and again, and no one can stop it.
As we wait for the next episode on November 9, we are left wondering if Derry itself is the real monster. Maybe Pennywise is only its reflection, the laughter that fills the quiet when people stop listening. The soldiers, the children, and the townsfolk are all trapped in the same circle of fear. Like the film within the story, The Music Man, we are only watching another show unfold. The curtain has not fallen yet, and we are still waiting in the dark for what comes next.
