Five episodes into HBO’s “IT: Welcome to Derry,” Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård) finally arrived in the show. It’s been six years since audiences have seen one of Stephen King’s most terrifying creations brought to life, and he’s back like he’s never left.
Gen. Shaw (James Remar) informed Maj. Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) the military plans to collect the pillars the Native Americans used in the past to contain and control IT. Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) navigated Taniel’s (Joshua Odjick) mind and discovered what IT is and how the people kept it in Derry.
In the fifth episode, Hallorann also found out where one of the pillars was in an abandoned house on 29 Neibolt Street. Shaw sends Hallorann, Hanlon, Capt. Pauly Russo (Rudy Mancuso) and a handful of troops into the house to collect the pillar and orders them to shoot and kill anything that isn’t supposed to be there.
Meanwhile, the band of kids comes into contact with Matty Clements (Miles Ekhardt), who was previously believed to be dead. Clements informs them IT has killed and eaten Teddy Uris (Mikkal Karim-Fidler) and Susie Malkin (Matilda Legault), but has kept Phil Malkin (Jack Molloy Legault) alive in the sewers.
Clements and the kids then go down to where Phil Malkin is said to be alive in IT’s lair, while the military searches for the pillar. Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider) is sent to Shawshank State Prison by Derry Police Chief Clint Bowers (Peter Outerbridge).
On the way there, the bus is turned on its side, and all of the people aboard are killed except for Grogan. He’s nowhere to be found at the scene. It’s later revealed Grogan is having an affair with Ingrid Kersh (Madeleine Stowe), the head of housekeeping at Juniper Hill, who is a close friend of Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack).
Kersh agrees to help hide Grogan from the authorities and contacts Charlotte Hanlon (Taylour Paige) for more assistance. In the sewers below the surface of the town, both the military and kids are tortured and scared by IT.
Clements is not the real Clements at all and transforms into none other than Pennywise, to which the kids run away from in fear. Pennywise corners Bainbridge, but can’t kill and eat her as the pillar is placed right in front of her. IT backs into the shadows and isn’t seen for the remainder of the episode.
Now that “IT: Welcome to Derry” is in the second half of its first season, the story is beginning to ramp up. A lot of information concerning certain characters and the overall plot can be discussed, and it all starts with Skarsgård’s performance.
Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. masterfully directed the buildup and eventual reveal of Pennywise. Although he doesn’t have much screentime in this episode, Skarsgård still owns the show and is just as effective as when he was depicted in “It” (2017) and “It: Chapter Two” (2019).
Something that was not disclosed prior is how Hallorann plays into the story now. Upon going into the underground sewers, Hallorann was taken over by IT and had a vision of his deceased grandmother and grandfather. The grandfather tries to get Hallorann to open his box, as established in Mike Flanagan’s “Doctor Sleep” (2019).
The boxes in Hallorann’s mind and others who have the shine ability are used to contain the entities that haunt him. His box is opened, and at the end of the episode, Hallorann sees a deceased soldier as he exits the sewers.
Where this will go and how it will affect not only Hallorann but the greater story as a whole is intriguing. Other than IT, Hallorann is the most powerful character in the show. If Pennywise can easily make Hallorann crack, then it’s only a matter of time until all of those in Derry are in great danger.
