[Practices best clown laugh in the mirror for an uncomfortable amount of time, not realizing others are watching.] Oh, crap! I mean, oh, hello there, semi-constant readers! Welcome to the first chapter in our season-long line of IT: Welcome to Derry live blogs, where I'll be diving into my most anticipated upcoming horror TV show of 2025 and beyond. Just about every new Stephen King-related adaptation that comes out gets my excited interest, but I'm especially giddy to return to Derry.
No reason to "beep, beep" me or bring out any monsters holding canes to drag me off the stage. Check out some of our IT: Welcome to Derry exclusives below, and read on! (NOTE: The updates will post in reverse-sequential order while the article is still live, and will revert to being sequential from top to bottom after the final update.)
- How IT: Welcome To Derry’s Co-Creators Feel About Comparisons Between The Stephen King Series And Ryan Coogler’s Sinners
- Will Welcome To Derry Feature Nods To Other Stephen King Books Beyond IT And The Shining? I Love The Answer I Got From The Showrunners
- IT: Welcome To Derry Co-Creator Says Stephen King ‘Was Mystified’ By The Show’s Three-Season Plan, But There’s A ‘Specific Reason’ For The Approach
- IT: Welcome To Derry's Premiere Is Full Of Stephen King Easter Eggs, And My Favorite Involves Bathroom Graffiti
IT: Welcome To Derry Live Blog Starts Here
Not to steal from the name of this show, but welcome one and all to this live blog, which is being written from an undisclosed location adjacent to Derry that is unaffected by its deep-rooted horrors. At least that's what my sink pipes are telling me, and I'm inclined to believe them. The episode is about to kick off, so here's a quick poll to chime in on before (or while) watching.
A Musical Opening And Special Message
Good news for fans, as Episode 2 of the show will begin streaming early, on Halloween night, instead of two days later.
IT: Welcome to Derry is starting off exactly like any horror fan might have suspected….with The…Music…Man? And a kid with a pacifier who didn’t pay for his ticked. So far, all boxes checked.
Here we meet Amanda Christine’s Ronnie Grogan and Stephen Rider as her father Hank Grogan, and it already looks like Ronnie is one of the good guys, as it were. I guess unless this kid is constantly sneaking in and making everyone’s life a living hell.
Look! It’s the titular sign! That doesn’t happen nearly as often as titular lines, especially when Paul Bunyan references are included.
Matty's Nightmare Car Ride
Hitchhiking in Derry should be avoided at all costs.
I definitely don’t think this family is the one this kid should have jumped into a car with. The son shows up wonky-eyed in one of the trailers, which doesn’t bode well for Matty.
Okay, that didn’t take long to jump from uncomfortable to demented. I’m already not a big fan of liver, but I’ll use this sequence to further justify why I don’t wanna eat it. I also don’t want to watch any spelling bees after this S-H-I-T-S-H-O-W. Shitshow.
Nope nope. Vasectemy, strangulation and plenty of other terrifying words to hear a family use so casually during an impossible car ride. If there was ever a time to justify accidentally knocking a pregnant woman in the stomach, it's when that stomach houses a fucking demon-beast like the flying monstrosity that pushes itself out of the woman's presumably gnarly womb.
I mean, WTF was that thing? And where can I buy a toy version?
Leroy Hanlon Arrives At The Military Base
Seemingly not a whole lot of blatant exposition set up in this seen, though I'm very interested to hear what Chris Chalk's Dick Halloran knows. He's the driver who doesn't say anything.
High School Sucks, And Derry High Is No Exception
This spectacled gal is giving Yellowjackets' Misty, which already makes me want to distrust her, but maybe that's unfair.
This kid Teddy's hair is out of this world, which makes me want to trust him more, but maybe THAT's unfair.
Loving the Burt the Turtle references and that one kid's nutty conspiracy theories seemingly tapping into IT's extraterrestrial origins, though I'm not loving the pickle jar-related bullying on display.
IT: Welcome To Derry Identifies Its First Obvious Racist
As Hanlon and Russo are being introduced to other soldiers, the one dude named Masters (nothing on the nose there) is the one who refuses to give his Black superior a salute, saying:
- “I’ll get you next time, brother."
I certainly hope he gets his in whatever way.
Teddy's Sci-Fi Room
Despite the potential for boobs happening at the neighbor's house, my attention is more on all the details in Teddy's room, such as the Creature from the Black Lagoon poster, which is an obvious reference to one of IT's forms in the novel. But there are also UFOs and other evidence of sci-fi fandom all over the place. Way too decorated for a kid's room in the '60s, but still cool.
More signs that alien storytelling is coming, perhaps.
Lilly's Horrifying Tragedy And Voices In The Pipes
Here we get a flashback to Lilly sharing her deep trauma with Matty, the reason for the pickle jars in her locker: her father was killed in a most horrific fashion by being completely dismantled after falling into a piece of machinery. Which, in hindsight, makes the school bullies' actions COMPLETELY FUCKED UP BEYOND BELIEF. Those responsible should be forced to eat nothing but defective pickles for the rest of their lives.
Also, WTF is wrong with Matty for thinking Lilly's vulnerability was the key time to lean in for a smooch? Kids are dumb.
Back at home, Lilly thinks she hears Matty's voice in her pipes, but he says he isn't being allowed to leave. But was that REALLY Matty, or just one of IT's traps?
Sometimes Girls Fart, Okay
The current all-star in this episode is the girl who clearly farted and then tried to deny it with:
- "It wasn't me."
Keep living your dreams, gal.
The Reason Why Leroy Hanlon Was Brought To Derry
James Remar's General Shaw delivered some much needed insight during his convo with Leroy, cluing audiences into the latter's injuries suffered during Korea after showing some fearless behavior. It's clear they want to use him as a weapon, but how, and against what exactly? IT?
Props to this line attributed to Hanlon's father, who will no doubt be introduced during Season 2 if it happens:
- "’There's nothing wrong with this county that can't be fixed by what's right with this country.’ I aim to prove him right, sir.”
Stitch that first part on a pillow.
The Uris Family Should Probably Leave Derry, Or At Least Get New Lamps
Teddy Uris, whose connection to IT's Stan Uris isn't fully explained at this point, gets chastised by his loved ones for inquiring about a potential kidnapping situation. Instead of looking for extra information about why he might be asking such questions, Teddy's father instantly brings up atrocities that their family experienced during World War II. (It always goes back to Nazis.)
It's too bad part of the dad's story included lamp shades made out of people's faces, because that's clearly the bit that stuck itself inside Teddy's brain for IT to latch onto and exploit in the most horrifying way.
Fuck Teddy's brother for reacting only with this careless line:
- "I can't believe we're related."
I hope that kid's face gets turned into ottoman upholstery. Good on Teddy for reading Batman comics, though.
Leroy Hanlon Gets Assaulted By Masked Men
As Hanlon is waiting to drift off to dreamland, several masked men break into his room and attack him, demanding specs and info about the B-52 bomber that General Shaw talked to Hanlon about earlier. Our protagonist doesn't flinch while being held at gunshot, and a larger brawl ensues when Russo interferes.
Russo's hair thankfully made it through the encounter without a fatality.
But who were those guys? Pretty sure they would have been far more violent if they really wanted to kill him.
The Kids Team Up For The Worst Theater Visit Ever
Nothing beats this kind of kid logic employed after the group of young protagonists made it into the Capitol theater.
- "Isn't this breaking and entering?"
- "We didn't break anything. It's just entering."
This screening isn't for shits and giggles, though, as they're there to see if The Music Man can give them a sign of what happened to Matty, whose disappearance occurred after Phil and Teddy bailed on going to Matty's birthday party. That kid's life is the epitome of a Stephen King ruffian's existence.
Astoundingly enough, their plan works, and they actually DO see Matty inside the movie, along with the "family" that abducted him. Of course, it's not a kid at all, but IT, which goes back into "giant fucking mutant baby" form, coming out of the screen and wreaking havoc on the young characters. Shockingly enough, some of them actually die, despite the marketing making it seem like they'd be around for a while.
It looks like Teddy, Phil, and Phil's little sister Suzie were all goners, although we don't actually see any of them completely lifeless, so they may just be taken to the standpipe to exist in a zombified state. Only Lilly and Ronnie made it out intact, if perhaps deeply disturbed by everything that went down.
I have to give it to Clara Stack for how convincing her performance was during this entire sequence. She truly gave Heather Langenkamp vibes from A Nightmare on Elm Street, and I hope the show doesn't kill her off early as well. Her screams from the theater floor, as well as the final shot where she's still holding Suzie's arm: spectacularly piercing and golden.
Wait, It's Over Already? - The Live Blog Ends Here
That hour pretty much flew by faster than a winged, baby-headed demon in a closed theater, but thank Maturin that we've got another seven weeks of this gloriousness to go.
Here are some of my lingering final thoughts:
- I totally expected to meet the rest of the Hanlon family in the premiere.
- I also totally expected Dick Halloran to get a line.
- I hope Leroy Hanlon gets a cool nickname soon.
- I don't trust anyone at Derry's military base, even ones played by generally trustworthy James Remar.
- I wonder if these three kids' deaths will make bigger public waves than Matty's disappearance did.
- Ronnie is a beast for knowing how to load that film projector with ease.
- I'm already dreading everything pickle-related that's coming up.
- I love seeing familiar locations like the Jade Orient and Nan's, as well as seeing all the nods to the novel and other movies. I can't wait to keep my metaphorical magnifying glass out for future easter eggs as well.
- The lack of an opening title sequence was...unfortunate.
Thank you to everyone for reading along with me during the episode, or for following it at any other point. I hope everyone had as much liver-grabbing fun as I did, and I hope to see everyone again next time. Same Derry time. Same Derry channel.
