*Spoiler*

The killer clown, Pennywise, played by Bill Skarsgård (Hemlock Grove, The Crow) finally makes his debut in the lastest episode of It: Welcome to Derry. Stated by Screenrant, the episode in question saw Pennywise disguise himself as a disheveled Maddy, played by Miles Ekhardt (Too Opinionated, Turtles All the Way Down), who leads the group into the sewer to save their friend, which he stated was alive.. Later on it was revealed to be a trap, in which Matty slowly transformed into the creature, which the team split up and he chased Lily, played by Clara Stack (Hawkeye, The Naughty Nine), but froze and ran away when he spotted the sacred dagger from long ago.

Screenrant reports, the series showrunners: Andy Muschietti (The Flash, Mama), Barbara Muschietti (The Electric State, Bird Box), and Jason Fuchs (Argylle, Pan) explain their approach ,”we decided that, in this season, Pennywise should be a little bit like the shark in Jaws. You really want to be strategic. In both movies, it was very important for us to keep the mystery and the fear for this character alive. We find that familiarity is the enemy of that. So it was important for us to delay the pleasure, or the terror, as much as we could.”

By withholding Pennywise until the midpoint, the show successfully maximized the impact of his entrance, signaling that the game has escalated. Stated by Screenrant, this midway showcases the high-stakes game that Pennywise is playing, drawing in not only the kids but also the army. He uses their own fears to distort their common sense. It is unknown on what other terrors Pennywise has planned for the citizens of Derry and how the end of the series will connect to the 2017 film.

All current episodes of It:Welcome to Derry are available to stream on HBO Max, with new episodes released weekly.