*Spoiler*
The latest episode in the prequel series, It: Welcome to Derry delivered long-awaited and chilling confirmation that bridges the new series directly to Stephen King’s original lore. Stated by Comicbook, the episode is named “In the Name of the Father”, and it was revealed that Ingrid Kersh, played by Madeleine Stowe (12 Monkeys, The Christmas Hope), wasn’t just the caretaker at Juniper Hill Asylum, but was the a daughter of Bob Gray, played by Bill Skarsgard (Hemlock, Nosferatu), the original dancing clown, whose persona Pennywise adopted.
Reported by Comicbook, it was also revealed in the episode that it was her in photo dressed up as Periwinkle that the kids took in the cemetery in an attempt to get her father back. Ingrid goes on to describe to Lilly, played by Clara Stack (Hawkeye, The Naughty Nine) described him as,” different, perhaps, changed by whatever he’d been through”, she believed that he was controlled by the entity and could still be save. These clues further strengthen the connection of the TV series towards the film, in which an older Ingrid, played Joan Gregson (Sea People, Grindstone Road) tells a similar story.
Comicbook reports, the series director Andy Muschietti (The Flash, The Electric State) goes on to speak with Den of Geek about the connection between Pennywise and Bob Gray,” everything that relates to Pennywise and Bob Gray is very cryptic… We don’t know exactly what he is, where he comes from, or how Bob Gray is related. Was Bob Gray a real person? Is he incarnated in that thing because Bob Gray played a clown?”
Stated by Comicbook, with countless narratives yet to unfold, the series has officially been greenlit for two more seasons, allowing for a deeper exploration of the chilling horrors lurking beneath the surface of Derry. There are only two episode left of It: Welcome to Derry, while waiting on their release viewers can watch the previous episodes on HBO Max.