Previously on HBO Max’s IT: Welcome to Derry, Dick Hallorann used his special power to find the pillars under the house on Neibolt Street. Hank escaped the Shawshank bus crash, and it’s revealed that Ingrid is the mystery married woman he’s been seeing. Later, the kids and the military cross paths in the sewers, where Matty reveals himself as Pennywise. Leroy almost shoots Will, but his partner, Pauly, steps in front of the gun and dies saving the boy. And Lily finds the dagger that wards off Pennywise.
The episode begins in 1935, with a little girl and a nurse in Juniper Hill Asylum. The nurse takes her to the basement, where the girl had previously told her she saw Pennywise. The nurse doesn’t believe her, and as they look at an open door, they see a red balloon. They stand there, the girl hiding behind the nurse when Pennywise appears.
At home, Will is traumatized from what happened, while Leroy yells at him for being in the sewer. Leroy tells Charlotte that everything they’ve seen is real, and they need to stop Pennywise. After getting upset when Will says something about Pauly, Leroy slaps his son, immediately apologizing afterwards. Will cries and storms off the base.
At their hangout, Lily shows them the weapon, but doesn’t want anyone else touching it. She wants to go back to the sewers to kill Pennywise, but Ronnie doesn’t want to. Ronnie tells her that she’s “crazy,” and Lily squeezes the weapon tighter. Lily and Ronnie go back and forth, yelling regretful words at each other. Rich tells them that, “This is what it wants! To turn us against each other,” but no one listens to him. Ronnie storms off, saying Lily shouldn’t have ever left Juniper Hill.
Dick finally makes it back from the sewers, but he’s not the same. He goes to the airman’s hangout spot and begins to see things. He finds out that Hank is hiding there, a decision made by Charlotte. Charlotte brings Will and Ronnie there so that Ronnie can reunite with her dad.
The next morning, at base camp, Leroy goes to check on Dick, who’s drinking and sitting in his room. While Leroy’s talking to him, Dick sees a dead man. Dick tells him about how, when he was a kid, he would see dead people. Then one day, he decided to lock this ability in a box, and he hasn’t seen them again since he came out of the sewers‒ Pauly was the first dead man he had seen. Leroy wants Dick to continue the mission, but Dick knows how bad and dangerous it is for him. Dick’s afraid that he won’t ever be the same.
At school, Marge and Rich sit together at lunch. Rich gifts her an eye patch, and she gets excited. The Patty Cakes confront her. She stands up to them, taking her eye patch off and yelling, “I am a freak.” Rich laughs, entertained. After school, Will, Rich, and Marge go to the military hangout to try to convince Ronnie that they have to stick together.
At school, Lily has an episode, seeing her dead father inside her desk. She grabs the weapon, yelling, only to snap out of her trance when her teacher yells at her. Lily leaves school to visit Ingrid, but the house is empty. She goes upstairs and finds a photobook. She looks through and finds a page of younger Ingrid with her father. Lily realizes the man looks familiar. Ingrid catches her and asks what she’s doing there. Lily begins to cry, telling Ingrid what happened in the sewers. As Ingrid embraces Lily, Lily notices a picture frame, realizing Pennywise was Ingrid’s father. Ingrid begins to laugh, happy that she “brought him back.” Ingrid is the clown who followed them in the cemetery and stood outside Will’s house behind the tree. Ingrid has been doing these things to find him again.
We find out that Ingrid is the nurse from the beginning of the episode. It goes back to that scene, downstairs. She and Mable see Pennywise, and he tells the little girl, “Hi,” giving her the balloon. He doesn’t realize it’s Ingrid, and before she can save the little girl, it’s too late. After killing the girl, he turns into his normal form, telling Ingrid not to be scared. Ingrid tells Lily that it was the last time she had seen her father. Ingrid tries to grab Lily, but Lily hits her with the weapon and leaves.
Sheriff Bowers gets fired and gathers a group of men to where Hank is hiding. The hideout spot has a party, and Rich joins the band, playing the drums during a song. One of the basemen and a woman are standing outside when multiple vehicles show up‒ the people there to find Hank. They’re all wearing masks and come out with guns.
Overall, this was an overwhelming episode. Between us finding out that Ingrid is Pennywise’s daughter, to the Sheriff leading the violent men to the hideout, a lot happened. The secret with Ingrid was very unexpected and shocking. Madeleine Stowe was incredible in this episode as Ingrid, and the reveal of her acting as Pennywise to scare the kids was top-tier. What will happen at the hangout spot now? Will they get to Hank?
Rating: 10/10