The creators of IT: Welcome to Derry promised the series would finally pull back the curtain on the origins of Pennywise, exploring the creature’s ancient history and its deep connection to the town. The show’s initial two episodes began to deliver on this, revealing that the United States military is actively researching the cosmic being, hoping to harness its power as a psychological weapon that could turn the tide of the Cold War. This military angle provided a new framework for understanding the entity, but it still left many core questions about its nature unanswered. While audiences have not yet received the complete lore they were promised, the third episode of Welcome to Derry takes a significant step forward, subtly revealing something entirely new about the creature’s relationship with Derry.
Warning: Spoilers below for IT: Welcome to Derry, Episode 3
The third episode of IT: Welcome to Derry transports the narrative back to 1908, a time that strategically aligns with one of Pennywise’s previous 27-year hunting cycles. This extended flashback sequence follows an infant named Francis, decades before he becomes the hardened General (James Remar) overseeing Operation Precept. During a seemingly idyllic summer, Francis develops a close friendship with a local Native American girl named Rose. Rose (Kimberly Guerrero) is also a recurring character in the show’s main 1960s timeline, now the proud owner of a thrift store that helped the Hanlon family furnish their home after they arrived in town. This connection immediately establishes a historical link between two of the series’ pivotal new characters and the town’s dark history.
During their childhood games, Rose and Francis often played near the woods on the outskirts of Derry. One fateful afternoon, a game of tag takes a terrifying turn when Francis rushes into the forest, completely ignoring Rose’s desperate pleas for him to stay away. There, he meets Pennywise, who has taken the shape of a carnival freak that had scared Francis days before. Rose bravely enters the woods to rescue Francis, and the two manage to escape the creature. Once they are outside the line of trees, they are perfectly safe. Rose promises to tell Francis a secret, explaining what the creature is and why it cannot leave the woods. While the episode cuts the flashback before we learn the secret, the scene already tells us something vital.
The 1908 flashback scene strongly suggests that Pennywise is confined to a specific geographical area that it cannot escape. This provides a compelling new answer to a question that has always been central to the lore: why has Pennywise never left Derry? The entity is an ancient cosmic being that must feed on fear approximately every 27 years, using the children of Derry as its primary source of sustenance. Since Derry is such a small town, remaining there puts the creature at a strategic disadvantage. If Pennywise could move to a larger city, it would have an endless supply of prey and would be much harder to track. The fact that it remains in Derry has always been explained by its parasitic connection to the town, but this new information adds a more concrete limitation to its power.
IT: Welcome to Derry effectively reframes Derry as a prison for the creature. Pennywise is not simply choosing to stay in its preferred hunting ground, but for some mysterious reason, it is physically unable to leave. In addition, Rose’s promise to reveal why the creature is trapped positions her as a key figure who holds ancient knowledge about the entity’s true nature and its ultimate weakness. That’s something that puts her on a collision course with General Shwan in the present time, as the military leader insists on pursuing his dangerous mission to locate Pennywise. Hopefully, in the following weeks, the series will share the secrets Rose keeps, giving us a better understanding of the rules binding Pennywise to Derry.
New episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry premiere on HBO every Sunday.
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