Lily & Ronnie deal with the aftermath of the theatre event, while Hanlon learns more about the happenings at the Air Force Base in the second episode of It: Welcome to Derry; now on HBOMax.
Spoilers for Episode 1; some details for Part 2, but not too much.
It: Welcome to Derry returns with a second episode, The Thing in the Dark (what a Lovecraftian title), again directed by Andy Muschietti and written by Austin Guzman (with Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs on overall development duties. While I liked The Pilot, The Thing in the Dark is better. It is sure-footed scary, giving a level balance in building on the characters established. This, more than the first, gives me a better outlook on where the series will go over the remaining six episodes.
Last time ended with the possible deaths of the boys we thought might be the leads (and one’s sister), with only splatters of blood and a stump left in Lily’s hand. Now it seems it might have actually happened and not merely the hypnotizing influence of Pennywise. The ramifications of the dead/missing children are felt, the town blaming Lily, theatre projectionist Hank Grogan, and his pre-teen daughter Ronnie, who let Lily and the dead kids in to look for clues for the missing friend. Lily feels pressure and is being treated like a pariah, as is Ronnie. I loved getting more time and focus on Ronnie as a new lead. Amanda Christine is fantastic at putting it on her shoulders, as is Clara Stack’s Lilly.
We also continue to follow Leroy Hanlon as he becomes more active at the base, including the follow-up to being attacked (the result is just what I expected). We learn more about the secrets going on, and I’m into it; the Cold War arms race connection to Derry is intriguing. Especially since our old pal Dick Halloran is more active; looks like his Shine is a factor. I’m really liking the odd tenor Chris Chalk brings to the role. Hanlon’s family arrives and sees the nice and the nasty of town. It occurred to me that the kids we see here will be the sallow and beaten-down adults of the movies. It’s sad, really.
The second episode gains opening credits. Like the Music Man segments of the first episode, it pushes hard into the “something innocent now is darker and scarier,” but I liked the flow of the growth of the hidden to outright terrible, highlighting the dark history of the town. It does sell, however, the rot under Derry that seeps and corrodes under the friendly outside.
Again, I appreciate how the scare sequences are done. Outside of a repeat/expansion of the climax of the last episode, there are two main sequences: one with Ronnie and one with Lilly. Both are incredible. Ronnie has an awesome monster. Lily’s is an extended build, and it’s so well done as the threat gets larger behind and around her before coming directly. Neither overplays the hand, nor, again, is reaching into the clown bucket. 
A really steady episode that moves the story forward just a bit and opens up the world of Welcome To Derry in ways that beg for more questions. The look is much better than the previous time, the generated sheen is gone, and it feels more real.
It: Welcome to Derry, Episode 2: The Thing the Dark is a great follow-up to a good start. It builds the characters (curious to see the real world horrors Lilly is about to experience, pushes the plot forward enough, and has several great scare sequences. [read more: Episode 3 review]