The kids try to share their revelations, and Halloran explores the history of Derry in another banger episode of It: Welcome to Derry, now streaming on HBOMax.
Welcome back to the weekly recap/analysis/discussion/etc (thus I go a little further into plot details) of It: Welcome to Derry, the prequel television series of the film duology directed by Andy Muschietti, based on the novel by Stephen King. The Great Swirling Aparatus of Our Planet’s Function is. It: Welcome to Derry’s fourth episode is a series high point. It’s a solid hour and some of television, strengthening the series and its ideas, and giving more to the world around Derry and its alien menace.
Written by Helen Shang and directed by a returning Andrew Bernstein, it’s an episode that shifts the formula, lesser on overall scares and horror sequences; it’s far less flashy, so no Stranger Things bike chase, with said moments being fewer and shorter (outside an extended lore bit), and differently placed. It’s nice to see the break from the outline the previous episodes were following. Like the third episode, now you see it, Episode four serves to pull pieces together; confirming ideas, sharing thoughts, and building up the lore around Derry and It. Whole lotta lore.
On the adult side of the story, Dick Halloran and friends begin to set up their club, and Dick gets an awesome extended Shining/Todash Space moment. Yes, it does lead to a massive info dump; a straight-up flashback exposition to the history of It (the Deadlights!) and how the Native Americans in the area have dealt with their localized monster. It is exposition, but very good exposition. Heck, expanding this bit a while and it could have been a great one-off episode, just going without any framing. But the military needs to know this information for their end of the plot to continue. It has wonderful implications as well for the wider King-verse. I couldn’t help but drawing (of the three) more Dark Tower connections and links. The entity itself is a portion of that, a further level than merely eating kids for fun and profit, and it looks like it might head down that path a bit. And “The Galloo,” as it’s called in a sort of Wendigo form, looks awesome! Fantastic effect. I continue to love Rose, and her actor is wonderful; she has a natural connection. I’m appreciating the various further stories flowing in and around Derry; Rose connects with Charlotte, who has her own line of infestation going, one that speaks to the minorities seeing things differently than the White characters. One version of Pennywise seen in this episode really homes in on the fears against Whites, Manifest Destiny, and what that brings.
It connects to the bullying themes across this franchise. People in the center versus people on the margins. People’s insecurities are being used by Pennywise, bringing out the worst in them. Pennywise can gain power by possessing them with the power they feel they lack (not unlike The Overlook influencing the weakness of Jack Torrence). The continued run on bullies and how it works in this universe is fascinating. The kid’s story is centered mostly on Lilly and her troubles. Bullies have been a huge part of Stephen King’s stories, especially in It. Of course, the things they do in this show, episode, and book are representative of what does happen in real life, even if it’s shifted in modern times. Turning people on one another, separating. The other big sequence in the episode works with the concept. It’s interesting for It’s choice of victim and the whys when you think about it.
We get more Madeline Stowe as another sympathetic adult, but I still doesnt’ trust her. She mentions her father in an offhand, but obvious, way. I still think she’s the clown girl from the cold open of the last episode, and the daughter of “Bob Grey,” but we’ll see. Continuing on adult and kid connections, Will and Leroy also bond and talk, and we make big steps forward on linking the two main through lines. As they are family and present on both ends, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Glad that it’s sooner, I look forward to how they zipper in the stories going further. Plenty of people are getting on the same page this episode. A concept around a drug as a way to stay clear of the influence brings up interesting implications; let’s see how this goes.
I’m continually wondering where this is ultimately heading. As noted before, we know It continues, is nowhere near defeated. Is this all for naught? Is it a big experiment in merely building the world? I like that nilsim in a way. They can’t win. Will everyone who knows what exactly happens die? Or do they forget, like everyone else, no matter how much they dig in? It’s an issue with prequels is we know where it’s going, and no matter what people try, it won’t change any outcome. It’s predetermined. But we can still be invested nonetheless, like watching a well-loved movie or reading a book you’ve read a thousand times. The end might be known, but it doesn’t keep the journey from being interesting. And we don’t know the rest of this journey, yet.
Final note: call me crazy, but I think they keep adding more sinister notes to the theme song in the audio.
See you next week! And if you need to catch up: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3.