“IT: Welcome to Derry” Shocks Viewers with Brutal Premiere Ending, Signaling a Departure from Familiar “IT” Lore
Derry, Maine - HBOS Welcome to Derry launched Sunday with a premiere that defied expectations, culminating in a shockingly violent sequence that dramatically alters teh narrative trajectory established in the opening act. the episode, directed by Andy Muschietti (who also helmed the IT films), initially presented a group of young outcasts as potential successors to the Losers Club, only to dismantle that expectation with a brutal and unexpected turn.
The premiere began with a prologue depicting the disappearance of Matty Clements (Miles Ekhardt) after he accepted a ride from a family seemingly influenced by “It.” The story then jumped forward four months to April 1962, focusing on Matty’s friends – Phil (Jack Molloy Legault), Teddy (Mikkal Karim-Fidler), and Lilly (clara Stack) – as they began to suspect his disappearance was far from ordinary.
The investigation led the group, joined by Phil’s sister Susie (Matilda legault) and Ronnie (Amanda Christine), the cinema projectionist’s daughter, back to the movie theater where Matty was last seen. While attempting to uncover clues by projecting a copy of The music Man, a disturbing image of Matty appeared on screen, holding a swaddled baby. This seemingly innocuous moment quickly devolved into horror as Matty,now bearing Pennywise‘s signature grin,hurled the contents of the bundle through the screen.
The “bundle” was revealed to be the winged demon baby first glimpsed in the episode’s prologue, born to the woman who gave Matty a ride. However, the creature had grown significantly in size. The ensuing chaos saw the demon baby brutally kill Teddy, Phil, and Susie, leaving only Lilly and Ronnie alive as the credits rolled.
Up until this point, the episode’s narrative structure appeared to be building towards a familiar “Losers Club” dynamic. The sudden and violent deaths of three central characters signal a deliberate departure from the established formula of the IT story.
Muschietti’s direction of the finale underscored this shift, delivering a gruesome and shocking conclusion. The premiere’s ending suggests Welcome to Derry intends to forge its own path, avoiding a simple rehash of the IT movies and keeping viewers guessing about the horrors to come in the remaining seven episodes.
