If you’ve ever thought, “Gee, I miss that dancing murder clown who eats children every 27 years”, well, congratulations — HBO heard you and made It: Welcome to Derry. The long-awaited prequel to It (2017) and It: Chapter Two has finally hit our screens, and after watching the first two episodes, I can safely say… “Yeah, I’m not sleeping for a while.”
Let’s talk about how this show takes the already terrifying mythos of Pennywise and gives it a twisted new shape — while also making you wonder if your bathroom drain is plotting against you.
Episode 1: “Before the Balloons”
We open in 1962 Derry, which somehow manages to look both nostalgic and like a place where serial killers go to retire. The show wastes no time reminding us that Derry, Maine is not your average small town. No, this is the kind of place where every friendly smile hides a demon, every sewer whispers secrets, and every child is one bad decision away from being clown chow.
The cold open? Absolutely nightmare fuel. Without spoiling too much, let’s just say it involves a birth scene that makes Alien look like a Pampers ad. You can practically hear Stephen King cackling in the background.
From there, we meet a new cast of characters — young kids, skeptical adults, and a few familiar surnames that make long-time fans go, “Wait… are they related to THAT guy?” The episode does an excellent job of recreating the unease of the It films — the bright, sunny normality of a small town slowly curdling into something rotten. You can practically smell the evil in the air — or maybe that’s just Derry’s plumbing again.
The Scares
While the first episode leans more on atmospheric horror than outright “boo!” moments, it still manages to get under your skin. Shadows move when they shouldn’t, voices echo where there’s no one to talk back, and Pennywise’s presence is felt even when he’s not on screen — like a bad smell you just can’t AirFresh away.
That said, the CGI monster work occasionally feels like someone fed American Horror Story a Red Bull. Not terrible, just… extra. Still, the show’s production design is top-tier. Everything looks wet, grimy, and cursed — which is exactly what you want in a horror series.
Episode 2: “The Thing in the Dark”
Now this is where the show starts flexing its fangs. Episode 2 leans harder into the psychological and supernatural horror that makes It so enduring — and if Episode 1 was “something wicked this way comes,” Episode 2 is “oh great, the wicked thing just moved into the basement.”
We get to see more of how Derry itself is the true monster here. The racism, the fear, the conformity — all the ugly human stuff that feeds Pennywise’s cosmic evil. It’s less about jump scares and more about that slow, festering dread that creeps up your spine and whispers, “Maybe don’t go outside tonight.”
The grocery store scene had me re-thinking my lunch for the next few days. And the return of the red balloon, well, let’s just say I never knew nostalgia had a flip side. To be this excited and terrified simultaneously was not something I knew was even possible. Fearcited… new emotion unlocked…
This episode also starts to connect more dots in the It universe. We see hints of the Hanlon family’s history, more about how Derry’s residents “forget” trauma, and even clues that Pennywise might not be the only entity at play. It’s deliciously mysterious — like unwrapping a cursed candy and realizing the wrapper’s written in Latin.
Themes & Lore Expansion
One thing Welcome to Derry nails is expanding the mythology without totally explaining it (yet). It gives us new insight into the cycle of fear that defines Derry, while sprinkling breadcrumbs for fans of the films and King’s original novel.
We get glimpses of how the town’s evil has infected generations, and how Pennywise’s influence might stretch further than we thought. The show doesn’t try to “reboot” the clown — it deepens him. Pennywise isn’t just a monster in the sewer anymore; he’s the living embodiment of everything people in Derry refuse to face.
Basically, he’s trauma with a party hat.
The Tone: Scary, Stylish, and Occasionally Silly
Let’s get this out of the way — yes, Welcome to Derry is scary. But it’s not just about jump scares. It’s more like that eerie feeling you get when you realize your reflection smiled a second too late.
However, the show also has its moments of unintentional comedy — mostly when the CGI tries to outdo the films. Some of the creature designs look like they escaped from a particularly avant-garde haunted house. But the performances keep it grounded — the cast sells the fear with genuine panic, and that’s what makes it work.
And props to the show for keeping that weird, dark humour alive. There’s a certain glee to the horror — that same twisted tone that made Pennywise funny right before he bites your arm off. It’s the kind of show that’ll make you laugh nervously one second and then clutch your blanket the next.
Final Thoughts: Welcome Back, Losers
If you loved the It remakes and wanted more — more lore, more scares, more balloon-based existential dread — Welcome to Derry delivers. It’s creepy, weirdly funny, and surprisingly emotional at times. The first two episodes are a strong (if uneven) start to what could be one of the best horror series in years.
Sure, it’s not perfect. Sometimes it bites off more than it can chew — and then spits it out in a flood of metaphorical (and sometimes literal) blood. But it’s undeniably entertaining, and most importantly, it feels like It.
Just don’t watch it alone. Or near a drain. Or during a power outage.
Because as Pennywise always says… you’ll float too.
⭐ Final Rating:
8/10 — Scary, stylish, and just unhinged enough to make you side-eye every balloon you see.
