‘It: Welcome To Derry’: The Real Horror Lies In Its Racist Backdrop

This article includes spoilers for “It: Welcome To Derry.”

“It: Welcome To Derry” is one of the most captivating TV series of the year — and Sunday’s episode is a prime example of its excellence.

The new HBO series is a prequel to the “It” films, which were adapted from Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name. The eight-episode series premiered in October and became HBO Max’s No. 3 premiere in terms of viewers, coming in after “House of the Dragon” and “The Last of Us,” Variety reported.

“It: Welcome To Derry” is set in 1962 in Derry, Maine, about 27 years before the end of the first movie. U.S. Air Force Major Leroy Hanlon, wife Charlotte and their son, Will, have moved to the town’s base just after a boy went missing. A group of kids — quite similar to the Losers’ Club made famous in “It” — starts looking for him and runs into a world of trouble. The Air Force and its local commanders are also attempting to contain the evil “entity” wreaking havoc in the town. In short, everything is going awry.

In Episode 7, which aired Sunday night, all hell breaks loose, and it’s worth unpacking the details. In this chat, HuffPost staffers talk about the series, its cast and why everyone needs to be watching this incredibly haunting series.

I had no idea what to expect when I started watching “It: Welcome To Derry.” But in each episode, I’m constantly impressed by the performances. The cast is led by Jovan Adepo, who you may know from another incredible HBO series, “Watchmen.” Adepo portrays Leroy Hanlon, an Air Force major who moves to Derry with his wife, Charlotte (Taylour Paige) and son, Will (Blake Cameron James). Chris Chalk has a remarkable turn as the sentient Dick Hallorann, and any time he appears on screen, I get the chills because he’s just that good at playing this haunting role. Will and his friends, Marge (Matilda Lawler), Rich (Arian S. Cartaya), Lilly (Clara Stark) and Ronnie (Amanda Christine), are the central kids to the story and are an impressive set of young actors. Marge’s evolution over this seven-episode arc has been so fun to watch, and seeing her build a closeness to Rich was one of those plotlines that was satisfying to watch even though it ended devastatingly. I broke out a whole section for us to chat about Bill Skarsgård’s menacing performance as Pennywise. — Erin

My favorite actor/character on the show is, hands down, Chalk’s Hallorann. He portrays him with such mystique, but he’s also one of the few experts in Derry who has some sense of what’s wreaking havoc on everyone, including himself. To me, he’s one of the most powerful characters on the show, both mentally and performance-wise. Adepo’s Leroy is up there, too, as one of the few willing to shake things up. He’s slowly but surely realizing the military’s corruption, and you can almost feel the intensity of his spiral. Ronnie, Will, Marge, Rich and Lilly are all portrayed excellently as well — I’ve been a fan of Cameron James’ acting ever since I saw him in “We Grown Now.” I appreciate that the kids’ innocence adds some levity to the show’s heaviest moments, especially Marge and Rich’s (short-lived) bond, which I’m definitely going to miss. Despite this ensemble cast shrinking by the episode (I really wonder who’s going to be alive by the end of the finale), they all help make “Welcome to Derry” such an interesting watch. — Njera

There are plenty of obvious Easter eggs in this adaptation — the Hanlon and Uris surnames as part of the Losers’ Club in “It”; Chalk’s Hallorann is the same name from King’s “The Shining”; Hallorann teaches Danny (Danny Lloyd) to use his psychic powers. But my favorite Easter eggs are in relation to King’s “The Shawshank Redemption”: Clint Bowers threatens Ronnie’s dad, Hank, with a prison sentence in Shawshank, and then later, Hank is ushered onto a bus to Shawshank Prison right before all hell breaks loose. — Erin

Hallorann’s “Shining” powers might be the best and most effective Easter egg in the whole show, since he’s such a crucial component of the military’s mission to track down Pennywise’s lair. He also mentions his grandma in one scene where a woman is seen floating above him. In King’s “It,” it’s known that Hallorann’s grandma has the Shining power as well and taught him how to use it. There are also a ton of foreshadowed characters hinted at in the show, like Alvin Marsh, the abusive father of the Losers’ Club’s Beverly. In Episode 1, his name is written inside a heart on the wall when Lilly and Marge are in the school bathroom. There’s also Derry police chief Clint Bowers, who shares a last name with “It” bully Henry Bowers. And, of course, there’s the Black Spot fire from King’s novel, which becomes another central and upsetting plot point in Episode 7. — Njera

First off, my mouth was agape for half the episode because I could not believe this absolutely wild series of events. After last week’s cliffhanger, I had already braced myself for the worst to happen at the Black Spot, but my God, “Welcome to Derry” literally went scorched earth. I know the scariest part of the show is supposed to be It/Pennywise, but as a Black viewer, the racial terror spooks me way more. Watching the club go up in flames as the white mob hurled bullets inside was heartbreaking enough, but the fact that they also locked everyone inside to ensure they wouldn’t escape filled me with such rage and sorrow. It was bad enough watching the Black soldiers and clubgoers get picked off one by one or die in the fire, but seeing how Rich (Arian S. Cartaya) sacrificed himself so Marge could hide in the trunk just broke my heart. He didn’t deserve to go out like that. The scene of him playing along with the club’s band was really his last moment of bliss. His death will, no doubt, leave a huge mark on the kids, along with the rest of their friends that they’ve lost to Pennywise’s cruelty. I’m glad Will (Blake Cameron James), Ronnie (Amanda Christine), Hank (Stephen Rider) and Hallorann (Chris Chalk) were able to make it out, though far from unscathed. That night will probably haunt them for a very long time.

On the other side, Episode 7 opened with another sad scene, too, finally showing us how It got ahold of Pennywise to begin with. Seems a little silly that all it took was a random child popping up to lure him into the dark woods, but that’s exactly how Ingrid (Madeleine Stowe) lost her father, and she’s been looking for him ever since — hence, her own clown costume. It’s a little bonkers that she thought the bloodshed of the fire and fear from everyone there would draw out Pennywise (who she still thinks is wholeheartedly her father) and they’d have a nice little family reunion. But, boy, did she get a rude awakening. I get that she desperately wants to find him, but I don’t think she thought about what this stunt could unleash. And unfortunately for us, we’re going to find out in the finale. — Njera

I never read the “It” novel, so I didn’t know how deep its racial themes went. However, “Welcome to Derry” has, in my opinion, done a good job of flushing out this storyline of everyday racist terror alongside It’s supernatural assault on the people of Derry. Which also makes this show a lot darker when you think about how characters like Hallorann, Will and Ronnie have to deal with both of these terrors daily. Not to mention the racism that Major Leroy also deals with on the military base from his fellow service members. They all help shape the consensus that, no matter what is terrorizing this town (or any place in America), people need something to place blame for the evils of the world.

As a civil rights activist, Taylour Paige’s character, Charlotte Hanlon (wife of Leroy and mother to Will), has the most overt connection to how “Welcome to Derry” tackles racism, which is arguably the show’s biggest, most haunting monster of all. We see that most in how she tries to help Hank, who’s become the scapegoat for all the kids’ disappearances in town (as if that’s not enough, he’s also having an affair with Ingrid, another surefire way to get him killed by the local racists).

Paige expounded on her character’s role in this complex narrative in an interview with Variety, saying, “What could be more insidious than racism and people being killed for the color of their skin?”

She continued: “Even when I met [co-creators] Barbara and Andy [Muschietti], I thought it was an interesting, complex way to go about depicting 1962 America Cold War racism. You’ve got so much more to do than just figure out who’s killing these kids, and the show considers scapegoatism, how society needs an enemy.”

The racist backdrop of “Welcome to Derry,” indeed, makes it a more intense watch. But it also elevates the series from being just another scary iteration of “It” to something with a lot more substance. — Njera

“Welcome To Derry” is actually making me want to read the book — I know there’s a lot more to unpack and understand from King’s novel. (It’s over 1,100 pages!) In some ways, it feels like the creators of “Welcome To Derry” — Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs all worked on the “It” films as well — are trying to make up for some sore spots from the films. A former colleague wrote an essay critiquing the 2017 film “It” for erasing Mike Hanlon’s narrative.

“The film doesn’t just flatten Mike’s backstory. It reduces him to the kind of token black character that King’s novel was so adept at avoiding. In the film, Mike barely has any lines,” Zak Cheney-Rice wrote for Mic in 2017. “His blackness seems largely incidental. And as a result, the film never has to address the messy topic of race or how it informs the lone black character’s life.”

Thankfully, the TV show is able to really dig into more complex themes, and it’s paying off big time with these new storylines featuring Hanlon’s family along with Ronnie and Hank’s plot. — Erin

When Pennywise makes his full appearance in Episode 5, I was scared out of my mind. The buildup to finally seeing him in all his clown glory paid off. It’s easy to immediately want to compare Skarsgård’s performance to Tim Curry’s turn in the “It” miniseries. Frankly, there’s something sinister and hauntingly goofy about Skarsgård’s Pennywise that I enjoy, and I love that he’s made Pennywise uniquely his own. — Erin

Skarsgård was absolutely terrifying in the “It” films, and he’s just as frightening in “Welcome to Derry.” Something about his version of Pennywise is so damn creepy, which works perfectly for the character itself. I love that the show worked its way up to introducing Pennywise fully, instead of having him appear in full at the start of the season. It just added a sense of eeriness to what we knew was eventually coming: absolute terror from this crazy-ass clown. I’m glad the series got Skarsgård back in this role, because I can’t imagine who else today could top his performance. — Njera

I’m still so shook up from Episode 7 that I don’t even know where to begin. Will gets snatched up by Pennywise, but this can’t be the end of Will’s story. I’m very curious to see what happens to Hank and if he’s able to get across the border. Poor, poor Marge. The only thing I’m sure of is that Pennywise is about to wreak havoc on Derry — and I’m terrified to see exactly what happens next. All I know is that HBO better get on that renewal for Season 2. — Erin

I just pray Will makes it through the season, and that Hank doesn’t ultimately get crucified for what Pennywise has done to the town’s kids. But as we have seen so far this season, nothing and no one’s fate is guaranteed a happy ending. And with a show like this, we can only brace ourselves for what will likely be the most terrifying episode yet. I hope we won’t have to wait forever for Season 2, because there’s no way this season finale will give us all the closure we need. — Njera

“It: Welcome To Derry” airs on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday nights.