‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Explained: The Stephen King Connections & References in Season One’s Finale

WARNING: The Following contains major spoilers for It: Welcome to Derry episode eight.

After seven thrilling episodes, It: Welcome to Derry concludes its inaugural season with “Winter Fire,” a powerhouse finale that effectively wraps up the town’s 1962 cycle of death and destruction while peppering in shrewd connections to Stephen King’s larger body of work.

With Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) unbound by the protective Pillars previously used to confine him to Derry, the monster has emerged from his subterranean lair, seemingly ready to skip his traditional 27-year hibernation and continue to feast on children’s fear. This shift coincides with a mysterious fog that spreads through town, bringing out-of-season ice and snow while providing cover for the clown’s sinister deeds. Constant Readers will undoubtedly be reminded of another tiny Maine town overtaken by a deadly haze. 

King’s 1985 collection Skeleton Crew opens with “The Mist,” a novella in which a heavy summer storm is followed by dense clouds spreading through Bridgton, Maine, sparking chaos among the frightened survivors while cloaking a variety of massive beasts.  Co-creator Jason Fuchs has stated that the mist permeating Derry is not the same phenomenon that decimates Bridgton, but comparisons are nonetheless eerie. The Bridgton disaster is reportedly caused by a dangerous experiment at a nearby military base and the mysterious Project Arrowhead, reminiscent of General Shaw (James Remar) and his reckless Project Precept. Anyone familiar with King’s harrowing “The Mist” — not to mention Frank Darabont‘s devastating 2007 adaptation — will no doubt see this mist rolling through town and worry that Derry may be headed for a similar fate. 

After watching the weather turn from their lofty clubhouse, Marge (Matilda Lawler), Lilly (Clara Stack), and Ronnie (Amanda Christine) descend the stairs to find the walls of the Standpipe covered with Missing posters emblazoned with the images of Derry’s kids. Most upsetting is a flyer featuring Will (Blake Cameron James), who was pulled into Pennywise’s Deadlights in the final moments of episode 7. These bulletins nod to one of co-creator Andy Muschietti‘s more sinister visual frights in his 2017 adaptation It. After entering the house on Neibolt Street, Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard) is confronted with a Missing poster featuring his own smiling face. Determined to save their friend and still reeling from the deadly Black Spot fire, Marge insists, “I wanna kill that fucking clown,” paraphrasing Richie’s explicit call to arms in Muschietti’s It and It: Chapter Two. 

Disoriented by the freezing mist, the girls follow a trail of blood into the woods. But with just one bike between them, they’re unable to move fast enough. Fortunately, Marge commandeers an abandoned delivery truck after spying a milkman lying dead nearby, cleverly nodding to two of King’s most bizarre short stories. Skeleton Crew also features a pair of entries reworked from snippets of an abandoned novel. “Morning Deliveries (Milkman No. 1)” and “Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman No. 2)” are unsettling vignettes following Spike, a milkman and suspected serial killer who delights in delivering deadly ingredients like poisoned gas and venomous spiders hidden inside his bottles of milk. When Marge mentions learning to drive a truck by watching her uncle, Constant Readers may also remember another story collected in Skeleton Crew. “Uncle Otto’s Truck” is an eerie Castle Rock tale following a man plagued by guilt that takes the form of an abandoned truck creeping immeasurably closer to his bedroom window. 

Among those still left to battle the clown, none has been terrorized quite like Dick Hallorran (Chris Chalk). While using his telepathic powers to locate the Entity, Pennywise was able to infiltrate Dick’s mind and release a host of ominous spirits previously trapped in a mental lockbox. Terrorized by visions of the dead, Dick accepts a potent tea from Rose (Kimberly Guerrero), who promises it will help silence their voices.

This concoction is made from Maturin root, used as a hallucinogenic in Muschietti’s It: Chapter Two. Both inclusions of this mysterious plant reference an interdimensional turtle named Maturin who serves as a benevolent counterweight to the relentless evil of Pennywise. (For more information on Maturin, see our recap of episode 1). Rose explains that ingesting this root will connect Hallorann “to all things in the realm this evil came from.” Though she does not use the explicit term, Rose is referencing Todash Space, a liminal void between other worlds from which Pennywise – along with the aforementioned Bridgton monsters — likely originates. This tea not only allows Dick to quiet the dead and locate the Entity, but he’s also able to hijack Pennywise’s own consciousness and create a mental distraction while the kids attempt to rebury the Pillar. This metaphysical ruse sets up a similar tactic that Hallorann’s protege, Danny Torrance, will use to battle the True Knot in King’s 2013 novel Doctor Sleep. 

While this reference is admittedly thematic in nature, Muschietti wraps up Dick’s time in Derry with an overt nod to his origin story. Once Pennywise has been subdued, Hallorann plans to leave the military and try his hand at a new career. While saying goodbye, he mentions accepting an opportunity to cook at a friend’s hotel, foreshadowing his time as Head Chef at the sinister Overlook Hotel, first introduced in King’s 1977 novel, The Shining. Inside, he will be confronted with more visions of the dead, which seem to feed on his strange abilities. Hallorann quips, “How much trouble could a hotel be?” an ominous precursor to the horrors he will face in another of King’s most terrifying tales. 

In the midst of this episode’s jaw-dropping climax, Marge also gets a window into her own future. Having cornered the frightened girl away from her friends, Pennywise refers to her as Margaret Tozier, before noting that this is not her name … yet. After weeks of fan theories and speculation — sparked by the character’s thick glasses and affinity for impressions which heavily mirror Richie’s own persona — this name drop confirms that Marge is the future mother of Losers’ Club member Richie Tozier, forming a direct link between her survival and It’s demise. We don’t yet know who Richie’s father will be, but considering the events of episode 7, we can now assume that Marge will name her son after Rich Santos (Arian S. Cartaya), the brave boy who died to save her life. 

Marge turns this encounter over in her mind, wondering about the limits of the Entity’s power. Revealing that her child will one day cause It’s death, the trickster clown also alludes to the cyclical nature of time itself and warns that this end will also serve as a birth. Marge worries that It has the power to target her ancestors in previous cycles, potentially wiping out the Losers’ Club and their hard-won victory before it begins. Lilly calms her fears, noting that this will be “someone else’s fight,” simultaneously referring to the events of King’s novel and the remaining two seasons of It: Welcome to Derry, which promise to chronicle earlier Interludes. As the final credits roll, eagle-eyed viewers will note a subtle addition to the script. “Chapter One” not only mirrors the conclusion of Muschietti’s It, but promises a return to this troubled town. 

Also wary of the monster’s resurgence, Rose believes she’s found a new generation of guardians. Devastated by her nephew’s death, she offers to sell her farm to the Hanlons and, along with it, the task of monitoring Derry to make sure the Pillars stay in place. Though the Hanlons initially balk at this invitation, Charlotte (Taylour Paige) convinces her husband Leroy (Jovan Adepo) to stay, mirroring her grandson’s role in future cycles. After battling the shapeshifting nightmare as kids, members of the Losers’ Club scatter to the winds, growing wildly successful in their respective fields. But Mike Hanlon stays behind, dedicating his life to keeping the watch. While waiting for the monster to arise, he begins researching the town’s history, compiling his findings into four literary Interludes which will become the basis of It: Welcome to Derry. 

Despite this heartwarming conclusion, Muschietti is not yet done with the terror. A post-credits scene takes us inside Juniper Hill, a hospital for the mentally ill, where we see a disturbed Ingrid Kersh (Madeleine Stowe) ranting about the murderous clown. Muschietti then fast forwards to 1988, the year before the Losers’ Club forms. Joan Gregson reprises her role as the elderly Mrs. Kersh, nodding to her unsettling appearance in It: Chapter Two (see our recap of the Mrs. Kersh lore). 

The unnervingly cheerful woman hears sobbing from an open room and patters down the hall to take a peek. Inside, another patient named Elfrida Marsh has finally succeeded in dying by suicide. Standing in the doorway, Ingrid ignores the woman’s dangling body to focus on her grieving daughter. Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis) attempts to console her abusive father before turning to lock eyes with Mrs. Kersh, who promises that “no one who dies in Derry ever really dies.” She will later echo this ominous phrase as a warning to an adult Beverly (Jessica Chastain) as she returns to Derry, intent on killing Pennywise once and for all.

This connection also brings the episode’s title full circle. “Winter Fire” not only describes the icy fog overtaking the town, but references a line from a romantic poem sent to Beverly from a secret admirer, revealed to be fellow Loser Ben Hanscomb. This connection draws a direct line between Mrs. Kersh and her future victim while reminding us that both evil and good exist side by side within the borders of King’s infamous town.

For more on It:Welcome to Derry, check out episode by episode coverage from Bloody FM’s The Losers’ Club: A Stephen King Podcast.

 

The post ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Explained: The Stephen King Connections & References in Season One’s Finale appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.