We knew this moment would come in IT: Welcome to Derry, but we didn’t know that it would be this epic. Until episode five, we’ve felt the sinister aura of Pennywise floating all around our main characters like, well, a red balloon drifting in the sky. From some seriously scary moments to chilling whispers and more, it was only a matter of time before this clown came out to play. But, Welcome to Derry’s fifth episode finally took us into those dangerous tunnels to see the legendary Pennywise for the first time. And lemme tell ya, buddy was not clowning around.
In the episode, Lilly, Rich, Ronnie, and Will are shocked to discover Matty in a tent at their hideout spot. Matty claims that he was able to escape tunnels where a clown has held him hostage for months. Of course, the kids believe him and Ronnie wants him to go to the police to tell the truth. However, Matty says the cops will only send him back to his abusive home and that he’d rather live with a killer clown in tunnels than do that. (Truly the saddest statement ever.) Matty says that Phil is still alive, so they, along with newcomer Marge, decide to ban together to save him.
At the same time, Hanlon and the military along with a very reluctant Taniel are also going into the tunnels to locate the pillars and try to harness the entity. (SO STUPID!) Taniel initially has the protection of the ancient weapon from IT’s ship to protect him but he loses it while running away from the military. This ends up being a good thing for Lilly, because things soon go wrong. Matty leads them to the middle of the tunnels, where they find the bodies of all three of their friends… and Matty, too.
Yep, Matty starts singing a creepy song as his body transforms into the Pennywise form. Several calming pills is certainly not enough to stop the kids’ fear as they take off running. Pennywise goes in pursuit and corners Lilly, whom he taunts for bringing her friends straight to danger. He gets closer and nearly consumes her with sharp teeth but that weapon blocks him from coming closer. She picks it up and presumably uses it to make it out of the tunnels, which we do not see.
Meanwhile, Will nearly loses his life as he comes into the sights of his father, who thinks that he’s just an illusion. Leroy nearly shoots Will but Pauly jumps in the way to stop it and dies as a result of the gunshot. The kids watch in horror but follow a distraught Leroy, who is carrying Pauly’s body, out of the tunnels.
Now that Pennywise is officially on the scene in Welcome to Derry, we cannot wait to see what final massacre occurs. There’s a lot of things to explore in these final episodes of season one, so we will see you next week for more action.