My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "Winter Fire"

 

Written by Jason Fuchs 

Directed by Andy Muschietti 

Ingrid (to Beverly): "You know what they say about Derry. No one whoever dies here ever really dies."

And that's how you stick the landing. What a finale. All the big stories and themes coming to a satisfactory conclusion and more linkage to the movies themselves. All in the space of 68 minutes. I loved this episode.

Last week, Pennywise abducted Will and this week he went one step further and took the majority of the kids from Derry. This meant Lilly, Ronnie and Marge had to team up with the dagger to stop Pennywise while Leroy and Hallorann also went against General Shaw and even each other to an extent.

I can see why Hallorann wasn't keen to get involved considering the shit he's been through but that's where having Charlotte and Rose turned out to be of use. Both were able to get through to him better than Leroy and as the only responsible adults (plus Hank), they also tried to step up to save the day.

As for the irresponsible adult, damn that idiot General Shaw. His brazen arrogance and stupidity was the reason Pennywise got free in the first place. Shaw was daft enough to believe that he could control Pennywise and found out in record time just how wrong he was. Unlike Ingrid, who was misguided, Shaw knew exactly what he was doing and he got the most deserved comeuppance for it.

As for Pennywise. He was vicious, he was cruel and wasn't afraid to drop spoilers at random to Marge when he wasn't using his Dead Lights. He also went up against the wrong group of kids and got put to sleep. Then again, he's got twenty seven years to plot his revenge.

Pennywise's defeat closed the chapter for these kids. Marge now knows she's got a son and told Lilly about Pennywise's relationship with time. The Hanlons got to take over Rose's duties of guarding the cage while Ronnie and Hank get to escape Derry. Someone had to get out of town and it made the most sense for it to be Ronnie and Hank.

- Yes, Marge was revealed to be the mother of Ritchie Tozier from the IT movies. Hallorann decided to check into a hotel. 

- Speaking of those movies, it was nice to see both Sophia Lillis and Joan Gregson reprise there roles as Beverly Marsh and the older Ingrid respectively.

- Standout music: Max Hansen's Det er det skønneste jeg ved.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Winter Fire really was the perfect way to end this series. At the same time, I'm hoping that Andy Muschietti will get to have the second and third seasons that he wants for this show. An absolutely brilliant ending all round.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "The Black Spot"

 

Written by Jason Fuchs And Brad Caleb Kane 

Directed by Andy Muschietti 

Pennywise (to Ingrid): "Come to Papa!"

Now, that was one hell of a penultimate episode. I think this might be the best episode of the show so far and it certainly added extra pressure for the finale to stick the landing. Where do I start here?

Obviously with the opening flashback. A young Ingrid was desperate to impress her father by becoming the new Periwinkle. Then there was the horror of her father, Bob Gray being killed and taken over by Pennywise.

I'll admit that fifty four years might be a long time for someone to be reunited with their father but Ingrid's seemingly had such a shit life I can see why she was so desperate to believe Pennywise was her father. Madeleine Stowe delivered a rather heartbreaking performance as Ingrid realised too late that Pennywise wasn't her father.

Despite Ingrid's actions causing a lot of the mayhem this season, there was something tragic in what became of her after Pennywise deemed her no longer useful. As for her husband, that guy got exactly what he deserved and I cheered his comeuppance. Even Pennywise can do good, even if it's not his intention. 

As for the rest of the episode, I loved that everyone in The Black Spot tried to protect Hank from Bowers and his racist sidekicks. Unfortunately the place burned to the ground and Hank barely managed to escape, thanks to Charlotte's help. Oh and a lot of deaths too.

The most poignant death being Rich. The show struck gold with the child actors and the scenes between both Rich and Marge were sad. Likewise, Ronnie's reaction to losing her father again, Lilly's general despair and Will's final scene with Pennywise also did the groundwork for the finale.

- General Shaw didn't hold back telling Leroy his plan to control Pennywise. He's going to get everyone killed next week.

- Not as much of Hallorann in this episode but he had some great moments with the smaller screentime he had.

- Standout music: The Wilburn Brothers Trouble's Back In Town.

- Chronology: 1908 flashbacks for Ingrid, Bob and Pennywise as well as picking up from where the previous episode left off.

The Black Spot absolutely delivered as a penultimate episode. Pennywise didn't mess around with the sheer chaos he caused and the scenes between him, Ingrid and Will were the best. I can't wait to see how the finale pans out.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "In The Name Of The Father"

 

Written by Jason Fuchs And Cord Jefferson And Brad Caleb Kane

Directed by Jamie Travis

Pennywise: "Hello Mabel. You finally came and you brought a friend."

Ingrid: "Papa?"

Well, gotta admit, I didn't see that coming. Ingrid Kirsch really did turn out to be a woman of many secrets. Last week, there was the reveal that she was sleeping with Hank but that now seemed like small potatoes compared to what happened here.

A flashback to 1935 in Juniper Hill revealed that Ingrid used a young girl named Mabel in order to summon Pennywise. Granted while it wasn't Ingrid's intention for Mabel to be harmed, that's exactly what ended up happening. Why was Ingrid so desperate to get Pennywise's attention?

It turned out that Ingrid was convinced that Pennywise was her father who disappeared when she was a girl. Her father was part of a circus act as was Ingrid herself and she's convinced herself about the truth of Pennywise's real identity. Of course, it got better/worse, depending on perspective here.

In the worse category, this meant that Ingrid had effectively betrayed Lilly and put the latter and her friends in danger. Ingrid was the clown at the graveyard and she did a horrible job of trying to get her side of the story across to Lilly. Needless to say Lilly's reaction to this news was an expected one.

As for the rest of the Losers, we had both Lilly and Ronnie fall out big time with Will, Marge and Rich caught in the middle of them both. On the plus side, Ronnie did get a reunion with Hank but then things took a turn for the worst with Bowers by the end of the episode. Saying that, it was expected.

Last but not least, Leroy well and truly messed up with this episode. His slapping of Will was a shocker that even Charlotte ended up packing her bags. Things with him and Hallorann weren't exactly great. Hallorann in particular was pretty snappy this week. 

- Ingrid went by Periwinkle in her own clown costume. Cool name for a sidekick.

- Rich and Marge got closer as did Will and Ronnie. Lilly was the most isolated member of the group.

- I liked the use of black and white during the Ingrid flashbacks. Marge also standing up to the Pattycakes was a nice moment.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off and 1935 flashbacks. Nice set up for Season 2 there.

In The Name Of The Father was a very strong episode. Madeleine Stowe and Chris Chalk gave the best performances but again, this show's casting has been so strong and the new layers with Pennywise are great.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "29 Neibolt Street"

 

Written by Brad Caleb Kane

Directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr.

Pennywise: "Duck and cover, kiddos."

And that's how you do a reveal. I've been a bit impatient in wanting to see Bill Skarsgard back at it as Pennywise but my God, that was actually worth it. What a delightfully horrifying way of bringing Pennywise to the forefront.

I should've guessed that there was something about Matty suddenly reappearing to the gang that seemed off. A gang that now added Marge into the ranks given that she and Lilly got their friendship back on track.

Anyways, the gang plus "Matty" decided to take some Benzos and head down to the sewers in order to locate Pennywise in the latest attempt to free Hank. It went about as well as expected as "Matty" morphed into Pennywise and scared the bejesus out of the kids big time. 

Don't worry, the adults weren't getting off lightly either. General Shaw managed to track the location to the episodes title and the military also learned in record time that Pennywise wasn't to be fucked with. The two characters who learned that lesson the most - Leroy Hanlon and Pauly Russo. 

The episode felt that properly the deaths from the first episode wasn't enough. In this episode, Leroy came close to killing both Charlotte and Will. He snapped out of it first time but had Pauly not sacrificed himself, Leroy would have had his son's death on his hands. 

As for the rest of the episode, there was time for Hank to escape Shawshank and for it to be revealed that Ingrid's the married white woman he's having an affair with. Oh and we got a look into Hallorann's past with his grandparents and it wasn't a bit pleasant.

- I'm glad that Marge helped clear Lilly's name. Rich clearly has a crush on her as well.

- I'm not getting any good vibes off Ingrid's husband whatsoever. He seems abusive.

- Standout music: Timi Yuro's Satan Never Sleeps.

- Chronology: A few days since the events of the previous episode.

29 Neibolt Street was the jolt needed for the show. While I'll admit there's some CGI issues in general, the handling of Pennywise was practically note perfect. What a brilliant way of bringing him out.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "The Great Swirling Apparatus Of Our Planet's Function"

 

Written by Helen Shang

Directed by Andrew Bernstein 

Hallorann (to Taniel): "What they want me to do to you. It's not going to be pleasant."

Now we're at the halfway point of this show, it's definitely time for Bill Skarsgard to show up and wreck proper havoc on the Derry residents. I'm hoping this will be the last episode not to feature him.

Following the events of the previous episode, Lilly along with Ronnie, Will and Rich tried to show their photographs to Bowers in order to free Hank. Sadly the photos weren't enough to get Bowers on side. That guy really does want to see Hank sent to Shawshank, doesn't he?

Anyways, the photos did get discovered by Charlotte with Will having to fill her in on everything. Charlotte took it upon herself to strongarm Bowers into letting her visit Hank and the latter confessed to an affair with a married white woman. Needless to say that was something that Hank didn't want to confess to Bowers to for sadly good reasons.

As for the kids, Will's fishing trip with own father led to another creepy encounter in the water and then there was Marge. I actually had to look away during that eye scene, it was genuinely that horrifying to watch. On a frustrating note, I also didn't like that everyone assumed that Lilly attacked her when we know what really happened to her.

Getting to the root of the episode, I'm not loving the military subplot and I really hate that General Shaw's stupid enough to think that having Hallorann as an ace up his sleeve will result in being able to control Pennywise. He's going to end up getting a lot of people killed in the second half of the season.

Saying that, I actually do think Chris Chalk better be up for some award love in the next twelve months. He's doing amazing stuff as Hallorann and the scene with him invading the mind of poor Taniel (Joshua Odjick) at least provided a nice origin story for what's been terrorising Derry all these years.

- Will definitely has it bad for Ronnie as both his parents now seem to be aware of. 

- Marge really was going to go ahead and let those mean girls humiliate Lilly. This episode also revealed that Madeleine Stowe's character is called Ingrid. Ingrid talked about missing kids in the 1930s.

- Standout music: Ray Charles What I'd Say and Bo Diddley's You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

The Great Swirling Apparatus Of Our Planet's Function, I'll admit that's a rather cool title for the show itself. The episode was good, largely for the goriness of Marge's eye scene and everything involving Hallorann.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "Now You See It"

 

Written by Guadalís Del Carmen And Gabe Hobson

Directed by Andrew Bernstein

Lilly (re Pennywise): "What is that?"

Will: "It's a clown."

After the early Halloween release of the previous episode, I had over a week to wait for this third one and it certainly had some great moments in it.

First of all, let's check in our new/old Losers Club. Lilly and Ronnie made amends and both Will and Rich joined them in a bid to help free Hank from a potential death sentence. Rich had the notion of an orisha being to blame.

This meant a botched ritual at the graveyard where the kids ended up having to deal with a lot of different spooky goings on. On the plus side, at least their photos actually developed and wouldn't you know it, Pennywise briefly showed up as well. 

Aside from a brief photo appearance of Pennywise, the rest of the episode gave a nice backstory for General Shaw. In flashbacks, he encountered It as a child (Diesel La Torraca) and formed a friendship with a Native American girl named Rose (Violet Sutherland).

In the present, Shaw reconnected with Rose (Kimberly Norris Guerrero) and wanted to work with her not to disturb ground while enlisting Hallorann to do some recon with both Hanlon and Russo. Let's just that Hallorann's ability managed to freak both Hanlon and Russo.

There's a nice where Hallorann had dinner with Leroy and Charlotte and confided in the former more about his abilities. I've got to admit that I'm really liking Chris Chalk's take on Hallorann so far. 

- This episode introduced us to Madeleine Stowe's mystery character. She encouraged Lilly to make amends with Ronnie.

- Hank smokes a certain brand of cigarettes and it's not Pall Mall. He was also threatened with Shawshank. 

- Shaw's slingshot was the thing that Hallorann used to locate. 

- Chronology: Flashbacks to 1908 for Shaw/Rose before going back to 1962.

Now You See It helped to move things a little bit further. Hallorann got some great screentime in this one and the graveyard scene had some nice scares. Though not as strong as the first two episodes, I still enjoyed this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "The Thing In The Dark"

 

Written by Austin Guzman

Directed by Andy Muschietti 

Leroy: "What exactly are we looking for?"

General Shaw: "Something that was buried in Derry a long time ago."

Following that brutal opening episode, it was to be expected that things wouldn't let up for the actual survivors of that mutant baby encounter. Things just went from bad to worse for both Lilly and Ronnie and they didn't even have each other to depend on.

For Lilly, her sanity was questioned again and again. Her so called friend Marge (Matilda Lawlor) was more desperate to retain her new found popularity than trying to help a clearly traumatised Lilly. Even Lilly's own mother seemed more desperate to send her back to Juniper Hill than to actually help.

It also didn't help that Lilly and Ronnie couldn't even help each other. Due to the era in question, Ronnie's father ended up being a suspect for the murdered kids and Lilly was tricked into confirming their biases towards poor Hank.

I knew with this time setting that racism would naturally factor into things. Hank was targeted for his race and there's one teacher in the episode who seemed to extra unkind towards both Ronnie and Leroy's son, Will (Blake Cameron James). At least both Will and Ronnie managed to strike up a friendship while Lilly had the worst of spooky encounters in a supermarket.

Pivoting back to the Hanlons, not only did Leroy figure out that it was General Shaw who organised the attack on him in order to test him but it turned out that spoiler was true. It looks like the government are actually daft enough to try and use Pennywise as a weapon in the Cold War. I can only imagine how much of a disaster that's going to be. Oh and the car with Matt and that family from the first episode was dredged up.

Leroy and his family had a lot of focus this episode. We got to meet Leroy's wife, Charlotte (Taylour Paige). Already she's a brilliant character, who's more than willing to stick her neck out to fight against anything wrong. That did seem to put Charlotte and Leroy at odds but they're still the only stable couple on the show this far.

-  I like the opening titles but I'm hating this tradition of them being introduced in the second episode. Too many shows are doing this these days.

- We got another freaky birth sequence this episode as well as Lilly's nightmare visions of her father. Native Americans were watching Dick Hallorann helping the army in the woods.

- Standout music: Patience and Prudence's A Smile And A Ribbon.

- Chronology: Not long from where the first episode left off.

The Thing In The Dark certainly proved the first episode wasn't a fluke. It was a strong follow up with plenty of gross moments. Lily, Ronnie and the Hanlons are definitely the glue and I'm curious to see how the main plot will unfold.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "The Pilot"

 

Written by Jason Fuchs

Directed by Andy Muschietti 

Lilly: "We're going to get you out."

Matty: "No, you won't. You're the reason I'm in here."

HBO perfectly timed the released for this show. With less than a week to go until Halloween, it was time to see what brand of chaos was unleashed on Derry before the events of the IT movies.

The opening episode started off with Matt Clements (Miles Ekhardt). He snuck into see a movie called The Music Man and briefly encountered Ronnie Grogan (Amanda Christine) before getting into a car with a strange couple and their childen. It was a car journey that Matt ultimately wouldn't survive.

Cut to four months later and you've got the focus on several young kids who are drawn to each other because of Matt's death. There's the alien believing Phil Malkin (Jack Molloy Legault), his sister Susie (Matilda Legault) and his best friend, Jewish kid, Teddy Uris (Mikkal Karim-Fidler). Oh and there's Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack).

They've all felt the loss of Matty but while Phil was initially in denial about what happened to Matt, both Teddy and Lilly force him to face up to it. Along with Susie, they soon encountered Ronnie and a trip to the cinema at night led to an almighty bloodbath.

Every once in a while I can be surprised with how far a television show can push the gore factor and I was pretty shocked with how far this one pushed things. With the exception of Lilly and Ronnie, every other kid in that scene got absolutely slaughtered by the mutant baby. Talk about pushing the rating there.

As for the rest of the episode, there's an air force subplot involving returning Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) and Captain Pauly Russo (Rudy Mancuso). While Leroy experienced racism, he did have support from General Shaw (James Remar) but it didn't stop an incident where masked men nearly killed him over classified information. I'm sure that information will be relevant later on.

- Other actors who appeared in this first episode included Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann. Bill Skarsgard will appear as Pennywise later in the season.

- Teddy was reading comics about The Flash and Clayface, Phil was obsessed with breastfeeding, Ronnie's father was a suspect, Susie had great handwriting, Lily spent time in Juniper Hill and Matt used a pacifier when he was stressed.

- Standout music: Ya Got Trouble from the movie Matt ended up trapped in.

- Chronology: January 1962, before it moved into May. Derry, Maine of course.

The Pilot showed a hell of a lot of trouble with the lead cast on great form and top notch directing from Andy Muschietti. He's set a high bar that hopefully can be maintained for the rest of the season.

Rating: 8 out of 10