The first season of IT: Welcome to Derry has shown that no one in the town of Derry, Maine, is safe. The HBO Max series acts as a prequel to the recent IT films, exploring the origins of Pennywise the Dancing Clown and his reign of terror in the 1960s. Across eight episodes, the show has delivered intense horror and emotional character moments. While the total death count is high, some losses stand out for their impact on the story and the audience. Here are three of the most tragic deaths from the season.
The Shocking Theater Massacre: Teddy, Phil, and Susie
The series established its brutal tone from the very first episode. In a sequence that left viewers stunned, three young characters introduced as part of the central friend group were violently killed. Teddy Uris, Phil Malkin, and his sister Susan “Susie” Malkin met their end in the Derry movie theater.
The friends had gathered to watch The Music Man, hoping to find clues about their missing friend, Matty Clements. Their search was cut short when a terrifying creature—a winged mutant baby representing the era’s nuclear fears—burst through the screen. The monster ripped Teddy in half and attacked Phil and Susie off-camera.
“We wanted to show people in the first episode of the show, this is not the movies. We wanted to pull the rug out from under people right away,” said executive producer Brad Caleb Kane. “You shouldn’t get too comfortable with anybody. Anything can happen”.
This event was the catalyst for the season’s main story. It shattered the world of survivor Lilly Bainbridge and her friend Ronnie Grogan, whose father was wrongly blamed for the murders. The deaths revealed the true, immediate threat of the entity haunting Derry and set the remaining kids on their dangerous path of investigation.
Rich Santos’s Heroic Sacrifice at The Black Spot
The death of Rich Santos was one of the season’s most emotional moments. A member of the new “Losers’ Club” formed by Lilly, Ronnie, Will Hanlon, and Marge Truman, Rich was a charismatic and loyal friend. His death occurred in Episode 7, “The Black Spot”, and it was a choice made out of bravery and care.
The episode revisited a tragic event from Derry’s past—the burning of a Black nightclub by a racist mob. While investigating this history, the kids found themselves in a supernatural re-creation of the fire. In a desperate moment, Rich sacrificed himself so that his crush, Marge, could escape the flames. His death was not just a random act of violence but a conscious act of heroism, which made it particularly devastating for the characters and the audience.
Rich’s spirit later played a crucial role in the season finale. When the remaining children struggled to bury a magical dagger to stop Pennywise, the ghost of Rich appeared to help them. He provided the final push needed to secure the weapon, defeating the clown and saving his friends one last time. His character arc, from a slightly skeptical newcomer to a selfless hero, marked one of the season’s most complete and touching journeys.
The Finale’s Major Casualties: Taniel and General Shaw
The season finale, “Winter Fire”, was packed with major confrontations and significant deaths. Two stands out for their narrative weight: Taniel, a member of the local Shokopiwah tribe, and General Francis Shaw, the military leader obsessed with weaponizing Pennywise.
Taniel, played by Joshua Odjick, served as a guide and protector. The Shokopiwah tribe had contained the entity called “It” for generations, and Taniel was a key link between this ancient knowledge and the main characters. In the final battle on the frozen river, as the children and adults raced to stop Pennywise from escaping Derry, U.S. military forces opened fire. Taniel was shot and killed. His death represented the destruction of ancient wisdom and the dire consequences of the military’s reckless interference.
General Shaw’s death was a grim payoff to his own ambition. Played by James Remar, Shaw had spent decades hunting the entity, aiming to control its fear-generating power as a weapon for the U.S. Army. In the end, he succeeded only in freeing it. After the military destroyed one of the mystical “Pillars” containing Pennywise, Shaw confronted the clown on the ice. As a reward for his efforts, Pennywise bit the general’s head off. His demise was a stark lesson on the folly of trying to harness a pure, cosmic evil.
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