IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 7: Pennywise’s Shocking Origin and a Deadly Attack

Still from It: Welcome to Derry (Image via HBO)

Written by

Saikat Nandy

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The latest episode of IT: Welcome to Derry delivers its most horrifying chapter yet. Episode 7, titled “The Black Spot,” reveals the secret origin of Pennywise the Dancing Clown and puts the main characters through a devastating attack. The episode moves between a key flashback and the terrifying present-day events of 1962.

For the first time, viewers see the man behind the monster. In a flashback to 1908, a performer named Bob Gray works as a circus clown named Pennywise. He is a sad, widowed father who performs a melancholy act about his dead wife for children. His young daughter, Ingrid, adores him. This ordinary man is targeted by the ancient evil entity known as It, which takes the form of a strange child to lure him into the woods. Bob Gray disappears, leaving only a bloody handkerchief behind. This moment shows how the entity took the form of a clown, a disguise perfect for luring children.

Back in 1962, the episode builds toward a terrible event. A racist mob targets The Black Spot, a Black-owned bar where characters are hiding. They lock the doors and set the building on fire. During the chaos and violence, the real monster arrives. Pennywise appears to feast on the fear and the victims, turning the human hatred into a feeding ground.

How Bob Gray Became the Face of a Monster

The opening of the episode changes how fans see Pennywise. Before he was a terrifying entity, he was Bob Gray, a struggling human performer. Bill Skarsgård plays this version of the clown without the overt horror, showing a man who is pathetic and sad rather than evil. His act involves a toy music box and a weird, non-verbal dance that explores life and death. The children in the audience eventually rush the stage to mock him, a cruel twist that his daughter mistakes for joy.

This human connection is why the entity chose him. After his performance, a child with glowing eyes approaches Bob in the woods. The child is It. It tells Bob, “The children seem drawn to you”. The creature sees the clown’s unique power to attract children, making his form the perfect lure for future feeding. Bob follows the child into the darkness and is never seen again. The entity consumed him and stole his identity, using his recognizable and appealing form for its own purposes for decades to come.

The Tragic Fire at The Black Spot

The main plot of the episode focuses on a planned act of violence. Hank Grogan, a Black man falsely accused of a crime, is hiding at The Black Spot bar with several of the show’s young heroes. A masked mob, tipped off by Ingrid Kersh who wanted to create violence to lure Pennywise, storms the bar. They lock everyone inside and throw Molotov cocktails through the windows, setting the building ablaze.

The scene is a brutal set piece of horror and heroism. As the fire spreads, characters fight to survive. In a particularly tragic moment, the young boy Rich Santos saves the girl he likes, Marge Truman, by placing her in a freezer and lying on top of it to protect her from the flames. He confesses his feelings for her as he dies. Other airmen are shot trying to escape.

Pennywise appears in the middle of the carnage, not causing the fire but exploiting it. He attacks victims trapped in the burning building, adding supernatural horror to the human-made tragedy. The event ends with 17 airmen and several civilians dead, and the town’s official story absurdly calls it an “electrical fire”.

The Deadlights Attack and a Premature Awakening

The episode features two major uses of Pennywise’s ultimate power: the Deadlights. These are not just an attack but the true form of the ancient entity, a blinding, soul-consuming energy that can leave victims catatonic or insane.

The first victim is Ingrid Kersh, now an older woman still obsessed with finding her father. After helping cause the fire, she confronts Pennywise, finally realizing he is not her father but the thing that ate him. Pennywise confirms this cruelly.

“Oh. I ate him,” he says before laughing.
He then hits her with the Deadlights, and her body is later found in a near-comatose state, though her eyes eerily move.

The episode’s ending delivers a second, more dangerous attack. After the fire, Pennywise goes into his usual 27-year hibernation. However, the U.S. military, led by General Shaw, has other plans. They discover a mystical pillar that helps cage the entity and decide to melt it down. Shaw believes fear is the only thing that can unite a fracturing America and wants to use Pennywise as a weapon. This act accidentally wakes the entity decades early.

The final scene shows a newly awakened and furious Pennywise attacking young Will Hanlon. Covered in what appears to be Indigenous war paint, he pins Will down and unleashes the Deadlights on him. Will’s fate is left unknown as the screen cuts to black, creating a major cliffhanger for the season finale.

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Where to Watch the Season Finale

Episode 8, the Season 1 finale, is scheduled to air and stream next. It will be available on Sunday, December 14, on HBO and the Max streaming service. The episode will be released at the following times:

RegionTimeDate
USA (PT)6:00 PMSunday, Dec 14
USA (ET)9:00 PMSunday, Dec 14
United Kingdom2:00 AMMonday, Dec 15
India6:30 AMMonday, Dec 15
Australia11:00 AMMonday, Dec 15

The finale will resolve the cliffhangers involving Will Hanlon and Ingrid Kersh, and show the consequences of the military setting Pennywise free.

Also Read: Freya Allan Ensures The Witcher Season 4 Stays True to the Books, Carrying On Henry Cavill’s Legacy

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