The first season of IT: Welcome to Derry on HBO Max ended with a major reveal that confirms a fan theory and reshapes the entire franchise. In the season finale titled “Winter Fire,” Pennywise directly tells a central character that she will become the mother of a future Losers’ Club member. This connection adds new emotional weight to the original films and sets up a time-bending battle for future seasons.
Pennywise’s Shocking Confrontation and Marge’s Future
The season’s final episode opens with Pennywise breaking free after one of the ancient pillars containing him is destroyed. He unleashes a terrifying fog across Derry and uses his power to hypnotize a large group of children from the local school. As Marge Truman gets separated from her friends on an icy lake, Pennywise corners her for a personal confrontation.
During this scene, the clown refers to her by a different name: “Margaret Tozier.” Confused, Marge says that is not her name. Pennywise then explains that she will one day have a son named Richie. To prove his point, he shows her a missing child poster from the future featuring the face of Finn Wolfhard, the actor who played young Richie Tozier in the 2017 IT film.
Pennywise reveals he knows that this future son and his friends will one day cause his death. He experiences time differently than humans, seeing past, present, and future as one. His plan is to kill Marge now to stop Richie Tozier from ever being born, thereby preventing his own future demise.
The Heartbreaking Origin of Richie Tozier’s Name
This revelation confirms a theory fans have discussed since the middle of the season. The connection became a strong possibility after the tragic events of Episode 7, “The Black Spot”. In that episode, a racist mob sets fire to a safe haven. Marge is trapped inside with a boy named Rich Santos, who has a clear affection for her.
With no clear escape, Rich helps Marge hide inside a refrigerator to protect her from the smoke and flames. He stays outside, lying on top of the door to shield her, and dies in the fire. Rich’s sacrifice left a deep impression on fans, who began to suspect Marge might later honor him by naming a child after him.
The finale confirms this is exactly what happens. Marge will grow up, marry, and have a son she names Richie after her first love. This provides a poignant origin story for the character fans know from the movies, linking his name and his mother’s protective nature directly to this earlier tragedy in Derry.
How Dick Hallorann and the Hanlon Family Connect to the Larger Stephen King Universe
Marge is not the only character whose future is shown. The season also expands the role of Dick Hallorann, played by Chris Chalk. After using his psychic abilities to help stop Pennywise in 1962, Hallorann decides to leave his work with the military. In his final scene, he mentions he has taken a new job as a cook at a hotel in Colorado. This directly sets up his role as the head chef at the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining.
The season also solidifies the Hanlon family’s long-term connection to Derry. Will Hanlon is confirmed to be the grandfather of Mike Hanlon, the Losers’ Club member who stays behind as the watchman in the films. In the finale, Will’s parents, Leroy and Charlotte Hanlon, are asked to take over as guardians of the town, ensuring the protective pillars remain secure. This duty is later passed down to their grandson Mike.
A post-credits scene adds another layer, connecting to the films through Beverly Marsh. The scene jumps ahead to 1988, inside the Juniper Hill psychiatric hospital. An elderly Ingrid Kersh encounters a young Beverly Marsh, played again by Sophia Lillis, who is grieving her mother’s death. Kersh tells her, “No one who dies in Derry ever really dies”. This character is the same Mrs. Kersh that an adult Beverly, played by Jessica Chastain, encounters in IT: Chapter Two.
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What Pennywise’s New Understanding of Time Means for Season 2
The finale’s biggest twist is not just the family reveal, but its implications for the monster. Pennywise’s speech to Marge shows he is fully aware of his death in 2016 at the hands of the adult Losers’ Club. Because he exists outside of linear time, that future event is now a motivation for him in the past.
“He and his friends bring me my death. Or is it birth? I get confused. Tomorrow. Yesterday. It’s all the same for little Pennywise,” the clown says in the episode.
After the battle, Marge processes this information with her friend Lilly. She voices a new fear: if Pennywise can see all time at once, could he go further back to try and kill her parents or her friends’ parents before they are even born? This idea sets up the planned structure for the entire series.
Show creators have stated they envision a three-season story moving backward in time. Season 1 takes place in 1962. A potential Season 2 would jump back to 1935, and a Season 3 would go to 1908. With Pennywise now actively trying to change history to avoid his fate, every past cycle becomes a direct attempt to erase the Losers’ Club from existence. This makes the prequel a high-stakes race against time, where victories in the past are crucial to preserving the future fans already know.
Also Read: Andy Muschietti Confirms IT: Welcome to Derry Fog is Not Linked to The Mist
