The first season of HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry ended with a major battle that sealed Pennywise away, but it also introduced a shocking new rule: the clown monster sees all of time at once. This revelation changes how viewers understand both the prequel series and the original films. The finale showed a group of teenagers and adults in 1962 working desperately to trap the creature again, while also creating clear links to the Losers Club characters fans already know.
The season wrapped up its main story but set the stage for more. It confirmed family connections, showed where key characters from Stephen King’s universe ended up, and featured a surprise cameo from a star of the IT movies.
How Pennywise Was Trapped Again in 1962
The final fight happened because the United States Army, led by General Shaw, made a dangerous choice. They destroyed one of the magical pillars that formed a cage around Derry, hoping to control Pennywise and use it as a weapon. This set the creature free sooner than its natural 27-year cycle.
Pennywise immediately created a thick fog over the town and used his power to hypnotize the children of Derry High School. He led them across a frozen river toward an ancient tree. This spot marked the edge of his prison. If he crossed it, he would be free to spread fear across America. A group of teenagersโMarge, Lilly, Ronnie, and Will Hanlonโraced to stop him, armed with a special dagger. This artifact was a piece of the same meteor that brought Pennywise to Earth and could be used to repair his cage.
“He said, to him, the past, present, and future are all the same. And that his death was actually his birth,” Marge tells her friend Lilly after her encounter with the clown.
The heroes faced soldiers trying to stop them and the dagger itself, which fought against being placed. At the critical moment, they got help from an unexpected source: the spirit of their friend Rich Santos, who had died saving Marge in a fire. With his help, they plunged the dagger into the ground at the tree. This action restored the magical cage and pulled Pennywise back into hibernation beneath Derry.
Pennywise’s New Power: Seeing All Time at Once
The finale included a major discovery about how Pennywise operates. While holding Marge captive, the creature revealed it does not experience time like humans do. For Pennywise, the past, present, and future all exist at the same moment. This means that during the 1962 events, it already knows its own ultimate defeat at the hands of the Losers Club in 2016, as shown in IT: Chapter Two.
This ability explains its specific targets. It focused on Will Hanlon because he will father Mike Hanlon, a future Loser. It also directly told Marge that she will grow up to have a son named Richie Tozierโanother key member of the Losers Club. By trying to kill these parents before their children are born, Pennywise hopes to change its own future and avoid defeat.
The Major Connection to Richie Tozier and the Losers’ Club
The reveal about Marge is a direct link to the films. The show confirms that Marge Truman will become Margaret “Maggie” Tozier, Richie’s mother. This adds deeper meaning to her character, as she was shown earlier in the season to be a talented impressionistโa trait her son Richie is famous for. It also explains the origin of Richie’s name. Before his death, Marge and Rich Santos shared their love for each other. In honor of him, she later names her son Richie.
Other connections were made to the wider Losers Club:
- The Hanlon Family: Will’s parents, Leroy and Charlotte, decide to stay in Derry and run a farm with Rose, a member of the local Native American community. This sets up the future where their grandson, Mike Hanlon, grows up on that same farm and learns about Derry’s history from them.
- Dick Hallorann’s Future: After helping defeat Pennywise, Hallorann leaves Derry for a new job. He tells Leroy Hanlon he is going to work as a chef in a hotel in London, joking, “How much trouble can a hotel be?” This is a clear reference for Stephen King fans, as Hallorann is the psychic cook who later works at the terrifying Overlook Hotel in The Shining.
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The Final Scene’s Movie Cameo and Meaning
The season ends with a flash-forward scene to October 1988, one year before the events of the first IT movie from 2017. The scene shows a young Beverly Marsh, played by Sophia Lillis who portrayed the character in the films. She is at the Juniper Hill Asylum, having just discovered her mother has died by suicide.
An elderly Ingrid Kersh appears behind her and smiles. Ingrid was a central character in the season, the daughter of the original carnival clown that Pennywise copied. Her presence in the asylum in 1988 ties directly to a famous scary scene in IT: Chapter Two. In that film, an adult Beverly is terrorized by Pennywise taking the form of an old woman named Mrs. Kersh. The finale reveals that the real Ingrid Kersh actually witnessed one of Beverly’s most traumatic childhood moments. This makes Pennywise’s choice to later impersonate her especially cruel, as it is preying on a real and painful memory.
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