As a huge fan of the IT movies, I was really excited about Welcome to Derry. It definitely sheds light on Pennywise and his origins, though it doesn’t tie everything up with a neat bow. Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise doesn’t even show up until about halfway through, but the series as a whole really builds out the mythology we’ve seen in the films and in Stephen King’s book. We finally learn why It chose the form of Pennywise – it’s connected to a guy named Bob Gray – and it goes all the way back to how the creature first arrived on Earth and got stuck in Derry, thanks to the broken pieces of whatever brought it here.
The ending of IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 really hinged on these special shards. They created a sort of barrier around Derry, and when the military tried to break it to get rid of the creature, things got messy. There’s a frantic rush to put the shards back together, and thankfully they succeed, trapping It and forcing it back to sleep. What I found most interesting, though, was how It managed to wake up in the first place – that felt like a huge question hanging over everything.
Can Pennywise Wake Up When It Wants & Why Does It Sleep For 27 Years?
Following the destruction of The Black Spot – a significant event signaling its pre-hibernation feeding – Pennywise initially entered a sleep cycle. However, it was roused when one of the pillars supporting its lair was disturbed. This detail is unique to the TV series and wasn’t part of Stephen King’s original novels. According to the books, It’s sole motivations are to feed and then enter a long period of sleep and dreaming.
As much as I love imagining It just deciding to wake up whenever it wants, I don’t think it works that way. It’s more like a really deep hibernation. So, waking up fully at will seems pretty unlikely. But, it could wake up if something seriously threatened it, or if something big happened that it was connected to. Like in Welcome to Derry, when they took the pillar, It probably felt that and it jolted awake – that was a rare chance for it to finally escape from Derry, so it had to react!
The reason It sleeps for 27 years isn’t fully explained, but is presented as simply a natural part of its existence – the length of time it needs to rest after feeding. While Stephen King originally described the cycle as roughly 27 years – “…every twenty-seven years or so. Sometimes it comes a little sooner, sometimes a little later.” – the movies and the new show consistently depict a strict 27-year cycle. It feels odd that nothing else ever causes or encourages It to wake up, particularly since the ending of Welcome to Derry shows It being sent back to sleep so easily.
While the 27-year gap isn’t completely explained, it works well for the story. A central idea in both It and Welcome to Derry is how trauma affects families over time. The time jump lets the original victims grow up and have children, and also creates new people in Derry for the evil to target.
All episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry are available to stream on HBO Max.
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2025-12-21 16:11