Welcome to Derry Finally Fixed a 6-Year-Old Pennywise Plot Hole (by Creating a New One)

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As a huge fan, I’ve been really impressed with how much the story around Pennywise, that terrifying creature from another dimension, has grown. They’ve really built up the background and history, and it’s been amazing to see!

A prime example of this is the choice of Pennywise as the monster’s form. Initially, he appears deeply disturbing, menacing, and incredibly secretive, making him instantly untrustworthy. The book Welcome to Derry clarifies not only why Pennywise took this shape, but also how those forms remained so powerful for so long. However, this explanation creates a significant inconsistency with Pennywise’s behavior in It: Chapter Two.

Welcome to Derry Finally Explains Why It Became Pennywise

Stephen King’s work is famously complex. He builds vast, interconnected worlds packed with subtle details that are easy to overlook. Expanding on these established worlds is a bold undertaking, and carries significant risk. However, Welcome to Derry makes a sincere effort and succeeds on multiple levels.

The story of Pennywise the Dancing Clown hinted in Chapter Two that he was once a human being, but it was never clear exactly when he transformed into a monster. Now, Welcome to Derry explains that Pennywise needed a shape that would attract children, and the clown persona was a particularly effective choice.

As Pennywise, Bob quickly gained the children’s trust, and the creature, always needing to feed, couldn’t resist such an easy target. After Pennywise consumed Bob in the woods, a new, lasting version of the entity emerged, one that would haunt Derry for another three or four decades before the Losers Club finally defeated it.

Using a clown as a disguise was a brilliant idea. In the early 1900s, clowns weren’t scary figures. It wasn’t until films like Poltergeist and the IT miniseries that they started to become frightening. This explains why Pennywise stuck with the clown form – it was a perfect way to lure victims, at least for a while.

Welcome to Derry Creates an It: Chapter Two Plot Hole That Can’t be Ignored

A common complaint about It: Chapter Two is that it wasn’t as frightening as the first movie. It made sense that scaring adults would be more difficult than scaring children, relying more on jump scares than genuine terror. However, many felt that Pennywise himself just wasn’t as effective, particularly after the Welcome to Derry introduction, leading some to joke that audiences had lost interest in his villainy – that ‘no one wants to play with the clown anymore’.

By the time the story reached its second chapter, Pennywise had to work harder to lure children, either by trapping them or connecting with them, like he did with the girl who had a birthmark. Even getting to Georgie in the 1980s proved difficult because of warnings about not talking to strangers. While the earlier parts of Welcome to Derry showed Pennywise easily charming children, that wasn’t true anymore by Chapter Two, and he had to adapt his methods to find victims.

In Welcome to Derry, the young girl on Juniper Hill showed how Pennywise would gain a child’s trust, luring them with a friendly appearance. However, as soon as his true, frightening form emerged, the girl became scared. While it initially took effort for Pennywise to reach victims, he later didn’t need to try as hard. This raises the question of why he continues to use the clown disguise if it’s not as effective as it once was.

Even in 2019, there were plenty of captivating characters for kids, from lesser-known superheroes to classic cartoon figures. Children continue to enjoy these characters, and even icons like Mickey Mouse still attract viewers. This creature has a history of seeking out different forms to sustain itself, and Pennywise proved the most effective because it was the most convincing disguise.

If this villain’s methods aren’t working today, the story Welcome to Derry suggests he should have simply changed his approach, rather than becoming weaker. While the story explains why he chose to be a clown, it also makes you wonder why he continues to be one.

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2025-12-12 23:43