Welcome to Derry Reveals the Real Pennywise & Finally Begins Explaining 1 IT Mystery (but There’s a Catch)

by

The HBO series Welcome to Derry has been carefully uncovering the eerie history of the town and the otherworldly beginnings of Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård). Past episodes have explored the ancient roots of this shape-shifting creature, showing how it arrived on Earth millions of years ago via a meteor. While this has greatly expanded the show’s mythology, it’s kept the reason for Pennywise’s clown appearance a secret. The newest episode shifts focus from the cosmic to a more personal story, finally hinting at the origins of the very first Pennywise, fulfilling a long-held fan theory.

Warning: Spoilers below for IT: Welcome to Derry, Episode 6

The latest episode of IT: Welcome to Derry uncovers a key detail about Ingrid Kersh’s (Madeleine Stowe) past. We find out that Ingrid is the daughter of Bob Gray, a circus performer who once played Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Lilly (Clara Stack) discovers old family photos in Ingrid’s attic, proving Bob traveled with a circus when she was young, but he mysteriously disappeared from her life.

The story also features a scene from 1935 where Ingrid is a nurse at Juniper Hills Asylum. Hearing a patient named Mabel mention a clown called Pennywise living in the basement triggers Ingrid’s memories. Driven to find out what’s happening, Ingrid takes Mabel down to the basement, and they encounter the creature, which is now disguised as her father, a clown. This confirms that Pennywise was once a real person, and the entity is now using his appearance for reasons that are unclear.

The episode starts to reveal the traumatic event that caused Ingrid’s unusual actions. We see the creature violently kill Mabel right before Ingrid’s eyes. This horrifying experience deeply affected Ingrid, leading her to dress as a clown by 1962 and hunt new children, hoping to attract the creature she believes holds her father’s spirit. While this explains why Ingrid became a clown, the mystery of why the creature initially targeted Bob Gray remains unsolved and likely won’t be answered soon.

The Timeline of IT: Welcome to Derry Means We Will Only Get Answers on Season 3

The storytelling in IT: Welcome to Derry intentionally keeps major mysteries hidden for as long as possible. The creators have planned a three-season arc, each season exploring one of Pennywise’s 27-year periods of activity, but working backwards in time. The first season is set in 1962, with a possible second season planned for 1935, and a third for 1908. A recent episode revealed a connection between Ingrid and her father, Bob Gray, even showing photos of them together from 1908. This strongly suggests that the event which started everything – when the creature first met Bob Gray and stole his identity – happened during that 1908 period.

The show’s final season will likely reveal the full origin story of how IT transformed into Pennywise. While the current season focuses on the consequences of that transformation through Ingrid’s struggles, and the next season will probably show the creature’s first complete cycle using its Pennywise form, the complete backstory is being saved for the very end. This slow reveal allows the series to build a rich world and explore the lasting, multi-generational trauma IT causes in Derry, but it does require viewers to be patient.

New episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry premiere on HBO every Sunday. 

What caused the ancient being to take the form of a circus performer, Bob Gray, back in 1908? Share your theories in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/list/every-sci-fi-tv-series-based-on-books-by-stephen-king-ranked/embed/#

Read More

2025-12-02 19:17