Welcome to Derry Season 1 Ending: All Pennywise & IT Twists, Stephen King Changes, Cameos & Season 2 Setup

by

The first season of IT: Welcome to Derry finishes with surprising turns that both conclude the current storyline and lay the groundwork for future seasons, while also significantly altering established lore about Pennywise. The season, already filled with intense and heartbreaking events like the destruction of The Black Spot, delivers even more drama in its final episode, “Winter Fire,” which brings this particular period of fear and violence to a close. Please be aware that the following contains spoilers for the Season 1 finale, Episode 8.

Pennywise has woken up and started taking children in Derry, so a new group of heroes must try to stop him. This episode is complicated, with Lilly, Marge, and Ronnie working to repair Pennywise’s prison, while the military tries to break it open, believing they can control people through fear. In the end, this generation of heroes succeeds, but Pennywise is sure to return in the future.

How Pennywise Was Defeated & When It Returns

Dick Hallorann nearly defeats Pennywise by using his psychic abilities to try and trap it. He manages to freeze It, sending it back to 1908 while possessing Bob Gray, but strips it of its powers – a tactic reminiscent of the mental ‘lock box’ Dick himself uses to contain negative psychic energy. However, this proves to be only a temporary solution, as Pennywise is simply too powerful and eventually breaks free.

So, the main goal is to put the shard – or dagger – back where it belongs. This will reconnect the pillars and trap Pennywise in Derry, forcing him back to sleep. It won’t be easy, though. Not only is Pennywise actively fighting back, but the shard itself resists being moved. The further it gets from its original location on Neibolt Street – where It first landed – the stronger its pull becomes, and it starts to influence the minds of anyone carrying it, trying to control them.

The children can only overcome Pennywise by uniting and working together, embodying the spirit of Rich Santos – a dynamic that echoes the Losers Club’s victory in the IT films. Though this event hasn’t happened yet in the story’s timeline (even though Pennywise seems to know it’s coming), Welcome to Derry takes place 27 years before the events of IT: Chapter One. This means Pennywise is currently in a dormant state and won’t awaken until the timeline reaches the start of that movie.

Why Sophia Lillis’ Beverly & Mrs. Kersh Return In Welcome To Derry’s Ending

Following the end of the story and the final scenes, IT: Welcome to Derry includes a brief post-credits segment that jumps ahead to 1988. This is already unexpected, but it’s even more surprising to see actors Sophie Lillis and Joan Gregson make appearances as Beverly Marsh and elderly Mrs. Kersh, respectively.

Whether Ingrid Kersh would survive the finale was uncertain, but it turns out she did – though with lasting trauma. While she physically survived her encounter with Pennywise, her mind was deeply affected. The finale shows her as a young woman in Juniper Hill Asylum, and then cuts to 1988, revealing an elderly Ingrid still living there and painting disturbing pictures of clowns, highlighting how the loss of her father and her experiences with Pennywise continue to haunt her.

Shortly before the events of the first IT movie, Kersh discovers another tragic death at Juniper Hill – a woman found hanged, with a man and girl weeping nearby. The deceased is revealed to be Bev Marsh’s mother, played again by Lillis. Bev’s father pushes her away, hinting at his abusive behavior, but Kersh tries to offer solace, stating that “no one who dies in Derry truly dies.”

As a huge fan of both IT and Welcome to Derry, I was absolutely floored by how the latter sheds new light on a truly terrifying scene. It explains why It chose to appear as Mrs. Kersh when confronting adult Beverly – it wasn’t random! The prequel shows that form was specifically picked to inflict the maximum amount of emotional pain, hitting Beverly with a horrible echo of her worst memory. And the fact that the same haunting music – Max Hansen’s “Det er det skønneste jeg ved” – plays in both scenes just makes it even more chilling and impactful. It completely reframes that moment in Chapter Two and makes it even more devastating to watch.

Welcome To Derry Confirms Marge Is Richie Tozier’s Mom

A popular fan theory about Welcome to Derry suggests that Marge Truman is actually the mother of Richie Tozier from the Losers Club. This idea gained momentum when it was revealed her full name is Margaret – the same as Richie’s mother, as Stephen King wrote in his novel (though she’s usually called Maggie). Other hints included similar glasses and a shared playful personality. However, the strongest evidence came when Richie sacrificed himself to save Marge at The Black Spot, and they confessed their love for each other.

So, was Richie named after Marge’s first love? Absolutely. Pennywise directly calls her Marge Tozier, hinting she will become Richie’s mother. Because Pennywise experiences time non-linearly, he knows the future – he understands Marge will have Richie and that she will play a part in his destruction. This adds a heartbreaking dimension to Richie’s story and frames the Losers’ triumph as both a victory for Marge and a final act of revenge for Richie’s fate.

Pennywise’s “Time Travel” Abilities in IT: Welcome to Derry

The reveal of Rich’s connection is made even more surprising by the discovery that Pennywise can see the future. Because the source of Pennywise’s power comes from outside our universe, it’s never been subject to its rules, but this is the clearest explanation we’ve gotten so far: Pennywise experiences all time—past, present, and future—simultaneously.

While it’s a bit different from Stephen King’s usual style, there’s a basis for exploring potential futures in his work. In IT, Beverly briefly sees the Losers’ Club as adults battling Pennywise. However, Welcome to Derry goes a step further, suggesting that the future isn’t fixed and that Pennywise can actually alter the past, changing things for the present.

The ending really threw me – he suggests his death might actually be a rebirth, which, let’s be honest, leaves the door wide open for a potential IT: Chapter Three down the line. But more immediately, it means the Pennywise we’ll see in seasons two and three will remember what happened last time, and will actively be trying to change things. That’s a risky move, creating a lot of potential plot holes, but it’s definitely a bold one. We’ll just have to see if it actually works out in the long run.

What Happens to Welcome to Derry’s Losers After Season 1?

The second season of IT: Welcome to Derry takes place in 1935, suggesting we likely won’t see the main characters, particularly the children, return. Now that Pennywise is defeated, there isn’t a clear narrative reason to continue their stories, though they still have emotional healing to do. The show does end positively, with Ronnie leaving Derry—possibly with or without remembering what happened—and Lilly finding a better place emotionally after everything she’s been through.

We do know the fate of Will Hanlon and Marge Truman. As we’ve mentioned, Marge will become the mother of Richie Tozier. Though a relatively small character in Stephen King’s stories, this connection tells us a bit about her. While she and Richie share similarities when they’re children, that changes as adults. She finds it harder to connect with him, and the family faces financial difficulties, leading to a somewhat difficult future after the events of Welcome to Derry.

The situation is even more heartbreaking for Will, Mike’s father. He and his wife, Jessica, tragically die in a house fire, making things worse after the events at The Black Spot and considering how close the Hanlon family was to moving away from Derry. This creates a repeating cycle of tragedy, one that could have been prevented if they had left.

How Dick Hallorann’s Ending Sets Up The Shining

The series Welcome to Derry isn’t just connected to IT; it also lays the groundwork for The Shining. At the end of the first season, Dick Hallorann wisely decides to leave Derry and take a job as a chef at a hotel in London – a friend’s new restaurant. This sets him on the path that eventually leads him to the Overlook Hotel, where he works in The Shining. The finale includes a knowing hint at this future, with Dick casually asking, “How much trouble can a hotel be?” – a line that feels particularly ironic in retrospect.

The Real Meaning Of IT: Welcome to Derry’s Ending

The finale of ‘Welcome to Derry’ beautifully captures the central ideas of the whole season, and echoes the themes found in the ‘IT’ movies and book. Just like the Losers’ Club, Lilly, Marge, Will, Ronnie, and Rich defeat Pennywise through the strength of their friendship. The show highlights how supporting each other not only empowers those you care about, but also makes you stronger. While fear is a potent force, knowing you aren’t alone is one of the most effective ways to overcome it.

The story highlights the lasting trauma in Derry, stretching from 1908 – with General Shaw’s terrifying encounter as a child and echoing through to Mrs. Kersh and Beverly in 1988 – but also demonstrates the possibility of breaking these harmful patterns and finding healing. While Derry itself, with its deep-seated biases, might be the true source of evil, the story also shows the power of community, like the Hanlons experience, to overcome adversity, even when it’s challenging.

What We Know About IT: Welcome to Derry Season 2

As of today, HBO hasn’t officially announced whether IT: Welcome to Derry will have a second season, but it’s looking promising. The show received positive feedback and was a big success – its first episode was the third most-watched premiere in HBO Max history, following only The Last of Us and House of the Dragon. Given this strong performance, and the fact that plans are already underway, it would be surprising if HBO didn’t renew the series.

If a second season of Welcome to Derry is made, it will mostly take place in 1935. We got a glimpse of this time period in Season 1 through flashbacks featuring a young Ingrid Kersh, and she might reappear. A key event will be the Bradley Gang massacre – a significant historical moment in Derry, just like the burning of The Black Spot, that was revealed in the book through Mike Hanlon’s stories. The show will likely feature a new cast, though Bill Skarsgård will probably return as Pennywise.

All episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 are now available to stream on HBO Max.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/movies/list/every-2025-stephen-king-movie-tv-show-ranked/embed/#

Read More

2025-12-15 06:13