The It: Welcome to Derry Season 1 finale leaves viewers questioning Pennywise’s intelligence, and whether the creature is actually dumb.
The It: Welcome to Derry Season 1 finale features a scene in which Pennywise tells Marge her future: she will become Marge Tozier, give birth to Richie Tozier, and Richie and his friends will one day return to kill him.
While this confirms a popular fan theory that Marge is Richie’s mother, it raises an obvious question. If Pennywise knows exactly how he dies, why doesn’t he kill Marge, or more importantly, why does he still take Georgie and trigger the events leading up to his death in It: Chapter 2?
This has led fans to question Pennywise’s intelligence. Is he knowingly walking into his own defeat, or is he incapable of changing outcomes he can already see? However, the show’s creators have addressed this by stating that Pennywise experiences time in a non-linear way.
Welcome to Derry Plans to Explore Pennywise’s Sense of Time
It: Welcome to Derry creator Andy Muschietti has explained that Pennywise experiences time in a non-linear way. “His experience of time is non-linear,” Muschietti told Deadline in a recent interview.
However, the show creator did not go into detail, noting that the concept will be fully explored in potential future seasons of the show. He added that Pennywise’s nonlinear sense of time was part of the plan from the very beginning, including when the series was first pitched to Stephen King.
How is that and why, that’s a whole exploration that we intend to flesh out during the next two seasons, but that was pretty much [the idea] from the beginning.
In a recent interview with Variety, Muschietti also shared that the decision to structure the series in reverse chronological order is directly tied to Pennywise’s perception of time.
“We sort of hinted at it at the end of the season,” he said, adding that the upcoming seasons are set to dive deeper into Pennywise’s past and his unusual relationship with time.
It: Welcome to Derry Creators Discuss Season 2
It: Welcome to Derry creator has revealed plans for a three-season run of the series. Following the Season 1 finale, they have addressed the show’s future direction.
Without revealing too much about the show, Andy Muschietti confirmed that future seasons will move backward in time, exploring Pennywise’s reign of terror in Derry during earlier periods, including 1935. He told Variety,
We can only say the stuff that’s already known, like it’s in 1935, 27 years before Season 1 and it involves the massacre of the Bradley Gang from the books. It takes place during the Depression in Derry.
He also shared that future seasons will introduce new characters, along with bringing back some Season 1 characters in younger forms. The series creator has also shared that there is so much more to explore about Bob Gray and his daughter, Ingrid Kersh, who is seen in Juniper Hill Asylum in the Season 1 finale of the HBO Max series.
It: Welcome to Derry has not yet been officially renewed for Season 2.
What do you think about Pennywise not taking steps to save himself despite knowing the future? Share your thoughts with us.
It: Welcome to Derry is streaming on HBO Max.
