IT: Welcome to Derry explores Pennywise’s time perception, and explains why he can’t exist beyond 2016, while directly connecting to IT: Chapter Two.
The finale of HBO’s hit series, IT: Welcome to Derry, delivers one of the most confusing yet terrifying reveals about the ancient entity called IT. In a chilling scene set in 1962, Pennywise corners Marge and tries to scare her to be able to feed on her fear. But instead, leaves her more confused after showing her a missing poster for Richie Tozier, a character who isn’t part of that era.
Marge initially considers it a mistake until Pennywise explains how he experiences time, thus making it a poster of Marge’s future son, Richie Tozier (played by Finn Wolfhard in the IT films), who eventually kills Pennywise. With this scene, the HBO show confirms that, unlike humans, Pennywise doesn’t live moment by moment. To him, the past, present, and future all exist at the same time.
This means he can see events that haven’t happened yet, as of the IT: Welcome to Derry timeline, and can remember things from the past and future. That single reveal changes how we understand everything about IT. It explains how Pennywise can be defeated in the future and still haunt the past or the present. More importantly, it proves that Pennywise isn’t just a monster hiding in Derry; he’s far older and more dangerous than anyone imagined.
The table contains basic details on IT: Welcome to Derry:
| TV Show | IT: Welcome to Derry |
| Creator | Jason Fuchs, Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti |
| Based on | It; by Stephen King |
| Cast | Bill Skarsgård, Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Clara Stack, Amanda Christine, Mikkal Karim-Fidler |
| Number of Episodes | 8 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Score (so far) | 80% |
| IMDb Score (so far) | 7.8/10 |
| Streaming on | HBO Max |
The HBO Show Confirms Pennywise Cannot Exist Beyond 2016
Now, while episode 8 of HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry addresses Pennywise’s perception of time, it also makes one thing very clear: Pennywise’s story has a fixed ending. The end we witnessed in the IT movies, where the Losers’ Club consisting of Bill, Beverly, Ben, Richie, Eddie, Mike, and Stan finally destroyed Pennywise in 2016.
So basically, the HBO show confirms that this defeat is permanent, which means Pennywise does not exist beyond the events of IT: Chapter Two in a normal, physical sense. That is why his actions in 1962 feel so desperate. He already knows how his story ends for him, and he is trying to change it.
Since Richie Tozier plays a key role in Pennywise’s defeat, IT believes that killing Marge in 1962 would stop Richie from ever being born. No Richie means no Losers’ Club victory in 2016. In Pennywise’s mind, this is the only way to survive past his destined death. This proves that he isn’t just hunting children, he’s hunting bloodlines.
However, this plan creates a massive time paradox. If Pennywise succeeds in stopping Richie’s birth, the events of 2016 would never happen. And if those events never happen, Pennywise would have no reason to go back and change time at all. This creates an endless loop where Pennywise can never truly win.
He may understand time better than humans, but he is still trapped by it. Which means, his defeat is inevitable, even if his cruelty, fear inflicted on innocents, and the trauma continue.
How IT: Welcome to Derry Directly Connects With IT: Chapter Two
Meanwhile, apart from Richie Tozier’s missing poster and the revelation about Marge being Richie’s mother, IT: Welcome to Derry finale also features a fleeting moment in the final scene that quietly connects the show to IT: Chapter Two. Turns out, after Pennywise is defeated for the time being, audiences are taken to Juniper Hill, where Ingrid Kersh is institutionalized.
And then, the timeline jumps forward 27 years, where we see a now elderly and calm Ingrid painting peacefully in her room. At first, the moment feels strangely gentle, until she hears cries echoing through the hallway. When Ingrid follows the sound, we see a woman’s lifeless body hanging, and sitting on the floor, crying is a young Beverly Marsh.
This reveal hits especially hard for fans because Beverly is played by Sophia Lillis, the same actor from the IT films. So, this moment directly reframes a terrifying scene from IT: Chapter Two, where adult Beverly, played by Jessica Chastain, visits Mrs. Kersh’s apartment and is traumatized by Pennywise in the form of Mrs. Kersh.
Basically, IT: Welcome to Derry establishes that this encounter wasn’t random at all. Since Mrs. Kersh was there when Bev’s mom died, and almost left her haunted by the chilling line about how “no one ever really dies in Derry”, IT in the 2019 movie decided to appear as Kersh to feed on Beverly’s fear.
It proves that Pennywise had already marked Beverly years earlier. So, by ending the show this way, the series not only connected it to the IT films, but also closed the loop and proved that in Derry, trauma never disappears.
Let us know your opinion on the show, and IT’s deeper lore connecting to the past and future.
IT: Welcome to Derry is currently streaming in the US on HBO Max.
