With only three episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry left, we get more backstory on Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård)…courtesy of his daughter?!
Considering it’s called “In the Name of the Father”, it’s no surprise that episode six is primarily concerned with daddies.
- Ronnie (Amanda Christine) refuses to help the other kids after she discovers that her father Hank (Stephen Rider) is “safe” at The Black Spot. Well, that’s only half true. She initially refuses to help because she and Lilly (Clara Stack) haven’t resolved their issues, so their early interaction in the episode amounts to verbally ripping each other apart. Ronnie’s motivation changes later when she realizes where her father is and she (rightfully) doesn’t want to put herself in danger or leave his side.
- After nearly getting shot by his father Leroy (Jovan Adepo) last episode, Will (Blake Cameron James) tries to stand up for himself and his friends, but only winds up getting slapped. It’s a rough scene because we know how upset Leroy was about what happened (and, you know, Pauly is dead because of him), but this isn’t a great look for Leroy. Ironically this once again just casts Charlotte (Taylour Paige) in a great light for almost immediately clarifying that she’s leaving with Will and inviting her husband to join them if he makes it up to their son. Of course, the cliffhanger ending suggests that life in Derry for Black residents is about to irrevocably change, so there will undoubtedly be bigger issues to contend with moving forward.
- Of course, the big “reveal” of the episode is that Ingrid Kersh (Madeline Stowe) is actually Pennywise’s daughter…or at least the human clown version of him that existed in 1930. She stayed behind and got a job at Juniper Hill asylum as a way to stay close to her father after he disappeared, and she’ll do anything to see him again…even if it means feeding IT the occasional child.
It’s debatable whether this third point actually tells us anything new (I would say it’s an intriguing curiousity). Aside from unlocking a potential answer about why this creature frequently adopts a clown visage, this reveal actually says a lot more about Ingrid. In addition to confirming that she’s out of her mind, it retroactively explains why she encouraged Lilly to take her friends into the sewer last episode (because obviously no rational adult would consent to that!)
But does it actually tell us anything about Pennywise? Arguably no.
Other Observations:
- Is it satisfying or disappointing that some of the visions we saw in the cemetery and the sewers was actually Ingrid in her Perrywinkle outfit, trying to catch a glimpse of dear, departed dad?
- Credit to director Jamie Travis for the inspired use of red blood seeping under the door when Mabel is killed. The pop of colour really stands out amongst the black and white used for the rest of the flashback.
- Marge (Matilda Lawler) seeing Hank (Arian S. Cartaya) in a new light as he plays the drums in the Black Spot is a nice pay-off after an episode of soft flirting. Pro tip Marge: any boy who finds your grisly eye wound “the coolest thing” he’s ever seen is a) a horror nerd; b) obsessed with you; and/or 3) both. Either way, lock that shit down before Pennywise everyone.
- Shout-out to the eye patch exchange, which could have been twee and cloying, but works. Lawler (inconceivably) manages to sells this ridiculous dialogue: “I’ve always wanted to be a pirate…Look at us: a pirate and a knight”.
- Likewise, the moment that Marge grosses out the Pattycakes (Hannah Storey, Maya McNair, and Maya Misaljevic) in the cafeteria feels both earned and overdue. In a show that tends to meander when it comes to characterization, this feels like a win. Marge has turned a corner and her allegiance to this proto-Losers club seems complete, so let’s hope the creative team leaves the petty high school politics behind for the last two episodes!
- The cliffhanger takes us into heavily foreshadowed territory as white men in masks arrive at the Black Spot to dispense vigilante justice on Hank. This has been teased in both King’s writing and briefly in the films, but we’ve never actually seen it play out. Holding the siege until next episode suggests it’ll be a significant set piece, which is a good creative strategy considering how invested the text has been in cementing the racist foundation of Derry.
- Shout-out to Peter Outerbridge for doing the most with only a few moments of screen time. The (former) Chief Bowers barely gets a few lines of dialogue, but his efforts to rile up a posse is the perfect embodiment of pathetic white entitlement.
- I love Chris Chalke, but his scenes as Dick Hallorann simply aren’t doing it for me. Perhaps it’s that he spends most of this episode drunk and in fear of his opened childhood “box” of dead things, but it feels…repetitive and uninteresting? Leroy yelling at him to use his powers to fulfill the mission is arguably the most intriguing development of the episode.
IT: Welcome to Derry airs Sundays on HBO
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