IT: Welcome to Derry just set a record as the third biggest HBO show launch ever, behind only House of the Dragon and The Last of Us. It’s going to be HBO’s new Sunday night staple (along with the 100% scored The Chair Factory), and there’s one exception to that.
This week, HBO is airing IT: Welcome to Derry episode 2 early, thanks to the Halloween holiday. Usually, you might see shows move away from holidays, lest people miss them with other plans, but I think you can guess why the horror show wanted to air a new episode on today of all days. Episode 2 will also still air on Sunday night at its usual 9 PM ET time, if people do not get the memo that it’s out today. That’s why I’m writing this. And it’s out right now, you don’t have to wait until 9 PM tonight.
—Spoiler line—
I just watched episode 2, and I remain impressed with the series. The finale of episode 1, in which (spoilers) three of what appeared to be the five main kid characters of the series were slaughtered, was genuinely something I did not see coming in an age when I didn’t think horror movies could surprise me much anymore.
Now, IT: Welcome to Derry’s surviving two kids are starting to cobble together a new group, and there are two gross dream (sort of?) sequences that are going to be seared in your mind. One is (spoilers spoilers spoilers) Ronnie being “birthed” by a monstrous version of her mother who died in childbirth. We also get our first glimpse of Pennywise’s eyes. Then, Lilly gets trapped in a grocery store, and chopped-up pieces of her father reassemble themselves into some sort of octopus creature trying to kiss her. After screaming about this, she heads back to a mental institution again.
We also learned that the US military is trying to dig up some sort of “weapon” that can induce fear in people and use it to win the Cold War. This requires a lot of digging and a man who can apparently literally feel no fear in a storyline that is pretty weird, even for Derry. Is it just…IT? Like they’re going to throw the clown into Cuba? I have no idea.
—Spoilers end—
Anyway, I am loving this show so far, and if you skipped down to the bottom here without spoilers, go check out episode 2 now.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
