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Disclaimer: ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ is recommended for viewers 16 and older.
Holy hell. Who knew Marge, the bespectacled ‘Patty Cake’ would be so brutally attacked at school by the malicious entity haunting the town! Sure, she turned evil by plotting with her new bitchy friends to embarrass best-friend Lilly (Clara Stack), but she sure didn’t deserve the gory assault. Well, brownie points to the creators for making that episode 4 ending of ‘Welcome to Derry’ quite horrifying.
Titled “29 Neibolt Street,” episode 5 of the series opens by quickly ending all suspense over poor Marge’s (Matilda Lawler) fate. And not too surprisingly, Lilly’s reputation for being the school’s resident loony is sealed forever, since she was found near the bleeding Marge. But anyway, the primary focus of this chapter is the army’s efforts to locate the powerful entity haunting Derry and turn it into a weapon.
General Francis Shaw (James Remar) finally tells Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) the truth about the operation, assigning him, Dick Halloran (Chris Chalk), and the others to head into the tunnels. Neibolt Street is where the army sets up base to access the town’s sewers and locate the entity, after forcing the information out of Taniel (Joshua Odjick), Rose’s (Kimberly Guerrero) nephew.
Meanwhile, in a big twist, the kids uncover something truly shocking, compelling them to go out looking for the monsters terrifying them. Lilly convinces her friends – Ronnie Grogan (Amanda Christine), Will Hanlon (Blake Cameron James), Marge, and Rich (Arian S. Cartaya) – that one of the missing kids might still be there and deserves their help.
This episode of ‘Welcome to Derry’ might just be the best edition yet, since it unleashes the dreaded Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) against children in the tunnels and they get scared out of their wits. Honestly, his scene is over-the-top, almost comedic, but it can also be chilling as hell for those who’re scared of clowns.
‘Welcome to Derry’ has already shown that the entity can shapeshift into whatever terrifies its victims, so the second half of the episode becomes deeply intense for some of the primary characters. With both adults and children navigating Derry’s dark, haunted tunnels, the pacing turns fast and gritty. The edition ends with the death of a character (keeping this spoiler-free, you see) and a ghostly apparition, hinting at more sinister things to come.
Titled “In the Name of the Father,” episode 6 opens with an eerie black-and-white 1935 flashback to Juniper Hill, the psychiatric hospital. The cold open establishes Pennywise’s connection to a different character in the present timeline, delivering an unexpected twist that will completely change the viewer’s perception of some of the events that have taken place in ‘Welcome to Derry’ so far.
Despite their horrid experience in the tunnels, Lilly, who comes in possession of the weapon against the entity, feels like they should attempt to kill Pennywise. Ronnie however wants to focus her attention helping save her father Hank (Stephen Rider), and falls out with Lilly after a heated fight over what they should be doing. Feeling isolated, Lilly turns for advice to Ingrid (Tyner Rushing), the friendly nurse from Juniper Hill, only to learn something terrifying about the woman.
This episode strikes a strong balance between lighter and darker moments. The hunt for the entity is put on pause after the tunnel expedition going awry, so it gives the characters some space to breathe and face their regular problems. So, on one hand, people are trying to live normal lives, dancing, going out, and finding romance. On the other, the town is filled with monsters, curses, and death. And worst of all: people with twisted intentions.
Arian S. Cartaya’s performance as Rich is easily the standout of the episode. His innocent crush on Marge and his surprising dependability make him endearing, even though he started out as a seemingly insignificant addition to the cast.
Episode 6 wraps up with the scariest cliffhanger in ‘Welcome to Derry’ so far, since the danger stems from humans and not supernatural monsters.
Watch ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ on JioHotstar.
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