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Disclaimer: ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ is recommended for viewers 16 and older.
“See, I told you there was weird shit going on over at the airbase! They made a giant fucking mutant baby!”
Titled ‘The Thing in the Dark’, episode 2 of ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ with Phil (Jack Molloy Legault) screaming in terror as a grotesque mutant baby attacks him and the other kids at the theater. A traumatized Lilly (Clara Stack) and clueless Ronnie (Amanda Christine) are the only ones who make it out alive.
The first half of the episode focuses on Lilly and Ronnie as they struggle with the trauma of recent violent events. With three kids missing, and only their blood left at the crime scene as proof they were ever there, the cops, unsurprisingly, start looking for a scapegoat to blame the disappearances on.
Most of what unfolds here focuses on the mental toll rather than pure horror. The few creepy moments we get are less “scary” and more weird gore on repeat. There’s even a rehashed version of that ghastly birthing scene from episode one, which was shocking and entertaining the first time, but now makes one wonder if someone in the writers’ room has unresolved childbirth trauma.
Oh, and as foreshadowed, this edition of ‘Welcome to Derry’ introduces Major Leroy Hanlon’s (Jovan Adepo) family, as his wife Charlotte (Taylour Paige) and son Will (Blake Cameron James) move into a new town, hoping for a fresh start. But they don’t feel particularly welcome in their predominantly white neighborhood, while Major Hanlon continues to grapple with racial tension at his base. An investigation is launched into the midnight attack on him, and the aftermath isn’t quite what he expected.
Taylour Paige stands out in this episode as Charlotte, a young mother with strong ideals, the kind of woman who refuses to be a bystander when she sees injustice around her. Her son Will, on the other hand, is a shy bookworm who prefers to avoid confrontations and keep his head down. But ironically, despite being a “good” kid, he ends up in detention, and the only other person there is Ronnie, marking what might just be the start of a new friendship.
Matty Clements, the boy whose disappearance kicked off all the chaos in town, seems almost forgotten in this chapter of ‘Welcome to Derry’. The spotlight’s now on the newer missing kids, and while the ending leaves you with a neat little cliffhanger, the scares aren’t exactly real. It’s less about monsters and more about what fear does to people.
Still, with just two episodes down, ‘Welcome to Derry’ stays intriguing, and atmospheric. The world-building is fascinating, with the narration smartly alternating between the kids’ point of view and the grown-ups’ reality. The edition also sneaks in a few fun Easter eggs and teases fresh faces who’ll likely play a bigger part soon. And Phil was right about one thing: weird shit is going on over at the airbase!
Watch ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ on JioHotstar.
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