It – Welcome to Derry 1×2 Review: The Thing in the Dark

After a very intense debut episode, the second chapter of It – Welcome to Derry, titled ‘The Thing in the Dark’, decided to opt for a slower pace to build lore.

Even though the second episode felt a bit slower than the debut, that’s not to say it didn’t have horrific moments of Pennywise terrorizing kids. He’s clearly not done with Ronnie and Lilly. However, along with the episode focusing on the girls’ trauma, it also made time to introduce new players to the board.

After Teddy, Phil, and Phil’s sister were murdered by Pennywise during the final moments of ‘The Pilot‘, some in the fandom were quite sure that it was all a terrible dream, somewhat of a warning to Lilly about what might happen to the kids around her if she continued to unravel the mystery behind Matty’s disappearance. The fan theory was strengthened due to how the promotional video for the second episode featured a scene where Lilly woke up from a nightmare.

I don’t know about you, but I was hoping for the fan theory to be untrue. The theater attack being revealed to be a nightmare would have made me strongly side-eye It – Welcome to Derry. So, yeah, I was quite glad when ‘The Thing in the Dark’ confirmed that the attack indeed happened and how Ronnie and Lilly were the only survivors.

Of course, the traumatic event had taken a toll on the girls, especially with Lilly being questioned by the police and Ronnie being worried the attack would be pinned on her father. Racism has been explored in numerous works by Stephen King. That’s why it made sense for the latest live-action adaptation of the It IP to dive into similar themes. Derry’s not the most welcoming toward the Black community, and with tensions growing about giving the parents closure for losing their kids, Ronnie’s father was the primary target.

Chief of Police Clint Bowers tried doing the right thing and not pin the blame on Ronnie’s dad, but due to the increasing sociopolitical pressure and his already present racist tendencies (which I think the scene in the bar with Dick and his friends portrayed), Clint succumbed to the pressure and arrested Ronnie’s father.

At this point, I don’t see Ronnie’s dad making it out alive, but we shall see. I mean, if there’s one thing It – Welcome to Derry is going to do, it’s putting the cast of kids through hell. Ronnie already blamed herself for the death of her mother during childbirth, and now her dad’s gone because of her helping Lilly and the rest of the kids to enter the theater. As her grandmother put it, Ronnie’s out there thinking she’s Nora Charles.

Speaking of Ronnie’s guilt, Pennywise used those troubled emotions to trap her in a very disturbing illusion of being birthed by her mother, only for the umbilical cord to try and pull her back inside. But this time, her mother’s stomach had teeth, and Pennywise’s yellow eyes were focused on a terrified Ronnie.

Ronnie’s clearly a fighter. Having the strength to bite through the umbilical cord to free herself required a lot of courage and quick thinking. I know Pennywise’s tired of her.

Also, the creative way the team had Ronnie’s bed transform into a monstrous version of her mother! Amazing work!

The arrest in question was also linked to Lilly. I get that Clint tricked her during the interrogation, but I can understand why Lilly did what she did. Lilly didn’t want to return to Juniper Hill Asylum. However, with the current show being all about traumatizing kids, Lilly did end up being dropped off at Juniper Hill Asylum by her mother. Sigh!

Her sequence involved Pennywise using her fear of finding her father’s body parts in pickle jars in a superstore. The entire thing was quite well done, with Lilly trying to escape from a never-ending maze of superstore aisles. I do think the fear factor kind of gets lost when the show relies heavily on CG. The practical effects are what help sell the scares because they look real. I was enjoying Lilly’s desperation until a very CG-looking tentacled monster (supposedly resembling her father) appeared.

Anyway, with Ronnie blaming Lilly for getting her father arrested, I’m looking forward to seeing how the two girls will try and work together as the season progresses. Also, yeah, I’m not a fan of the two girls being at odds instead of trying to support each other. At least, Marge’s trying to be there for Lilly. But yeah, I want her to ditch the Pattycakes and get her head in the game.

As for the new kids, we got introduced to Will upon his arrival in Derry with his mother Charlotte. I liked how ‘The Thing in the Dark’ didn’t waste time cementing the family dynamic. Leroy wanted Will to be interested in sports, but Will was more into reading about science. Charlotte understood that Will wasn’t like Leroy, and that made Will lean more toward her. Leroy did appreciate Charlotte trying to help him connect with Will, which was nice to see.

As for the relationship between the spouses, while they both loved each other and Charlotte wanted to emotionally support Leroy, he wasn’t allowed to spill information about his mission, causing Charlotte to be left out of a big part of his life. Will’s not sharing his experiences at school with her either. And the citizens of Derry aren’t the most welcoming toward her. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing what role Charlotte will play. She’s been shown to be an activist and isn’t afraid of jumping into action when witnessing injustice.

Will got to meet Rich at school. And though they weren’t friends yet, they will soon be as part of the group of younglings banding together to stop Pennywise. The two boys haven’t been targeted by Pennywise yet. That’s why I’m interested to learn more about their fears when they inevitably do attract Pennywise’s attention.

Talking about Leroy, we got to learn that he’s been stationed in Derry due to a rare condition. An injury had damaged his amygdala, essentially making him incapable of experiencing fear. The people who attacked him in the previous episode were part of a test to determine if he really was a man without fear or not. I liked how Leroy continued to question the ordeal and knew that Masters wasn’t involved. Leroy’s a smart man.

With the military planning to dig around Derry to uncover the source of fear strong enough to kill a man (aka Pennywise) and have Leroy acquire the “weapon”, I can’t wait to see what kind of plan Leroy comes up with to “defeat” Pennywise once he realizes the cosmic being’s need to feed on children.

What did you think of It – Welcome to Derry season one episode 2 ‘The Thing in the Dark’?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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