It: Welcome to Derry Recap: Daddy Issues

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I should have known better! Last week, I complimented the show for improving, and predictably, this week’s episode, “In the Name of the Father,” takes a step backward. After finally gaining some momentum, the story mostly stalls, with characters delaying actions we all knew they’d eventually take. While you could say this episode is setting things up for the finale, it’s still slow going and highlights a bigger issue: the story is stretched too thin over eight episodes. The one major reveal wasn’t much of a surprise either, as viewers likely guessed it last week.

Will Hanlon steps up despite his father, Leroy, blaming him for Pauly’s death – a blame that feels unfair. Will reminds Leroy that he always taught him to face trouble and value friendship and risk-taking, but the conversation quickly turns sour when Will questions Leroy’s role in a past loss, resulting in a physical reaction. It’s a difficult scene, but it’s good to see the show acknowledge a darker side to Leroy, who never seemed very close to his grandson, Mike.

Meanwhile, tensions are high at the Standpipe. Ronnie is increasingly anxious as “Wanted” posters for Hank appear and armed citizens begin searching for him. When Lilly suggests they revisit the sewers with the dagger – which seems to frighten Pennywise – Ronnie lashes out, dismissing her idea as crazy. It’s frustrating that they’re rushing into danger again without a solid plan – the original Losers Club always did their research! Lilly understandably feels hurt and responds that she only wanted to help, but Ronnie cruelly tells her he wishes he’d never met her. Rich correctly realizes this conflict is exactly what Pennywise wants, but the damage is already done when Ronnie tells Lilly she should still be in Juniper Hill and walks away.

It’s hard not to compare this episode of Welcome to Derry to the movie It, especially the group’s falling out. The fight feels more impactful in It because those characters felt like genuine friends. Here, the group doesn’t seem as close – Marge just joined recently, for example. The show is trying to build stronger connections between them now, but it might be too late. We do get a sweet moment between Ronnie and Will, where she admits she’s tired of being scared, and they almost kiss before Charlotte interrupts. Charlotte then takes Will and Ronnie to a newly renovated shed – now called the Black Spot – which serves as a clubhouse for Black airmen. It’s also where she’s been hiding Hank, who Ingrid delivered to her last episode. Ronnie is overjoyed to see her father, and Hank promises they’ll never be apart again, a promise that doesn’t quite feel reassuring. However, not everyone is happy at the Black Spot. Dick, still shaken by his experience in the sewers, is upset about his clubhouse being used to hide a fugitive and asks Charlotte to exclude him from it.

Dick is clearly struggling, and his heavy drinking throughout the episode is understandable – staying sober would force him to confront the trauma of his encounter with Pennywise. Leroy visits, still determined to locate the pillars, raising questions about who, if anyone, is overseeing Operation Precept given the recent soldier deaths. Dick refuses to help, but explains his condition: as a child, he constantly saw ghosts and couldn’t sleep. His grandmother taught him to mentally block them out, but Pennywise has broken that barrier, and they’ve returned. He can ignore them, but trying to communicate is overwhelming. He believes they possess dangerous knowledge, “things we don’t, things the living aren’t meant to know.” Leroy hopes this knowledge includes the pillars’ location. It’s frustrating to watch Leroy relentlessly pursue his mission so soon after killing his friend, and equally difficult to watch Dick sink into despair. Leroy threatens Dick with arrest if he doesn’t cooperate, then returns home to find Charlotte preparing to leave. She’s taking Hank away from Derry and then Will back to Shreveport, suggesting she feels whatever they were fleeing there is safer than what Leroy is facing now. Despite urging him to reconcile with their son, she seems resolute in her decision to leave.

Despite all the ongoing trouble, we see a sweet moment between Rich and Marge, who have a crush on each other. They meet at the Standpipe, where Rich helps her change her eye bandage. (It’s still unclear exactly how Marge injured her eye, but it seems the injury is now mostly limited to her eyelid.) Like Will and Ronnie, it’s nice to see them experience first love, but it’s hard to get too invested in their story so late in the season, and since we likely won’t see them again. Still, it’s cute watching them navigate their feelings at school. Rich gives Marge a pirate eye patch from his family’s history in Cuba. Marge, for her part, bravely stands up to Patty and her friends, proudly embracing her individuality and even showing off her injured eye. However, they quickly realize they have bigger problems to deal with. Rich believes the creature that’s been attacking them isn’t finished, and they’ll have a better chance of surviving if they work together. Marge agrees, but worries about convincing Ronnie to return to the sewers with them. They decide to seek out Will and go talk to her. It’s odd that Charlotte continues to share information about Hank’s location with these kids, and by the end of the episode, it’s clear that information should have been kept secret.

I was so worried about Lilly! She’s completely alone, still being haunted by It, and it’s awful. This time, It showed up as her dead dad—but with octopus tentacles! Honestly, her teacher seemed more upset about her skipping class than about her freaking out with a glowing dagger. It’s Derry, though, so I guess that’s normal. She didn’t know where else to go, so she went to Ingrid’s, and those of us who figured out Ingrid was Mrs. Kersh last week knew that was a bad idea. No one answered, so she just went inside and up to the attic—which was a terrible idea! She found a photo album and started looking through it, eventually finding pictures of young Ingrid with her dad. He looked…familiar. And then it hit me—it was Bill Skarsgård, or rather, Bob Gray. Mrs. Kersh came back before Lilly could figure it all out, but when Ingrid hugged her, Lilly saw a photo of Ingrid’s dad in full clown makeup. That’s the clown from the sewers! Ingrid noticed Lilly recognize something and asked if she’d seen him, saying Lilly somehow brought him back. It just got worse when Lilly spotted a clown costume that belonged to Ingrid. Turns out, the figure Will photographed in the crypt was actually Ingrid dressed up! She’s been following us, hoping to see her dad again. She explained her fadder was a carnival performer, and he went by Pennywise the Dancing Clown. She loved him, and he was taken from her.

The episode delves into Ingrid’s past through a flashback, starting with a brief scene at the beginning. While we don’t learn the full story of the original Pennywise – likely saved for a future season set in 1908 – we see Ingrid choosing to stay in Derry. She gets a job at Juniper Hill, where she hears a young girl named Mabel talk about seeing Pennywise, a clown who lives in the pipes and tries to lure her into the basement. No one believes Mabel, except Ingrid, who takes her to the basement one night. There, they confront Pennywise, who appears as a warped version of Ingrid’s father. It’s not a happy reunion, as he quickly reveals his menacing teeth and attacks. Ingrid and Mabel try to escape, but Mabel falls and is eaten by Pennywise. Afterward, the creature transforms into the human form of Bob Gray, telling Ingrid he’s missed her and can explain everything.

Back in the present, Ingrid reveals she knew it was her father, changed by something terrible. She felt a sense of completion seeing him again, after years of grief. Since then, she’s been desperately trying to see him again, believing she can save him from the evil force controlling him. It’s clear she’s been involved in questionable activities, but she assures Lilly she’ll protect her at all costs, a protection she doesn’t extend to other children. When Ingrid invites Lilly to join her that night, Lilly cleverly uses a dagger to cut Ingrid’s hand and escape – the most intelligent decision she’s made throughout the series.

I suspect Ingrid is going to the Black Spot, a popular club where many characters—including military personnel and their dates—are gathering. When Will, Rich, and Marge arrive, the club is lively. Will attempts to talk sense into Ronnie and Hank, but Hank is more focused on the developing romantic interests of some younger people. It makes sense that Ronnie wouldn’t want to return to the sewers, and her father wants to protect her, but this moment, like others, stalls the story’s progress. Hank does seem to like Will, telling him he’d be glad to know someone trustworthy is looking out for Ronnie. Will promises to keep both Hank and Ronnie safe, a promise that feels overly optimistic given Hank’s equally naive assurance that they’ll always be together. Problems aren’t coming—they’re already here. Meanwhile, back in town, Clint Bowers has discovered Hank’s hiding place. Now off duty, he shares this information with the angry townspeople at the bar, encouraging them to take action themselves. The episode concludes with the men arriving at the Black Spot, their faces concealed by cheap Halloween masks, but openly carrying guns.

Losers Club

It’s unclear if the show deliberately kept Ingrid’s identity a secret, but many viewers likely didn’t immediately realize her family connection. Interestingly, both she and Mrs. Kersh refer to Pennywise as “fadder,” a detail also present in Stephen King’s novel It and its sequel, It: Chapter Two.

There’s a more delicate connection as well. When Lilly mentions her father’s death, Ingrid replies that people who die in Derry don’t truly disappear. This exact same line is spoken by Mrs. Kersh in both the original novel and the 2019 movie adaptation.

Ingrid is attempting to manipulate Lilly by offering her the chance to reunite with her father. However, in the story, Mrs. Kersh shapeshifts into Beverly’s estranged and unsettling father, who cruelly mocks Beverly with inappropriate advances.

I have to admit, I’m really not enjoying this storyline. It feels too straightforward, especially considering this character was originally just meant to be another form of Pennywise. It’s not that It hasn’t used people before – we saw that with Henry Bowers in the original It – but this whole idea of “Pennywise’s secret daughter” just feels like something you’d read in a poorly written fanfiction. It doesn’t quite work for me.

While Doctor Sleep offers more detail about lockboxes, they function differently than in this story – they’re meant to capture particular spirits, not block the ability to see ghosts. However, Dick’s reliance on alcohol to deal with the ghosts is similar to Danny Torrance’s struggles with alcohol abuse.

I just realized the bar in Derry is called the Falcon – the same Falcon that later becomes a low-key gay bar, as Stephen King mentions in It. I doubt Clint Bowers would be happy about that!

That final scene really reminded me of the movie Sinners, didn’t it? I was half-expecting to see ghosts from the past appear and dance to the music.

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2025-12-01 06:59