The First Episode of ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ is Fine, but I’m Concerned About The Rest of the Series
Will IT still feel like cosmic horror if too much is explained?
So, I watched the first episode of It: Welcome to Derry this past Sunday when it hit HBO Max. I was originally going to write a reaction/review immediately after watching, but I decided to give myself a little time to think about it. To digest what I’d just witnessed. In that time I saw that other people’s reactions to the episode have been largely positive. Enthusiastic even. That gave me another pause because I didn’t feel anything close to the same way.
Don’t get me wrong, the premiere episode of Welcome to Derry was fine. I just wasn’t blown away like so many people seemed to be on social media. Now, I don’t want to ever be seen as someone who writes negative reviews for clickbait. I actually don’t like being negative about any movie or show I watch, but I’m also not going to lie about how I feel about something. I promise you, if I’ve ever been effusively positive or negative (which I have been), then that’s because I honestly felt that way in the moment. In this moment, I feel like episode one of It: Welcome to Derry was just okay.
[MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD for episode one and beyond!]
Where’s the Psychology?
The part that I enjoyed most was the basic concept. The majority of the episode was designed to set up viewers to expect another round (or, an earlier round) of the Losers Club, only to have it literally torn apart in front of their eyes. It’s an episode that tells viewers to expect the unexpected. It’s also an episode that proclaims that nobody is safe. I bought into it, and I was starting to get into the characters and their group dynamic. I was especially interested in Teddy’s connection to Stan from the original story (I think Teddy is Stan’s uncle?). But then Teddy, Phil, and Susie get violently murdered by a mutant bat-baby in the episode’s climax. A surprise for sure, and a pretty good one. At least in concept.
I just wonder if that feeling of danger will be sustained throughout the entire season. Can it be? For shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, the idea of any character dying at any time is part of the appeal. But the appeal of It, to me, is in the characters’ journeys. Their emotions. Their fears made real which they must try to overcome. I love a gory slasher, but that’s not what It is. It, from the novel to the original TV miniseries, is much more of a psychological horror story. Sure, there are plenty of deaths, but those are mostly from supporting characters. The real horrific appeal is in the way It preys on fear.
To be fair, only one episode of Welcome to Derry has been released so far. Maybe the heavy psychological stuff is coming in subsequent episodes. We do see touches of it in episode one. Like the screaming-skin lampshade in Teddy’s room. Or Matty finding a “perfect” family to take him away from Derry, only to have them turn into a nightmare and add a mutant bat-baby to their clan. There’s not much buildup to it, and we know next to nothing about Matty, but the scene is fine for its spectacle. Compare that to the simplicity of the scenes in the 2017 movie and 1990 miniseries of Georgie talking to Pennywise in the storm drain. The storm drain is chilling and memorable. The CGI mutant baby is an okay spectacle.
However, the biggest issue I have with the psychology of episode one is in the finale. The scene in the theater has no psychological connection to any of the kids who go there looking for Matty. The only reason they’re there is because Lilly hears Matty’s voice singing a song from The Music Man. Nobody has any idea what it means, so confusion is the dominant emotion, not fear. Of course seeing Matty smile like Pennywise and having a giant baby fly out of the screen and try to kill them is scary, but it’s scary in a way that would be scary to anyone. It’s not the kind of personal, bespoke scares that It usually works with.
It’s like It gathered the kids so he could take them out all at the same time. As I think I understand it, It likes to work more in secret, only exposing itself to groups larger than one person at a time whenever absolutely necessary. It didn’t seem necessary here. It just seems like the creators of the show wanted a huge set piece. Which is kind of my biggest issue with the 2017 and 2019 movies. Those also feel like the writers came up with ideas they thought would look creepy on screen first, and then later tried to figure out how to fit them into the story. I think it should be the other way around. The way the characters develop should be the main factor in the way the scares are created. That’s true for some scenes, but not even close to all of them throughout the newer movies.
But maybe I’m wrong, and the further exploration of It throughout the rest of the series will make this first episode make sense. However, my worry is that the rest of the series will dig too deep into the lore of It and Derry.
Please Don’t Ruin the Cosmic Horror
I’ll happily admit that I’m not the biggest fan of prequels as a concept. If a movie is good, and if there’s mystery surrounding part of its story, then the mystery doesn’t need to be explained. There are exceptions to this, of course, but for the most part I almost never get excited about a prequel. Even good ones often answer questions that were best left unanswered. So, take my thoughts on Welcome to Derry as you will.
I did a little reading, and I’ve looked at a few reviews from critics who have seen the first five episodes of the series. The trailer at the end of episode on HBO Max also gives away some of what I’m about to say, but if you don’t want to know a few basic plot points that weren’t revealed in episode one, please stop reading now.
Okay, so, part of the story is going to involve the military trying to harness the power of It to use against the Soviet Union. That’s why Leroy Hanlon is in Derry. Due to a brain injury, he can’t feel fear. So I assume he’ll lead the way into doing whatever needs to be done to try to control It. Also, Dick Hallorann (yes, from The Shining) has been introduced already, and I imagine his ability will be used to track It down. If you’re wondering, Hallorann is mentioned in the original It novel. He was in the Army and lived in Derry for a time, but his role in the history of the town looks like it will be greatly expanded here. That’s fine. It all just feels too convenient.
What I don’t want to see happen is to have the mystique of the entity known as It to be diminished. I’m already not a big fan of the military knowing about it enough to form a plan involving it. It is a cosmic entity that, as I remember it, influences adults and causes them to forget about its existence. The Losers only remembered as adults because Mike helped them remember. I’m sure they’ll try to explain this away, but it already has me worried about what’s to come.
I don’t think learning more about It will make the lore of the series and movies better. The stories in this universe derive largely from childhood fears. What is a large factor in many childhood fears? Fear of the unknown. What’s a major trait of cosmic horror? Fear of the unknown (and unknowable). It is a cosmic being, please leave Its cosmic horror alone. There are plenty of great stories that can be told about the people It preys on.
