Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 5.
Andy Muschietti‘s HBO Max series IT: Welcome to Derry certainly hasn’t been a slow burn, with scares at every turn, but the series wisely took its time in revealing Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) until this week’s episode. The clown quickly goes in for the kill on the show’s most tragic character, Lilly (Clara Stack), only to be stopped in its tracks by a strange weapon left behind in the sewer. In Stephen King‘s mammoth novel, as well as in the miniseries and feature films, Pennywise has been defeated before, but IT: Welcome to Derry just introduced the way to kill the entity in this cycle. While it will certainly return (this is a prequel after all, and there is a plan for more seasons), its kryptonite has arrived, and could be what ends Its’ hold on Derry, Maine in 1962.
‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Already Revealed Pennywise’s Origin Story
IT: Welcome to Derry took its time in revealing the killer clown, but that doesn’t mean the series has been holding back — not just in frightening scenes, but in necessary information. In the fourth episode, “The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function,” after more horrific sights and a glimpse of Pennywise in the shadows, the ending goes into the mind of Taniel (Joshua Odjick) by way of Dick Hallorann’s (Chris Chalk) shine. There, Taniel, as a child (Tres Garcia), is seen talking to his aunt Rose (Kimberly Guerrero) about the story of Derry’s entity, which the Indigenous people who lived on this land for centuries know all too well. The story reveals that the entity is actually an alien who crash-landed on Earth centuries before via a falling star. With the star broken, the thing inside was let out to feed on the inhabitants of the planet. This led to the Shokopiwah tribe making a weapon — a dagger — out of the remnants of the star, which could be used to fight the Galloo.
With the alien living in the Western Wood, the tribe survived by staying in their own territory. However, like most things, white settlers ruined this by going into the forest despite the warnings, which resulted in their deaths. When Sesqui (Morningstar Angeline) is killed by the entity, her young daughter, Necari (Kiawentiio), makes more weapons and buries 13 shards in the ground in the shape of a circle, trapping the entity in a field that it could not cross. The descendants of the tribe have been guarding the 13 pillars ever since. By going into Taniel’s mind, Hallorann finds that the pillars lie in the tunnels under the Neibolt house. In Episode 5, the U.S. military, accompanied by Taniel wielding a dagger made of the fallen star, descends into the sewers, only to discover their worst fears come to life.
‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Episode 5 Reveals That Pennywise Can Be Stopped
The military aren’t the only ones heading into the sewer tunnels beneath Neibolt Street. Our new group of Losers are there as well, led by Matty (Miles Ekhardt), who seemingly died at the hands of the entity as a winged demon baby in the premiere, only to shockingly return. Matty claims that the entity has left him alive in the sewers, allowing him to escape when it sleeps during the day. With Matty telling them that Phil (Jack Molloy Legault) is alive too, Lilly, Meg (Matilda Lawler), Ronnie (Amanda Christine), Will (Blake Cameron James), and Rich (Arian S. Cartaya) go underneath the town to find him. In a twist we should’ve seen coming, Matty is revealed to be the entity itself, which morphs into Pennywise.
The other kids are rescued by Will’s father, Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), but poor Lilly is separated and falls behind, only to encounter a dead end. Pennywise finds her there, taunts her about Matty’s death, and briefly appears as the twisted remains of her dead father. With its jaws open wide to expose rows of sharp teeth, Pennywise charges in for the kill, but stops frozen, because in the knee-deep water at Lilly’s feet lies the star dagger that Taniel dropped earlier. Unable to cross this barrier, the clown slinks away, and Lilly picks up the newfound weapon.
‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Stars Tease the Horror Prequel’s Heartbreaking Finale: “It Felt Like Pulling Out Your Guts”
James Remar and Kimberly Guerrero also talk about the history between General Shaw and Rose and the terrifying experience that bonded them.
There are many ways to hurt or kill Stephen King’s most famous monster. In the book and miniseries, shooting a silver slug from a slingshot has seriously hurt Pennywise. However, the ultimate way to kill the clown is the Ritual of Chüd, which, while shown in a variety of ways depending on the iteration of the story, involves the Losers Club fighting back against the entity in their minds as they face their fears. IT: Welcome to Derry will most likely go a different route to end Pennywise this time, but the star dagger has already been given to the perfect character.
Lilly Bainbridge Is Best Equipped To Fight Pennywise in ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’
If there’s anyone in IT: Welcome to Derry who has a lot to fear, it’s Lilly Bainbridge. Her father was killed in a freak accident that she blames herself for, she’s been in the Juniper Hill psychiatric hospital twice, kids make fun of her, and she previously watched some of her friends die violent deaths right in front of her in Episode 1. There’s likely a reason the dagger has been found by her and not one of the others, because she is the one most capable of both facing down her fears and Pennywise itself.
What happens next is anyone’s guess. We’re in uncharted territory, with not only bravery but an actual weapon on the side of our heroes. While we can assume that Dick Hallorann and his powerful shine, which now includes his open box of fears, will play a part in defeating Pennywise, it’s the dagger made of the fallen star that the entity fears most. Pennywise has just shown up, and it’s already in trouble — because this time, the kids of Derry, accompanied by the creation of the town’s oldest ancestors, will be able to fight back.
