TL;DR: Welcome to Derry Episode 2 sharpens the scares and deepens the story. The horror feels personal, the direction stellar, and the lore expansion intriguing. It’s not perfect, but it’s thrilling, emotional, and confidently creepy—a promising chapter in a nightmare worth watching.
It: Welcome to Derry
It hasn’t even been 27 days, let alone 27 years, and HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry is already proving that Pennywise’s hometown still has more nightmares to give. Episode 2, titled “The Thing in the Dark,” builds on the eerie momentum of the pilot, dialing up both the scares and the emotional tension. Where the first episode felt like an atmospheric prologue, this one dives deep into Derry’s psyche—and it’s starting to pay off.
We pick up right after the theater massacre, with Lilly (Clara Stack) waking up from a nightmare that, of course, wasn’t just a dream. The cops are circling Hank Grogan’s apartment, and the Hanlons have just moved into town. Leroy (Jovan Adepo), his wife Charlotte (Taylour Paige), and their curious son Will (Blake Cameron James) bring a sense of grounded normalcy to the chaos—a family trying to start over in a place that doesn’t let people rest.
This setup works beautifully. It’s equal parts family drama, supernatural mystery, and quiet character study. The telescope gift moment between father and son? Pure Stephen King heart. You can feel the show digging into what Derry does best: blending innocence with inevitability.
The school scenes have a solid emotional pulse this week. Marge (Matilda Lawler) and Lilly’s fractured friendship hits that sweet spot between awkward adolescence and creeping dread. The social tension feels authentic, and when the supernatural elements start bleeding in, it lands harder. The scene with Ronnie (Amanda Christine) and her nightmarish, pulsating bed is one of the best horror sequences HBO’s pulled off all year. It’s disturbing, cinematic, and dripping with metaphor—a twisted reflection of trauma and guilt.
Unlike the pilot, Episode 2 manages to balance the supernatural with the personal. Every scare has an emotional echo. It’s not just gore for shock value—it’s fear as grief, fear as memory. That’s what makes Welcome to Derry feel like more than just an IP cash grab. It’s trying to understand what makes Pennywise’s influence so enduring.
Leroy Hanlon’s storyline continues to deepen the show’s mythology. Adepo brings real weight to his performance—there’s a quiet frustration to his character, a man caught between duty, identity, and the darkness bubbling beneath Derry’s soil. His scenes with General Shaw (James Remar) inject a layer of tension that actually works this time. The Cold War paranoia subplot, which could’ve derailed the tone, now feels purposeful—a reflection of institutional fear and power.
And when Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) enters the frame, my King-verse radar went berserk. Seeing Hallorann here, decades before The Shining, hints at something cosmic connecting Derry to the Overlook Hotel. It’s the kind of subtle, lore-rich storytelling that makes long-time fans grin.
The heart of Episode 2 belongs to Lilly. Her interrogation scene with Chief Bowers (Peter Outerbridge) is stomach-turning, not because of supernatural horror but because of manipulation and gaslighting. The way she’s pressured into doubting her own memories feels all too real. Later, when her perception of reality breaks inside the grocery store—seeing her father’s face in a jar of pickles, aisles twisting like a maze—it’s a perfect blend of psychological and supernatural terror.
Welcome to Derry is at its best when it blurs those lines. The monsters are terrifying, sure, but it’s the emotional unraveling that sticks with you. Lilly’s descent is tragic and compelling, grounding the story’s chaos with genuine pathos.
Andy Muschietti’s direction remains top-tier horror filmmaking. The lighting and camera work ooze tension, and the sound design hums with the quiet dread of something lurking just out of sight. Even without Pennywise fully on screen yet, his presence is everywhere—mirrors, whispers, balloons in the periphery. It’s a masterclass in atmosphere.
The pacing, while still juggling multiple threads, feels more confident now. The show seems to have found its rhythm, weaving between the kids’ emotional arcs and the military mystery without losing its tone. There’s ambition here, but also control—a sign the creative team knows where this nightmare is heading.
With Episode 2, IT: Welcome to Derry proves it’s more than a nostalgic cash-in. It’s a deeply unsettling, visually gorgeous horror saga that’s slowly earning its place alongside King’s best adaptations. The scares are sharper, the world-building richer, and the performances emotionally charged. Yes, the series still risks stretching itself too thin—but for now, the balance between horror and heart feels right.
If this trajectory continues, HBO might just have another horror classic in the making.
