IT: WELCOME TO DERRY EPISODE 7 RECAP: The Black Spot

IT: Welcome to Derry episode 7 was perhaps the heaviest episode of the series, yet that left us crying, angry, and with so many questions. These recaps are made possible thanks to screeners from HBO.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The episode kicks off with Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Dancing clown, but he hasn’t become the entity yet; instead, he’s performing on stage, which ends with the mob of children rushing the stage and imitating his infamous dance as a mysterious child watches from afar. After the show he is cleaning his makeup off talking to Ingrid about the crowd size when she surprises him dressed up as a clown herself. He tells her to show him the bow and announces her as Perrywinkle which was the show name her mother used.

Later that night, he is outside smoking and drinking half-dressed in his show attire and coughs up blood into a napkin, revealing he is ill, when a mysterious child, presumably the one watching him earlier, shows up, remarking that the children are drawn to him. The child is hidden in darkness, but his eyes glow in the night, adding to the scene. Suddenly, there is screaming from the woods, and the child tells him it is his mother screaming, ultimately convincing him to help him find her. Later that night, Ingrid is looking for her father and stumbles upon the circus crew, who show her his blood-soaked handkerchief with his initials on, revealing he is gone.

The Black Spot Massacre

After the credits play, we are back at The Black Spot, where the masked men enter with guns, demanding that they hand over Hank. Hallorann tells them he’s not there, but Hank shows himself, remarking nobody will die because of him. The Airmen and patrons inside the spot draw their guns back at the masked men and force them to leave. Once the men leave, they chain the doors shut, locking everybody inside, and begin lighting the place on fire as a shootout begins.

Chaos ensues as people are being shot, and the children are caught in the middle as the place erupts in flames. Hallorann begins searching for a way out and finds a hole in the floor to escape, but remembers the children and sees the ghost of a Native American Chief, who gets her attention, asking for help. Ronnie is frantically searching for her father when she stumbles upon Pennywise in the middle of the fire, eating someone. Hallorann saves her, but Pennywise acknowledges him, and a group of dead appear behind him and go after them in a truly terrifying and bone-chilling scene. The men outside watch as everyone inside is screaming and dying, and they begin to leave. Hallorann gets Will, Ronnie, and Hank into the hole in the floor, allowing them to escape.

Marge and Rich are still inside, scrambling to escape and find a metal box to hide in; it will only fit one of them. Rich tricks Marge into getting in, slamming the lid shut, and climbs on top as the roof begins to collapse. In without a doubt the most heartbreaking scene in the series, Rich recalls seeing Marge and the time she told him to take a picture, it’ll last longer. He tells her he wishes he could have and that he loves her as she sobs, responding that she loves him too. Arian S. Cartaya deserves an award for the incredible display of acting he puts on in this scene. For a child actor to nail the emotion and the moment this called for, I have never seen anything like it.

Behind the Veil

Back outside, Ingrid’s husband is attempting to escape, but his car refuses to start. Out of the woods, we see Ingrid appear dressed as Perrywinkle, telling him that he can finally see her as she is. As he is scolding her, Pennywise appears and cuts his head in half. He begins to eat the head, staring at Ingrid with piercing yellow eyes. Ingrid tells Pennywise she knew pain would bring him, and she hoped he would tell her that she did well. Pennywise stops eating her and tells her to show him her bow and to come to Papa as the two embrace with Pennywise telling her he is going to sleep now. Ingrid then realizes that he is not her father as Pennywise stares with drool coming down his chin, causing the scene to become tense, and ultimately, he reveals the Deadlights, putting her into a catatonic state.

As the sun rises, the fire department is putting out the fire and cleaning the scene when Marge appears and reunites with Ronnie and Will. The three see Rich’s dead body sitting next to where Marge was hiding and embrace him in an emotional moment for the children. Outside, Hallorann is in a state of shock as Leroy sits him down to talk to him. Hallorann explains he knows where a pillar is buried, and instead of returning to base, they follow the Native American Chief’s ghost, who had helped him in the fire. Inside a turtle shell ( in the books, the turtle is the cosmic being that can defeat and frighten Pennywise), they find the pillar. Instead of moving the pillar inward like promised the military takes it back to base where they plan to destroy it.

Leroy appears holding everyone at gun point as they were about to melt the pillar thus destroying it as General Shaw tells him everyone to put the guns down. Shaw tells Leroy that the country is tearing itself apart and only through fear can they hope to bring everyone together. Shaw’s plan the whole time was to release Pennywise onto the world. Leroy is held at gunpoint and forced to watch as the pillar is melted and destroyed as we see Pennywise who was asleep reawaken. Shaw tells them not to let Leroy leave the base. While this was goig on Taniel saw what the military was doing when they dug up the pillar and rushed to his aunts house where Charlotte and Hank were as they were asking Rose to help get Hank out.

The episode ends with Will at home alone as Pennywise calls him and reveals himself in blood-soaked attire behind him and uses the Deadlights on Will. This was, without a doubt, one of the best episodes of television I have seen in a long time. The child actors are bringing a level of acting that sells every moment of this series. This episode brought so much heartbreak, and Arian deserves every award for the display he put on in that moment. This is by far the most terrifying we have seen Pennywise as he attacks not only children but, the adults too.

We are set up for an insane conclusion to this season, and I have no idea how this will end. IT: Welcome to Derry is truly sitting atop as the king of horror, and Pennywise is putting on a show in a way we have never seen him do before. The show airs every Sunday on HBO and HBO MAX at 9 pm EST, as December 14th will be the finale!