The Secret It Character In Welcome To Derry Raises All Kinds Of Questions

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for episode 5 of "It: Welcome to Derry."

You know, I'm starting to think that killer clown fella is up to no good. "It: Welcome to Derry" has done an able job of delaying the inevitable and forcing viewers to exercise some patience regarding the reason for the spooky season. Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise finally made his first appearance in the flesh (so to speak) in the latest episode of the HBO show, though not before taking full advantage of his shapeshifting abilities. In a twist that we probably should've seen coming, the sudden reappearance of Miles Ekhardt's Matty turned out to be too good to be true. But, for those with particularly sharp ears and even more impressive memories, there was another character lurking in plain sight who might very well be more than they seem to be.

Episode 5, titled "29 Neibolt Street," may have just opened up a Pandora's box of possibilities. While much of the action follows various characters exploring the sewers beneath Derry for signs of It, one subplot on the surface has to do with the continued incarceration of Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), the prime suspect in the theater massacre from the "Welcome to Derry" premiere. An unexplained mishap while transporting him to Shawshank prison leads to him escaping and reuniting with Ingrid (Madeleine Stowe), the married woman he's secretly been having an affair with and, coincidentally, the oddly helpful orderly that Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack) befriended from her time at Juniper Hill Asylum.

But we don't believe in coincidences, do we, folks? In its waning moments, "29 Neibolt Street" sees fit to reveal Ingrid's last name as Kersh ... which should jump out to anyone who's watched "It Chapter Two." Now, we're left with nothing but questions.

Congrats to all of us who felt something was off about Ingrid ever since she was first introduced in "Welcome to Derry." Admittedly, most theories seemed to revolve around whether or not she was a figment of Lilly's imagination. After all, most of their scenes together featured little to no interactions with other characters, while the older woman's somewhat overbearing interest in Lilly certainly felt a bit suspicious. Call us cynics if you must! Episode 5 reveals that she's not only real, but she's also the woman who has been carrying on a secret affair with Hank — which, despite providing his alibi for why he wasn't the killer at the theater, would only further condemn Hank in the eyes of Derry's racist society.

But, more importantly, introducing herself to Taylour Paige's Charlotte Hanlon with the last name "Kersh" is the final piece of the puzzle. For those who know their Stephen King lore, Mrs. Kersh is a character mentioned in the original "It" novel and featured in one particularly gnarly sequence in director Andy Muschietti's "It Chapter Two." The old woman invites Jessica Chastain's Beverly into her childhood home for a spot of tea, though this turns out to be one of It's sinister disguises, as the malevolent entity attempts to scare the living daylights out of our protagonist. In the novel, Kersh describes herself as the "daughter" of Pennywise — or, rather, of Pennywise's human counterpart, Robert "Bob" Gray. And, wouldn't you know it, the marketing for "Welcome to Derry" has already hinted at his appearance in the weeks ahead.

As for Ingrid, questions abound. Is she another form of Pennywise? An ancestor to Mrs. Kersh? Or something else entirely?

The existence of Ingrid Kersh in "Welcome to Derry" might be laying the groundwork for its wildest subplot yet, if you ask us. By dropping two major reveals in the same episode — that her full name is Ingrid Kersh and that she's Hank's secret lover — we have no choice but to obsess over what the show's writers are building towards in the latter half of the season. It's obvious now that we're meant to draw connections between Pennywise himself and Ingrid, though it's unclear if she's being positioned as Mrs. Kersh herself (or even, alternately, her mother) or merely another manifestation of It. Further complicating matters, however, is the idea that she's also carrying on an illicit affair with Hank Grogan. I won't insult anyone's intelligence by speculating aloud whether Hank has been bumping uglies with, uh, Pennywise itself.

It seems likely that we're headed towards an even deeper examination into It's origins. The series has already revealed more details behind Pennywise's cosmic backstory, but what about the unanswered questions surrounding Bob Gray? Both the movies and Stephen King's massive novel don't shed much light on what this signifies, though plenty of hints remain. Either this is Pennywise's chosen avatar in human form, or he simply took inspiration from someone named Bob Gray who lived in Derry and performed as a clown. (To add further intrigue, remember those flashbacks in episode 3 subtly highlighting a certain woman in clown makeup?) By throwing Ingrid Kersh into the mix as a wild card, something tells us that Pennywise's ultimate plan is a little more extensive than we thought.

New episodes of "It: Welcome to Derry" air on HBO and stream on HBO Max every Sunday.