Why It: Welcome To Derry's First Episode Ended With The Movie Theater Slaughter

An "It" prequel series delving into the minutiae of the celebrated Stephen King story might have initially sounded a little too arcane to succeed, and perhaps even a tad dull. But "It: Welcome to Derry" announced itself with an episode that immediately eviscerated such doubts by, well, eviscerating a bunch of kids. The "Welcome to Derry" pilot culminated in a shocking twist ending that saw the show's version of the Loser's Club literally torn limb from limb by a flying demon baby. The obvious takeaway here was that in "Welcome to Derry," nobody was safe, and that's exactly how creators Jason Fuchs, Barbara, and Andy Muschietti planned it.

Aside from expanding the lore established by 2017's "It" and 2019's "It: Chapter 2," "Welcome to Derry" was a surprisingly gruesome and scary series that actually managed to top the two movies in terms of sheer terror and gore. That becomes evident from the off when Miles Eckhardt's Matty Clements is picked up by a family of four, only for the mother to birth the aforementioned demon baby in a horrific scene that immediately establishes the show's willingness to push the envelope.

That godforsaken hell-spawn returns at the end of the pilot to unleash agony on Phil Malkin (Jack Molloy Legault), Teddy Uris (Mikkal Karim-Fidler), and Susie Malkin (Hunter Storm Baker), who all suffer violent deaths at the hands of this abomination. Such a horrific scene was unexpected to say the least, especially given how the rest of the episode appears to be setting up the victims as major characters. For the co-creators of the HBO series, however, that was exactly why they had to die.

Andy and Barbara Muschietti took part in a Reddit AMA for "It: Welcome to Derry," during which they were asked if they found it hard to write out popular characters. In response, Andy wrote about the "level of emotionality" and how he enjoys "being moved by films," adding, "I love to cry in front of a screen." The director pointed to a major death in "Welcome to Derry" episode 7, whereby Rich Santos (Arian S. Cartaya) sacrifices himself to save Marge Truman (Matilda Lawler). As Andy explained, "The death of Richie was important for us to create a tragic love story that was going to touch people's hearts in a way that a happy ending would have not."

But the movie theater massacre in the pilot episode was created with an entirely different aim. "It was more a case of shocking the audience into the idea that NO ONE in this world would ever be safe," said Andy, "creating engagement from unpredictability." In an earlier interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the co-creator, who also directed four episodes, elaborated on that idea, saying, "You want to create an event that gives the audience a sense that if these kids were smoked at the end of the first episode, nothing is sacred [...] In this world, no one will be safe. So, technically, that was the intention."

Barbara Muschietti, meanwhile, revealed in a behind-the-scenes featurette that this was actually one of the first things the writers came up with. "One of the first ideas in the writers' room was, once the audience falls in love with a set of Losers, give them a bit of a quick exit." The only issue now is how the creators will handle things going forward.

At the time of writing, "It: Welcome to Derry" has yet to receive a renewal, which is somewhat surprising given the positive critical reaction to the show and how well it fared in the ratings. Not only does "Welcome to Derry" hold a very respectable 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but it also had one of the three biggest series debuts in HBO Max history. According to Warner Bros. Discovery, the show's debut ranks just behind "The Last of Us" and "Game of Thrones" spinoff series "House of the Dragon" in terms of viewership. The series has also seemingly maintained its momentum, with its standout seventh episode (which adapted the most disturbing moment from Stephen King's "It" novel) bringing in record viewers.

All of which is to say that it would be a big surprise if "Welcome to Derry" doesn't get a season 2 renewal. If that does happen, it will be interesting to see how the Muschiettis and Jason Fuchs manage to subvert expectations again. Going into episode 1 of the first season, fans didn't know what to expect, so the co-creators could play on that fact and surprise viewers with the sheer level of violence showcased during that shocker of a climax. With season 2, we'll all be ready for it. Given that the "Welcome to Derry" creators have an ambitious trilogy of seasons planned, the Muschiettis and Fuchs have an even more challenging task on their hands if the show does make it to a third season. Whether this means the series will get even more brutal next time around remains to be seen, but I can't wait to see how it all plays out.