It: Welcome To Derry's Best Cameo Was A Last-Minute Addition

This article contains spoilers for "It: Welcome to Derry."

"It: Welcome to Derry" gave fans a surprise with a finale cameo that occurred during a prologue sequence set 26 years after the events of season 1. It showed an elderly Ingrid Kersh (Joan Gregson) walking into a room at Juniper Hill Asylum to find Beverly Marsh, played by a returning Sophia Lillis, distraught to have found her mother's lifeless body. Lillis previously portrayed Bev in 2017's "It" and the 2019 follow-up, "It: Chapter Two," and it turns out her addition to the last episode of "Welcome to Derry" was fairly hasty.

Regardless of how you feel about certain choices the writers made, "It: Welcome to Derry" is impressive for the way in which it connects its story to both the original "It" narrative and the wider Stephen King-verse. "Welcome to Derry" is crucial viewing for King fans because it weaves in so many aspects of the author's work, not least Dick Hallorann, who is a major character in the show and forms a link between "It" and "The Shining."

But co-creators Jason Fuchs and Andy and Barbara Muschietti also had to remain aware of their own interpretation of King's original "It" story. Andy had previously directed "It" and "It: Chapter Two" before launching the prequel series and, as such, elements of the 1962-set show had to directly set up and influence the events that had already played out in the 1988 and 2016-set films. That's a lot to think about when crafting the storylines of these episodes. Thankfully, the writers did a stellar job of interweaving everything, and the finale cameo was just one example of that. What makes it even more impressive is that this particular scene was a last-minute addition.

The cameo in the "It: Welcome to Derry" finale was eerie not only because we saw Beverly Marsh witness the death of her mother, but because it contained an elderly Ingrid Kersh, a younger version of whom had been played by Madeleine Stowe in the series. The older version of the character had previously appeared in an It-induced vision from "It: Chapter Two," and was present in the "Welcome to Derry" finale as a way of further expanding the lore of this complex universe and linking the show with the movies.

The way the showrunners managed to pull all these aspects together with this brief final scene is quite impressive, really, especially when you learn that it all came together at the last minute. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Andy Muschietti — who, aside from co-creating the series, also directed four episodes, including the finale — spoke about the cameo scene. "It was important for me to make a stronger connection to the movies," he explained. "The idea of bringing Beverly back in the epilogue was a last-minute idea."

The more you think about it, the more impressive it becomes. In "Chapter Two," we saw Jessica Chastain's adult Beverly Marsh visit Mrs. Kersh (played by Joan Gregson) at her home, only for the whole thing to be revealed as a hallucination when Kersh transformed into a monstrous version of herself. Her return in the "Welcome to Derry" finale, therefore, links the show much more obviously with the 2019 movie, and also adds some subtle layers to the Mrs. Kersh scene from that film.

Aside from bringing back two actors from the "It" movies, the "It: Welcome to Derry" finale answered some of the more intricate questions left hanging by the films. For instance, we know It preys upon people's deepest fears, but until the show debuted, it wasn't entirely clear why Jessica Chastain's Beverly Marsh experienced a nightmarish vision that was based around Mrs. Kersh. Now, thanks to the upsetting final scene in "Welcome to Derry" season 1, we know that Kersh was present when Bev found her mother's body in the Juniper Hill Asylum. That's why It used her as a way to scare Bev in the 2016-set "It: Chapter Two."

"Welcome to Derry" co-creator Jason Fuchs spoke about that specific link in his EW interview, saying, "That scene [from 'Chapter Two'] takes on a different meaning when you go back and rewatch. Beverly might not remember that encounter, but somewhere, that's deep in the recesses of her mind. Now you understand why It would choose that form to take. This is a deep-seated memory of hers. The most traumatic moment of her life is linked to an early encounter with Mrs. Kersh."

There's even more significance to the "Chapter Two" scene in light of the HBO series. In the film, we see Bev looking at photos of Mrs. Kersh and a man who resembles Pennywise the Clown. Now, thanks to "Welcome to Derry," we know that Kersh is actually the daughter of Bob Gray, the original, human-version of Pennywise the Clown, whose form It steals in order to lure children. Again, it's all really well done, which is why it's hard to believe it was thrown together at the last minute.