Rich Santos' Fate In It: Welcome To Derry Was A Lucky Thing - For Pennywise

It's saying something that, in a show as surprisingly gruesome and scary as "It: Welcome to Derry," the fate of Arian S. Cartaya's Rich Santos remains one of the most upsetting moments. In episode 7, "The Black Spot," Rich sacrifices himself to save Matilda Lawler's Marge Truman, in a moving moment from an episode that was otherwise an all-out bloodbath. But if you stop to think about it, Rich did more than save Marge. He might have actually made life easier for Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise, who feeds on fear and would have likely struggled when faced with Cartaya's courageous youngster.

"Welcome to Derry" saw Pennywise terrorize the residents of the titular town with an array of nightmarish visions that were even more gnarly than what we saw in Andy Muschietti's two movies, 2017's "It" and 2021's "It Chapter Two." Some of the scariest monsters in "Welcome to Derry" were downright horrifying, and if the truth be told, most of the kids in this show should have spent the entire eight episodes trembling in a fear-induced stupor after witnessing the sheer depravity of Pennywise's sadistic creations.

One character who seemingly overcame his fear, however, was Richie, who carried out the show's biggest act of bravery when he saved Marge during the harrowing Black Spot fire. As Marge remained protected from the smoke in a locker, Richie died of smoke inhalation outside. The thing is, we know Pennywise was present at the fire, where he feasted on faces and generally had a grand old time amid the chaos. Why was Richie left to perish in the fire with his face intact? Well, maybe Pennywise sensed that he was no longer afraid.

Pennywise feeds on fear. That's his whole modus operandi. All of the aforementioned nightmare visions were designed to play on victims' deepest fears, and throughout "It: Welcome to Derry," we saw how that fear revitalized Bill Skarsgård's crazed harlequin. Rich Santos, however, would surely have frustrated the clown, since he proved himself to be about as fearless as they come.

Early in season 1, Rich tells Marge Truman that Pennywise living in the sewers made him afraid to use the bathroom, to the extent that he kept a jar next to his bed. By episode 7, however, Rich seemingly overcame all his fears, sacrificing himself to save Marge during the Black Spot fire, which is easily one of the most disturbing moments in Stephen King's original "It" novel. Aside from episode 7 of "Welcome to Derry" giving us this major character death, it also served as one of Pennywise's biggest murder scenes, with the evil entity stalking the burning bar to feed on the trapped patrons' fear.

For some reason, however, he leaves Rich alone to pass away from the smoke. Could it be that Pennywise recognized the youngster's lack of fear? More than that, would the fearless Richie have been able to finish off Pennywise then and there? Considering the Losers' Club of the future eventually defeating the villain by displaying their lack of fear in "It: Chapter Two," it seems Richie might well have been able to triumph over the clown during this fearless act of heroism.

The "It: Welcome to Derry" finale was the show at its best and worst, indulging in some dodgy plotting and fantastical lore before wrapping things up in a neat little bow that felt a little too cheery considering the horrific events of episode 7. We did, however, get to see a climactic fight between the residents of the titular town and the evil entity itself. That fight was truly thrilling and arguably better than the final battle that led to Pennywise's defeat in "It: Chapter Two."

Unfortunately, Rich Santos wasn't there to help his friends suppress Bill Skarsgård's villain. At least, not in the flesh. The youngster's spirit did show up to give his friends the extra push they needed to finally place a magical pillar at the base of a similarly magical tree (see the aforementioned fantastical lore). But what if Richie had survived in episode 7? This protracted battle in the finale could have been over much more quickly had Richie shown up and demonstrated how he wasn't intimidated by Pennywise. What's more, the gang might well have defeated Pennywise much more decisively than they did. Instead of merely keeping the creature trapped in Derry, they would have had a chance to outright destroy him, thereby preventing the events of the two films and the planned second and third seasons of "Welcome to Derry."

Whether Derry will see the rise of a similarly fearless character in the second season remains to be seen. But while the creators have an ambitious "Welcome to Derry" trilogy planned, HBO has yet to officially renew the series, raising the question of just what the company is scared of...