This article was originally published on FearHQ.com.
In This: Welcome to DerryIn the fifth episode of, “29 Neibolt Street”, Matty Clements, the boy who disappeared in the series premiere, is revealed to be alive as he reunites with Lilly, Will, Ronnie, Marge and Rich, and tells them that he managed to escape from Pennywise’s lair.
Matty stops them from involving adults and explains that Teddy’s brain was eaten by him and that Suzie bled after her arm was torn off. Phil, however, is still alive. With that, a plan is agreed upon to head into the sewers and save their friend.
At the same time, the army launches an attack on Pennywise’s lair; General Shaw understood that one last bloody event marks the end of a cycle and that there will then be 27 years of peace. The reason the city seems to become so unbalanced during the entity’s attacks is because it sheds its skin, thus altering Derry’s water.
A monstrous Uncle Sam attacks the invading soldiers, and Hallorann is mentally tortured by Pennywise after encountering the creature with his psychic abilities. As underground events continue to escalate, Leroy inadvertently kills his friend and the children discover a devastating secret.
It’s not Matty; Pennywise has been impersonating him all this time and is finally revealed in all his gruesome glory as Bill Skarsgård’s iconic monster attempts to devour the children he’s stalking.
Luckily, Lilly manages to fend off Pennywise with a piece of his cage, initially taken into the sewers by the military (perhaps giving these kids an advantage in the weeks to come).
Hank, meanwhile, escaped from prison after being falsely accused of the murders and it turns out he was secretly seeing Lilly’s friend from Juniper Hill Asylum, Ingrid.
The episode ends with Hallorann emerging from the sewers, not entirely in his right mind after his encounter with the entity opened a Pandora’s box of traumatic memories that he has spent his entire life suppressing. Critics have yet to see the final installments, so it remains to be seen where things go from here.
Set in the world of Stephen King He universe, This: Welcome to Derry is based on King’s He novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in feature films He And This is chapter two.
The cast is led by Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, Rudy Mancuso and Bill Skarsgård.
The series, from Warner Bros. Television and developed for television by filmmakers Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti (He, The lightning) and Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman), will debut on HBO and will also be available to stream on HBO Max. Muschietti will direct four episodes of the nine-episode series.
Five episodes of This: Welcome to Derry are now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes released weekly until the season finale on December 14.
