Please note: this article contains major spoilers for episode 5 of “It: Welcome to Derry”.
You know, I’m starting to think this killer clown is up to no good. “It: Welcome to Derry” managed to delay the inevitable and force viewers to have a little patience as to what this spooky season is all about. Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise finally made his first appearance in the flesh (so to speak) in the latest episode of the HBO series, but not before taking full advantage of his shapeshifting abilities. In a twist we probably should have seen coming, the sudden reappearance of Miles Ekhardt’s Matty turned out to be too good to be true. But, for those with particularly keen ears and even more impressive memories, there was another a character hidden in plain sight and who could very well be more than he appears to be.
Episode 5, titled “29 Neibolt Street,” may have just opened Pandora’s box of possibilities. While much of the action follows various characters exploring the sewers beneath Derry for signs of this, a surface-level subplot 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 accident during his transport to Shawshank Prison leads him to escape and reunite with Ingrid (Madeleine Stowe), the married woman he secretly had an affair with and, coincidentally, the strangely helpful nurse Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack) has befriended since her time at Juniper Hill Asylum.
But we don’t believe in coincidences, do we, friends? In its final moments, “29 Neibolt Street” sees fit to reveal Ingrid’s last name, Kersh… which should be obvious to anyone who’s watched “It Chapter Two.” Now all we’re left with are questions.
Is Welcome to Derry’s Ingrid Kersh the same character as the old woman from It Chapter Two?
Congratulations to all of us who felt something has been angry with Ingrid since she was first introduced in “Welcome to Derry”. Granted, 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 interaction with other characters, while the older woman’s somewhat overbearing interest in Lilly certainly seemed a little suspicious. Call us cynics if you must! Episode 5 reveals that not only is she real, but she’s also the woman carrying on a secret affair with Hank – which, although providing his alibi for why he wasn’t the theater killer, would only further condemn Hank in the eyes of Derry’s racist society.
But more importantly, introducing herself to Taylour Paige’s Charlotte Hanlon under the last name “Kersh” is the final piece of the puzzle. For those familiar with Stephen King’s story, Mrs. Kersh is a character mentioned in the original “It” novel and featured in a particularly stunning sequence in director Andy Muschietti’s “It Chapter Two.” The old woman invites Jessica Chastain’s Beverly to her childhood home for tea, although this turns out to be one of her sinister disguises, as the malevolent entity attempts to scare 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 its appearance in the coming weeks.
As for Ingrid, there is no shortage of questions. Is she another form of Pennywise? An ancestor of Mrs. Kersh? Or something else entirely?
Ingrid Kersh Reveal Could Set Up the Craziest Welcome to Derry Subplot Yet
Ingrid Kersh’s existence in “Welcome to Derry” might lay the groundwork for her craziest subplot yet, if you ask us. By dropping two major revelations 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 second half of the season. It’s obvious now that we’re meant to draw connections between Pennywise himself and Ingrid, although it’s unclear whether she’s positioned as Mrs. Kersh herself (or even, alternatively, his mother) or simply another manifestation of that. However, the idea that she is also having an illicit affair with Hank Grogan complicates matters further. I won’t insult anyone’s intelligence by speculating out loud whether Hank has butted heads with, uh, Pennywise himself.
It seems likely that we are headed for an even closer examination of its origins. The series has already revealed more details about Pennywise’s cosmic history, but what about the unanswered questions surrounding Bob Gray? Neither the films nor Stephen King’s massive novel shed much light on what this means, although many clues remain. Either this is the avatar chosen by Pennywise in human form, or he was simply inspired by a certain Bob Gray who lived in Derry and played the role of a clown. (To add even more intrigue, remember those flashbacks from Episode 3 subtly highlighting a certain woman in clown makeup?) By adding Ingrid Kersh into the mix as a wild card, something tells us that Pennywise’s ultimate plan is a little bigger than we thought.
New episodes of “It: Welcome to Derry” air on HBO and stream on HBO Max every Sunday.
