It: Welcome to Derry Season 1, Episode 7
"The Black Spot"
Writer: Jason Fuchs & Brad Caleb Kane
Director: Andy Muschietti
Cast: Clara Stack, Amanda Christine, Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Blake Cameron James, Chris Chalk, Stephen Rider, Matilda Lawler, Arian S. Cartaya, Peter Outerbridge, Lazelle Gelias, Madeleine Stowe, Bill Skarsgård, Kimberly Guerrero, Dorian Grey, Tyner Rushing, Richard Walters, Shane Marriott, Larry Day, Joshua Odjick, Emma-Leigh Cullum, Morningstar Angeline
As was likely evident with last week’s cliffhanger, good times at the Black Spot come to a fiery end in this, the penultimate episode. The impending massacre is a harrowing footnote in the novel, a fixed point in Derry’s grim history. We know at least one of our Losers makes it out alive for their offspring to face Pennywise in the next cycle. Dick has a haunted hotel to oversee. But what of our original characters? Something tells me heartache is imminent. Probably the fact that I’m writing this after having watched the episode.
And if you’re curious about the turn-of-the-century origins of the dancing clown and how he became the go-to avatar for the shape-shifting entity? That’s all here, too.
Up in Flames
An armed stand-off between the masked lynch mob–surely these were pointed hoods in earlier drafts–and the predominantly Black patrons of the Spot dissolves a little too quickly. The airmen mount a solid defense, refusing to turn over Hank. Of course, Bowers’s retreat only wins him the high ground. They torch the place, barring the escape for those inside. We spend much of the episode trapped in the flaming tinderbox.
Dick escapes, though not before seeing specters of wars-gone-by shambling through the flames. He takes particular notice of a warrior woman wearing the hide of a bear. Hank, Ronnie, and Will make their way out as well. Most of the other airmen and loved ones are either burned alive or devoured by a frenzied, drooling Pennywise.
When it’s clear that all other means of escape are exhausted, Rich hurries Marge into a Coca-Cola cooler. She realizes only too late that there’s room inside for just one adolescent child. Before she can protest, he pushes the lid down and slumps over it protectively. It’s the Titanic finale perfected. Hours earlier, she dubbed him a knight. Now it’s his time to safeguard the fair maiden. He recounts the moment he first saw her exiting a classroom during another kid’s hallway prank. She’d caught him staring, told him to take a picture so it would last longer. Now he wishes he had. Marge will never know if he heard when she tells him she loves him.
Rich may actually give Georgie a run for his money when it comes to kids too precious for the world of Stephen King. What a lad.
Thanks to him, Marge survives the flames and the smoke. When the firefighter pulls her from the box the next morning (and weirdly just wanders off instead of carrying her outside?) she knows Rich must be dead, but has to see for herself. His body is mercifully intact, though dusted with ash. She embraces him with Will and Ronnie.
Come to Papa
In the cold open we get a look at the life of Bob Gray and his daughter Ingrid at the carnival back in 1908. While it’s very cool, this feels like a fairly elaborate series of mechanisms for a traveling show, what with the crank-operated wack-a-mole routine. Apparently Bob and his late wife performed together at a much grander circus and Bob is barely holding it together these days. Skarsgård is excellent in this double role, a reminder that the Pennywise we know is a cruel imitation of a sad-sack entertainer. His interaction with young Ingrid, who fashions her own costume and makeup in the image of her mother’s Periwinkle character, is exceptionally cute. He is her whole world, which makes her actions as an adult all the more tragic.
Ingrid’s husband, the town butcher, suffers some car trouble at the worst possible time, leaving him stranded outside the smoldering Black Spot as the rest of the bigots speed away. He’s surprised to see his wife dressed in full clown regalia, promising to beat her when they get home. So she barely bats an eye when Pennywise strides up and takes a massive cleaver straight out of Bloodborne to Stan’s head. As the clown chows down on the remains of her shitty husband, it slowly dawns on Ingrid that ol’ Dad may not be in there at all. That, perhaps, she’s been luring defenseless children to the plate of someone–or something–less than kind. Pennywise gives her a taste at the deadlights just as apprehension turns to horror.
This Might Be a Bad Plan
According to both Pennywise’s parting words to Ingrid and the military’s own assessment, the entity is ready to hibernate once more. But we know there’s a whole ‘nother episode to go!
The specter of Sesqui–or something doing a very good Sesqui impression–leads Dick to the location of one of the pillars. When the military unearth a large turtle shell, they find a fragment of alien rock inside, just like the dagger. Leroy is livid when he realizes Shaw doesn’t just intend to move it from the configuration keeping the entity confined to Derry, but to destroy it outright. James Remar is tasked with some pretty dreadful third act lunacy here. His intention was never to tighten the cage around the entity, but to free it. I think it’s probably a mistake for the actor to try and explain this so soberly, because it’s a patently unhinged idea. Literally. Shaw sees America (in the 1960s) as hopelessly divided (uh oh) and believes the only solution to bringing everyone together is uniting them in fear?
He concedes that a lot of people will die. But…
But what? They haven’t laid the groundwork for Shaw to lucidly believe this is a good idea. Maybe we’ll learn he’s somehow compromised next week?
Meanwhile, down deep in the cistern, Pennywise stirs from his slumber. Just great!
Taniel arrives to tell the Children of Maturin about the Air Force digging up the pillar. They were ready to adjourn for thirty years! Some of them figured they probably wouldn’t even live to see that alien terror again!
At home, Will takes a call from Ronnie.
Only, Ronnie wouldn’t make light of Rich’s death like that.
Wouldn’t make horrible jokes in a voice like that.
Wouldn’t cackle and show him the deadlights like that!
It all ends next week.
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