Let’s discuss IT. Not just IT: Welcome To Derry, which just released its third episode “Now You See It,” mixing the mundane with occasional highlights. But we really need to dive into IT the entity, also known as the Deadlights, Pennywise The Dancing Clown, Bob Gray, or any other horror alias you prefer. More specifically, it’s crucial to determine if the difficulty this version of IT has in evoking real fear is intentional or problematic.

After all, IT is supposed to be somewhat pitiable. Stephen King’s original novel and its adaptations highlight that IT preys on children not just out of preference, but because they are powerless, subjected to adult cruelty and their own wild imaginations, making them easy targets for a predator that’s surprisingly unsophisticated in its tactics. Series creator Andy Muschietti understands this well, depicting the monster in his film series as a feeble, infantile entity defeated by adults tired of its haunted house antics. This is a compelling, complex perspective on a horror villain, but it often renders a TV series dependent on IT for major scares more comedic than horrifying.

Still, Welcome To Derry is capable of delivering scares: Tonight’s cold open, set in a 1908 carnival, effectively captures the eerie charm of such spaces. Surrounded by the sounds of faux violence and a carnival barker’s chants, we see young Francis Shaw drawn irresistibly toward the sinister “Skeleton Man” at the back of the freak show. This scene, potent with real horror, works better because IT is not overtly present, playing on the innate terror of being lured into the unknown.

Contrast this with IT’s actual debut in “Now You See It,” emerging after the Shaw family car conveniently stops near some local kids selling water. A bizarre cut later, Francis is playing with one of the kids, only to wander into a forbidden part of the woods. This leads to a cliché supernatural chase, with IT relying solely on abrupt camera shifts and menacing teeth. It’s intriguing that IT conjures up the Skeleton Man from Francis’ fears, but this isn’t truly frightening and raises doubts about this rendition of IT being a source of genuine terror.

My focus on the scare factor is crucial because, frankly, being frightening is fundamental for an IT series. Besides, “Now You See It” doesn’t offer much else, merely advancing the show’s separate storylines. In the children’s plot, a budding group attempts to capture photographic evidence of IT, leading to a comical graveyard chase reminiscent of an old Disney Channel Halloween special. The scene ends with an attempt to shock us with a child’s peril, but the show is unlikely to kill off another young protagonist so soon. The frequent need to feature IT undermines the creature’s menace, making it look feeble against mere children on bikes.

On the adult side, the episode shines with backstory and standout scenes. The young boy from the opener grows up to be James Remar, with the girl becoming antiques dealer Rose (Kimberly Norris Guerrero). Despite a hinted past romance, they find themselves on opposing sides of a conflict concerning the military’s interest in the child-eating alien. Meanwhile, Mike Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) and standout performer Chris Chalk’s Dick Hallorann navigate the complexities of military strategies against IT, which include aerial scouting missions that inadvertently alert IT to their presence.

I have a soft spot for the absurd plot to weaponize the shapeshifting clown alien, made enjoyable by the commitment of actors like Remar and Chalk. The military subplot, recognizing IT’s 27-year cycle, adds a layer of intrigue, especially in scenes focusing on the adult characters, such as a tense dinner at Hanlon’s home. This dinner, filled with unspoken tensions and ironies, highlights the series’ strength when it centers on its adult cast.

Three episodes in, Welcome To Derry remains a compelling drama for adults that reluctantly shares its runtime with a less successful children’s horror subplot. My hope is for a better integration of horror across all storylines, boosting the psychological depth among the younger characters and ensuring the central monster elicits actual fear. For now, the series is a mix of standout moments amid a range of more mundane content.

Additional Thoughts

• • The slingshot scene seems to nod to a detail omitted from Muschietti’s IT films, where Bev Marsh uses it against Pennywise, reinforcing the notion that IT can be hurt. (In the films, Bev uses a large piece of rebar similarly.)
• • Despite its ominous buildup, Juniper Hill is portrayed quite benignly, even featuring Madeline Stowe in what seems to be a nod to her role in Twelve Monkeys, as the sole adult who believes Lilly’s story.
• • Although a less-than-stellar cop, Bowers manages to confirm that Hank Grogan wasn’t where he claimed to be during the theater incident, a classic detective “gotcha” moment from an otherwise detestable character.
• • Regarding Hallorann’s claim of a liaison with Aretha Franklin – she was indeed a famous artist by 1962, though only 20 years old at the time. Considering Chalk’s age of 47, this raises some eyebrows.
• • IT’s tactic of using deceased family members to terrorize, while occasionally seen in other adaptations, is less emphasized here than in previous iterations.
• • The confrontation between Shaw and Rose reiterates the strange effect IT/Derry has on people’s memories once they leave the town.
• • For the second consecutive episode, IT doesn’t use Phil’s corpse like it does with Teddy and Susie’s, suggesting he might still be alive in the sewers (or perhaps the showrunners decided two ghostly children were enough).
• • While there may not be a perfect way to film children riding bikes for TV, avoiding immediate comparisons to Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace would be preferable.