IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 4 Review

IT: Welcome to Derry has aired its fourth episode this week, and with this episode comes a pivotal moment for the show’s future. Complaints have already been brewing about the pacing of this show, particularly when it comes to the presence of Bill Skarsgård, whose presence as Pennywise has certainly been felt throughout the show’s run so far, but has never made an appearance on-screen in it’s clown form yet. In last week’s review of Episode 3, I said that to keep the momentum going, something crazy needed to go down in Welcome to Derry Episode 4, and unfortunately, craziness was not on the menu this week.

Today, we’re reviewing IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 4, an episode where our cast of characters get plenty of time to shine, but Pennywise itself continues to take a backseat. This is your official spoiler warning! We’ll not only be discussing the events of previous episodes in this series, but also the events of this newly-released fourth episode, so be sure to watch for yourself before reading ahead! Now, let’s dive into the review!

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IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 4 Review

Image by HBO

It feels a little hard to believe, but Welcome to Derry Episode 4 was, once again, a very slow episode of television, as Andy Muschietti proves that his approach to this series is far more grounded in character work and exchanges of dialogue, as opposed to any sort of excitement, or even horror, at least when it comes to this episode. I’m still enjoying Welcome to Derry, but it’s quite surprising to see just how hard the series has slammed on the brakes since airing its pilot episode, which was easily one of the most shocking television episodes of the year. Also, as much as I’ve tried to defend the series by insisting that, though not in its clown form, we were getting enough Pennywise content in its other forms to scratch the show’s horror itch, having Bill Skarsgård still absent from the show four episodes in is ludicrous, especially considering his face is splashed all over this show’s advertising material.

Welcome to Derry Episode 4 is certainly helped by the fact that a good portion of its cast of human characters is more than compelling enough to keep the show moving on their own, particularly the Hanlon family, who really take centre-stage this week. I’m also really enjoying Arian S. Cartaya as Richie, a newfound addition to this show’s ‘Loser Club’ equivalent, who has done a nice job filling in the gaps left by Phil and Teddy after their deaths in Episode 1. In other ways, however, Welcome to Derry Episode 4 highlights that, though they get more than enough time to thrive on-screen, some of the characters in this show are simply not interesting enough to exist in this series in a role that doesn’t involve being hunted by a killer clown.

I also think that Welcome to Derry Episode 4 faltered a little in the storytelling of Leroy Hanlon. For a man whose entire involvement in the hunt for Pennywise hinges on his lack of fear, he’s pretty terrified on multiple occasions throughout this episode. Sure, both instances of terror involve the wellbeing of his son, Will, so it’s nice to see Leroy concerned for his family, but I feel it sort of undermines what makes him such a great choice for going up against Pennywise. I hope that future episodes of the show address Leroy feeling fear, and perhaps even uses his emotional instability to change the military’s strategy in deploying him. If the show otherwise carries on with the assumption that Leroy feels no fear, Welcome to Derry Episode 4 is going to stand out for all the wrong reasons, from a continuity point of view.

Image by HBO

While we see Leroy form traumatic bonds with his son this week, the matriarch of the Hanlon family, Charlotte, also gets to work in her own way this week, leading the charge in trying to free Hank Grogan, Ronnie’s father, from prison. Charlotte is a very compelling character, helped majorly by Taylour Paige’s portrayal. However, what really helped this storyline for me was the fact that Hank, though innocent of the theatre massacre, was actually not at home that night, as his alibi states. After revealing that he was having an affair with a married white woman, Hank is faced with a cruel decision – go to Shawshank for a crime he didn’t commit, or face the evils of Derry, Maine in 1962 when it comes to interracial relations? I forgot to mention this last week, but I love how Shawshank plays a role in this story, really tying all of Stephen King’s stories together, even the ones that have nothing to do with his usual horror methodology.

Moving away from the Hanlon family, we come to the children of Derry, who this week felt pretty aimless. After their photographic evidence was denied by Clint Bowers, it feels like our cast of children just sort of shuffled their way through Welcome to Derry Episode 4. Will does, however, pose an interesting question about Pennywise, putting forth the idea that Pennywise actually hasn’t been trying to kill them yet, but has instead been trying to scare them, to get as much possible from their deaths. I like this way of looking at Pennywise, mainly because it helps explain how any of these kids ever get away from his death traps. However, it does raise the question as to why Teddy, Phil, and Susie were shown no remorse in the first episode, and in particular, Matty Clements. I’ve been thinking about Matty’s death a lot throughout this show – where every other kid has been given a chance to escape, it really feels like Matty had no hope the second he got in the car. In some ways, I think Pennywise’s hunting strategy is always going to come to an inconsistent conclusion, but I did like that Will was at least trying to put reason to madness this week.

I also got a real kick out of the kids taking Valium this week to cope with Pennywise’s hauntings. Not only does it work from a narrative perspective, but it also ties the events of Welcome to Derry Episode 4 really well into its 1960s setting, a time period where housewives often took the substance to deal with the struggles of daily life as a woman in this world. I enjoyed the innocent and naïve whimsy with which Lilly insisted that Valium always made her mother feel better when she was stressed, and how she called it ‘Mommy’s Little Helper’, even if the sudden naivety was a little out of place for a character that has been in and out of Juniper Hill for months, and has faced some serious horrors throughout her last few weeks in Derry. In an episode where the kids took a real backseat, I really enjoyed this moment from them.

Image by HBO

Yes, Pennywise was pretty absent from Welcome to Derry Episode 4 overall, but he did make a couple of appearances. Its presence was mostly felt in the flashback sequence at the end of the episode, but Pennywise also tried his hand at tormenting Will while out on a fishing trip with Leroy, a short, but memorable moment. The real stand-out moment for Pennywise this week, however, was the hallucination he inflicted on Marge, Lilly’s “friend”, who has largely lingered in the background of the show until now. This hallucination was certainly freakish, with Marge growing disgusting snail eyes. However, I do feel it escalated far too quickly. I can never claim to know how I would react if I grew snail eyes, but I can’t say my first instinct would be to hack them off with a woodwork saw. A little extreme there Marge. Not only did this decision land her friend, Lilly, in quite a bit of trouble, but it also contributed to Welcome to Derry Episode 4 feeling like a week of weird eye moments, as Rose also faces some trouble with her eye at the end of the episode.

The end of Welcome to Derry Episode 4 is a lengthy flashback sequence, dedicated to explaining the origins of Pennywise, which in some ways I liked, and in other ways, I wasn’t too fond of. I’m not big on explaining cosmic horror too much – let some mystery remain! However, I did like getting some information on how the Native American population originally co-existed with Pennywise, and how colonisation eventually led to the development of Derry over Pennywise’s territory, which is why he hunts in the town exclusively. This sequence was fun, if a little too superhero-ish. I didn’t love how sinister Hallorann felt during the flashback, but I suppose he was just trying to get info. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, he does get his intel, and it leads us to the famous house on Neibolt Street. This is where the episode unceremoniously cuts off, as we’re left with more suspense, and not many episodes to go.

So, Welcome to Derry Episode 4 was a good time, but now, it’s starting to feel like too much time has been spent waiting for Pennywise to appear in his clown form. Come on Skarsgård, it’s time to get on-screen! Still, the cast is compelling enough to keep the show moving, but I’m not sure how much longer we can hold off the clown-shaped elephant in the room. What did you think of this week’s episode? Be sure to let us know, and thanks for reading!

See also: All Alien Movies, Ranked

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Where to Watch IT: Welcome to Derry?

Image by HBO

IT: Welcome to Derry airs weekly on HBO, 9pm E.T., or if you’re reading from the UK, 1am GMT on Monday mornings. You can also stream new episodes of the series on HBO Max, or Sky in the UK. The series is set for 8 episodes.

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