IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 6 Review

Last week’s episode of IT: Welcome to Derry was explosive, filled to the brim with action, jumpscares, and of course, the long-awaited reveal of Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise. With such a thrilling episode behind it, and the finale approaching rapidly, Episode 6 of Welcome to Derry was in a tough spot. Tasked with keeping the momentum going, while also wrapping-up any lingering plot-threads before we head into the show’s final hours, it would have been easy for Welcome to Derry Episode 6 to fall completely flat, and while it does turn the show’s heat down from a boil to a light simmer, I feel that this week’s episode made for a pretty solid bridge between the show’s peaks.

Today, we’re reviewing IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 6, an episode where we get a lot of answers to our lingering questions, unite almost all of our main players in the one location, and set the stage for the most distinctly human evil action we’ve seen in the show to date. 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 sixth 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 6 Review

Image by HBO

Welcome to Derry Episode 6 was certainly a wind-down from the intensity of last week’s sewer escapade, but in many ways, it was a necessary one. As great as it was to dive headfirst into clown-centric action in Episode 5, Welcome to Derry still has a lot of plot threads that it needs to tie together, and assuming that Episodes 7 and 8 are on-par with Episode 5 in terms of thrill-factor, Episode 6 is the place to be when it comes to plot progression. Welcome to Derry Episode 6 does a great job at reminding you of practically every storyline that the show is currently following, even if it does feel like certain arcs are taking a back seat as the end approaches. In particular, the Native American strand of Welcome to Derry‘s storyline is completely absent from this episode, and it feels like the military operation against Pennywise has faded from the series entirely. I wasn’t crazy about this storyline anyway, so it didn’t have the biggest impact on my enjoyment of this episode, but it does raise some eyebrows when it comes to what the end goal of this season of Welcome to Derry is.

A character that does get a lot of attention this week, on the other hand, is Ingrid Kersh, who is pretty inarguably the main focus of Welcome to Derry Episode 6. I have to be honest, while I really enjoyed how we finally made the connection between Pennywise and the Kersh family that was implied back in IT: Chapter Two back in 2019, the reveal that it has been Mrs. Kersh in the clown costume anytime we saw it before Episode 5 is a little underwhelming, and certainly does no favours for a Welcome to Derry rewatch. I’m also not entirely sold on the logic behind her dressing-up as the clown in order to see her father – sure, you could argue that she’s trying everything and anything to see what works, but it seems like quite a leap in logic to get to this point. I’m also not sure why Pennywise would want to keep her around. It made sense for back when she would provide children to It in Juniper Hill, but that’s not the case anymore.

As much as the connection between Mrs. Kersh and Pennywise helps to elevate this season of Welcome to Derry, I also worry about the doors it may be closing in the meantime, when it comes to future seasons of this show. Andy Muschietti has said that Welcome to Derry is interested in using each season to explore each of Pennywise’s feeding periods, jumping backwards in 27-year intervals. However, establishing that Pennywise is the clown that Mrs. Kersh’s father portrayed puts a cut-off point on how far back the series can really go. We’ve seen how much people were begging for Bill Skarsgård to finally make his appearance in this season of Welcome to Derry – I don’t think any season of this show is going to work by going back before It’s clown form debuted, and by establishing the clown form’s connection to Mrs. Kersh, it puts a real limit on this series’ potential.

Image by HBO

On a more positive note, I continue to love the cast of Welcome to Derry, particularly our main group of children, who only seem to be getting better week after week. This week belonged to Marge and Rich though, who have quickly launched themselves to being my two favourites of the child cast. What a redemption arc for Marge! I didn’t like this character at all only two weeks ago! I’m hoping that both of these two will survive by the end of Welcome to Derry, but knowing how attached we’ve gotten to them, this show will probably use that to ruin us. Each of these child actors continue to do some great work, but I did feel like Ronnie was beginning to fade into the background this week, which feels strange considering she had scenes this week. Her reunion with her father was certainly touching, but outside of that, the character left little impact on me in Welcome to Derry Episode 6, at least compared to the rest of the kids.

A character that also left little impact on me this week was Dick Hallorann, who we saw unlocking his Shining abilities at the end of Episode 5. Unfortunately, his newfound powers are proving to be too much for Hallorann to handle, and he’s turned inward, as opposed to growing as a character. This was a difficult scene for me, because I really can’t decide what I want to see happen with Hallorann. In some ways, I want him to put his Shining powers to good use, and take the fight to Pennywise the best he can. On the other hand, weaponising the Shining is exactly what Shaw’s military operation wants to do, and realistically, who wants to see them succeed in their goal? Hallorann is a little side-lined right now, but I’m hoping next week, he’ll make some decisions to get his character back on-track as one of the biggest names in the series.

Welcome to Derry Episode 6 spends a lot of time on Mrs. Kersh, Marge, and Rich, but when it comes to location, a lot of focus is put on The Black Spot, a club for black soldiers that the show has been slowly, but steadily, building in the background. Personally, I really enjoyed the time we spent in The Black Spot this week, but I also acknowledge that Welcome to Derry is about to take that connection that we have with this club, and throw it right back in our face. It’s not hard to guess what’s going to happen in next week’s episode of Welcome to Derry, based on previews, and the ending of Episode 6, which is easily the most chilling of the series yet. The lack of music over the end credits only further solidified that Welcome to Derry Episode 7 is not going to be a fun time.

Image by HBO

In fact, I think that Welcome to Derry Episode 7 is gearing-up to show us the most distinctly human-sided evil in the show so far. This series has done a great job at showcasing that, even in a town where a killer clown runs amuck, sometimes the greatest and most damaging evil comes from people themselves. If Episode 7 of Welcome to Derry goes the way I assume it will, I think that it’s going to make Pennywise himself look fairly tame in comparison. Even more concerning is the fact that almost all of our main characters are gathered at this location, and I’m sure Pennywise will take advantage of the work done for him to make his mark on next week’s episode.

With the events of next week looming, and the season finale not too far ahead, it comes to the time to start theorising on who’s going to survive this first season of Welcome to Derry. If the show does follow its proposed structure, and jumps back 27 years each season, then really, no one has to survive this season outside of Dick Hallorann and Will Hanlon. That’s a pretty concerning thing to think about, especially when Welcome to Derry, and HBO in general, has proven that no one is safe in these sorts of shows. I have to say, I wouldn’t put it past Welcome to Derry to kill everyone except Hallorann and Hanlon, which is a terrifying thought.

So, Welcome to Derry Episode 6 was certainly a more reserved, story-heavy episode of the show compared to last week, but now is the time to wrap-up any outstanding plot threads, as we move into an explosive final couple of weeks! 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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