‘It: Welcome To Derry’ Ending Explained: ‘Pennywise’s’ Tale Is The Proof That ‘No One Is Safe’

It: Welcome to Derry has premiered on HBO Max on October 26, 2025. However, the show has quickly shattered expectations of repeating what fans saw in the It film series and instead landed in the grim fate of a once-young protagonist, ‘Pennywise’. The series features a search for a missing boy, ‘Matty Clements’ (Miles Ekhardt), who leads ‘Lilly’, ‘Teddie’, ‘Phil’, and ‘Susie’ to the Derry movie theater, where they watch The Music Man, the film in which ‘Matty’ vanished. As guilt haunts the kids for not helping ‘Matty’ sooner, ‘Phil’ reminds them that taking action now matters most.

It: Welcome to Derry episode one ending explained

While ‘Lily’ recognises the song, Ya Got Trouble from The Music Man, as the same tune being played when she thought she heard ‘Matty’. Moments later, their missing friend appears on the screen, trapped in the movie. However, while they cry out to him, instructing him to follow their voices so they can get him out, ‘Matty,’ who is stuck holding a baby wrapped in a blanket, castigates them for lying to him and not being there for him.

‘Matty’ blames them for being trapped in the movie in the first place. As the movie slows down, the image darkens, the song warps, and ‘Matty’ looks up at them with an evil grin as the baby he’s holding leaps out through the movie screen and into the real world. The little child turns out to be the ‘Pennywise’ flying demon baby that killed ‘Matty’ at the beginning of the episode, and now it’s loose inside the theater.

The film’s negatives burn and distort on the screen as the flying demon attacks the kids. The monster, or what they called ‘a giant f**king mutant baby,’ picks off ‘Teddie’ first, thrashing him and smashing his head into the ceiling. His blood splatters down on ‘Lilly’, and his lifeless body is slammed into the projection booth window as a horrified ‘Ronnie’ looks on, locked inside the booth and unable to help them. The monster then goes after ‘Phil’ as ‘Susie’ crawls towards ‘Lilly’, right before he lands on her.

‘Ronnie’ smashes his way out of the booth and rushes into the theater to find a blood-splattered ‘Lilly’, who is surrounded by the remains of their friends. However, it is only a second later that the demon reappears, and they flee into the lobby. As ‘Ronnie’ questions ‘Lilly’ about what happened, the show comes to an end with Nelson Riddle’s song, Lolita Ya Ya as the end credits play. 

Andy Muschietti reveals that ‘no one is safe’

It: Welcome to Derry, executive producer and director, Andy Muschietti, explained why they decided to ‘kill off’ what would have been the ‘Loser Club’ in the series. He revealed that it was to let the audience know that ‘no one is safe’ in the series, and that it won’t be a rehashed version of the film. He also discussed the show’s theme of ‘birth horror’, linking it to Stephen King’s novel, where the losers’ fear of having children reflects a deeper terror of bringing life into a cruel world. 

Is It: Welcome to Derry, a DC comic easter egg?

DC fans have been losing their mind over ‘Teddie’ reading Detective Comics #298. However, the director clarified that while it may seem intentional, as ‘Clayface’ is, like ‘Pennywise’, a shape-shifter, it had nothing to do with the series. He clarified:

“No, no. It was just the inclusion of the DC world, which is very close to my heart, and I wanted to include it. Because we put Flash on the previous scene, there’s an issue with Flash, and then we included one that was Detective Comics, but it wasn’t intended. It wasn’t because of Clayface. It was just an issue of 1962 that I happened to think was very appropriate. I can’t remember now, but I’m a hundred percent sure that our props master brought that with that intention.”

What are your thoughts on It: Welcome to Derry so far? Let us know.

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