With Halloween approaching, I worked up the courage to watch the first episode of the new show “IT: Welcome to Derry” on HBO Max. I was particularly interested in the series because I had somewhat of a hyper-fixation on “IT” (2017) and “IT: Chapter Two” (2019) during the time of their releases, having watched both an embarrassing amount of times. As someone who typically avoids horror, I found these movies particularly easy to enjoy because they consisted of humor and themes of friendship in addition to the terrifying premise. The two movies were set in 1989 and 2016, respectively and tell the story of a group of seven bullied children calling themselves “the Losers Club,” who battle against a terrifying shape-shifting entity, Pennywise, who primarily takes the form of a clown. In “IT” (2017), the Losers Club manages to drive Pennywise into its 27-year hibernation after the final confrontation. In “IT: Chapter Two,” the now-adult Losers must return to their hometown to finally destroy Pennywise for good, confronting their deepest traumas and making ritual sacrifices to end the cycle of fear and suffering in the town of Derry.
However, the comfort and sense of community in the Losers Club that allowed me to appreciate these movies was hardly present at all in the pilot of “IT: Welcome to Derry,” a prequel set in 1962, 27 years before the Losers. The first episode immediately demonstrated a darker, more brutal shift in tone. By the end of the pilot, over half of the children introduced had been violently killed by Pennywise, suggesting that this chapter of the story will not offer the same comfort of ensemble survival as the 2017 and 2019 films.
Something I found particularly interesting in the pilot, however, was the several references to Maturin, a creature I had not been familiar with as someone who was too intimidated ever to read Stephen King’s original “IT” book. From what I’ve gathered, in the book, Maturin is a cosmic entity responsible for providing the Losers Club with the wisdom to defeat Pennywise. Maturin resembles the appearance of a giant sea turtle, which, despite not appearing in either of the movies, was alluded to several times. The most notable reference I can recall is in “IT” (2017), when Bill holds and drops a Lego turtle before his first encounter with Pennywise, possibly signifying his lack of protection from Maturin.
In “IT: Welcome to Derry,” Maturin is referenced more explicitly through a turtle charm that Lilly, one of the newly introduced characters, receives from Matty before his disappearance. It is highly implied that the charm, which she wears on her bracelet, is what ultimately saved her from the same violent fate as her friends.
Despite the gruesome intensity, I found the first episode incredibly well-made and genuinely scary, making me curious to see where the plot goes and if the cosmic figure of Maturin will play a larger, more explicit role in this on-screen adaptation. I am also interested to see how the show will eventually develop in its planned future seasons set in 1935 and 1908.
