Spoiler alert! The following post discusses important plot points and the ending of the new episode of HBO’s “It: Welcome to Derry” series so beware if you haven’t seen it yet.
The latest episode of “It: Welcome to Derry” made Chris Chalk face one of his greatest fears. And it had nothing to do with a creepy clown.
Chalk stars in the “It” prequel series (airing Sunday nights on HBO, streaming on HBO Max) as psychic Army private Dick Hallorann, a younger version of the iconic Stephen King character famously seen in "The Shining." Dick has been a supporting player through much of the 1960s-set show so far, but he plays a large role in the fifth episode, which also features the maniacal Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard).
The dark entity returns to Derry every 27 years to feed on the Maine town’s children, and the show reveals its origins are extra-terrestrial in nature. The military wants to capture it so they can end the Cold War, and Dick’s abilities have been used to find out more about this evil.
The new episode centers on a group including Dick going into the tunnels under Derry to find the supernatural pillars that trap Pennywise. Dick falls into shallow sewer water, which turns into an otherworldly deep space he has to swim out of. He emerges from a bathroom tub to revisit a childhood trauma, finding his beloved grandmother but also his threatening grandfather. The old man wants Dick to open his mysterious lockbox, he refuses, and when it comes unlocked Dick is bombarded by psychic pain.
