I’m back with another in-depth recap after IT: Welcome to Derry, episode three. Without further ado, here come the spoilers.
Episode four opens with the four kids riding their bikes through Derry to take the photos to Chief Bowers. Reviewing the images, Chief Bowers and his deputies tease the kids, as they see nothing. Only the kids can see what is actually in them.
The kids sit in gym class and discuss why only they can see IT in the photos. Lilly then visits Ingrid, the nurse from the previous episode, who tells her about the strange events that occurred in the 1930s.
Charlotte is reading the Derry Herald about Hank Grogan’s arrest as Rose appears at her door. She’s delivering furniture Charlotte had bought. The ladies talk about how Leroy has been adjusting since arriving in Derry. Charlotte says that he is very secretive about what he does in the Air Force because, as Leroy says, it’s “A matter of National Security”. Rose warns Charlotte to keep the things she loves most closest to her, as bad things have a way of happening in Derry.
Cabin in the woods
Dick brings his airmen buddies out to a shack in the middle of nowhere. General Shaw has given this as a small getaway from the base. They have a lot of work to do, as the building is in dire need of cleaning. The men discuss everything they can do with the building as they get started fixing it up.
At Will’s house, Will goes to his room to look at the photos the kids had taken, only to find they’re gone. His mother then walks in, holding them. Will explains why he took the pictures, that he wanted to help Ronnie. He shares that something was chasing them the night he and his friends took them. Charlotte tells Will that he will no longer be allowed outside the house, except for going to and from school.
Leroy takes Will fly-fishing, which Will finds uninteresting. Leroy asks Will about his “girlfriend”, and while Will is embarrassed, he starts to discuss it with him. After Will almost catches a fish, Leroy goes back to the car to retrieve a fly to replace the one Will had just lost. While Leroy is gone, Will is dragged underwater by a burnt version of his father. As Leroy comes upon Will, who is almost drowned, Will explains what he saw. Leroy sees that Will has blood on his wrists, and they both look and see a red balloon floating next to the river.
Fear factor
Will and the other kids discuss what happened at the river. Will then has a realization that maybe IT doesn’t want to kill them, but instead only wants to make them afraid so that they taste better when IT eats them. Ronnie wonders how they can stop themselves from being scared, and Lilly says that they have an idea. Lilly then produces some Valium that she stole from her mother to suppress the kids’ fear responses. While watching a nature film in science class, Marge apologizes for being a shit lately and asks Lilly to have lunch with her. Lilly agrees.
Charlotte returns to the police station with a letter from Hank’s mother, asking to visit Hank. While walking in, she’s spotted by Captain Russo. Charlotte explains that with a phone call, she could have the entire civil rights movement breathing down the police’s necks. Charlotte is allowed to see Hank, to whom she explains his right to due process. She states she will help him get out of jail until his trial occurs.
Charlotte tells Hank that he needs to come clean about his actual whereabouts on the night of the murder. Hank becomes furious when Charlotte questions whether Hank wants to be free. He tells Charlotte that he was with a married white woman that night. In 1962 America, this would lead to Hank not being sent to prison but instead being lynched at the closest tree. Charlotte still vows to help Hank.
The eyes have it
Back at Derry High, Lilly and Marge are eating and talking. Marge attempts to get information out of Lilly. Just then, Tim Flanagan comes over and says “Hi” to Marge and Lilly, giving Lilly a coy smile. Marge insists that Lilly go and talk to him. Lilly leaves to freshen up. Patty then comes over and shares that when Lilly returns from the bathroom, Tim will embarrass her in front of the whole school.
Marge joins Lilly in the bathroom and decides to tell Lilly the truth. Just then, her eyes start bleeding and bulging from her face. Marge runs from the bathroom and into the shop classroom and begins to cut out her eyes, first with a pair of scissors and then with a band saw. After Marge attempts to grab a chisel, Lilly wrestles it away from her. The rest of the school rushes in to see Lilly sitting on top of Marge with the chisel in her hand, making Lilly look guilty.
Back home, Will begins looking through his telescope and sees the silhouette of Pennywise standing next to a tree. This causes Will to shriek in horror, and Leroy rushes in. After Leroy runs outside to confront whoever was outside frightening Will, he notices a red balloon perched in the tree where Will had seen IT. He goes to General Shaw to confront him about what they’re really chasing at the dig site.
General Shaw takes Leroy to an interrogation room where we see the young Native man, Taniel, sitting. General Shaw tells Leroy that Dick will find out the information from Taniel by using his “gift” to get inside Taniel’s head. Taniel resists at first, but Dick is able to get a reaction from him. Dick is then seen inside a darkened room, with doors arranged in a circle around him. He finds the specific door inside Taniel’s head that he wants.
Dick enters Taniels’ childhood room. His Aunt Rose then walks in and tells him that she needs to tell him something about the “monster in the western wood”. The stories aren’t just lessons; they’re real. Millions of years ago, a dark spirit was cast to earth and remained dormant until Taniel and Rose’s ancestors found the remnants of the star and began fighting the creature they called the “Galoo”. He then describes how the colonists’ arrival disrupted the balance that the natives and the Galoo had kept by staying out of the woods. The hatred that the white people brought with them fed the Galoo.
After fighting the Galoo, the Natives placed 13 shards of star remnants in different spots around the western wood to keep IT in its place. As Taniel finishes the story, Dick reveals himself and asks where the 13 shards are located. Taniel then opens a door, showing Dick the pillars and the house on Neibald St.
