Copyright Screen Rant
This article contains major spoilers for IT: Welcome to Derry. It: Welcome to Derry's episode 1 begins with a terrifying opening sequence before introducing viewers to several other mysteries surrounding the titular town. Although the episode does not resolve any of these mysteries before its credits start rolling, it leaves enough room for theories and speculation. Serving as a prequel to the two IT movies, It: Welcome to Derry introduces a young roster of characters who experience inexplicable terrors soon after their friend, Matty, goes missing. Meanwhile, a few adults in Derry also start to realize that something in the town just is not right. Before the episode ends, Teddy, Phil, and Matty meet a similarly grim fate, making it hard not to wonder if they are dead already. Are Teddy, Phil & Matty Really Dead In It: Welcome To Derry? Desperate to find the truth about their missing friend, Teddy, Phil, and Lilly go looking for answers and soon face the monster that seemingly killed Matty. The monster targets each one of them, but Lilly somehow manages to make it out before it is too late. The show, however, seems to clearly establish that Teddy, Phil, and Phil's little sister did not make it out alive. Although it is later revealed that the kids' bodies were never found, Lilly was holding on to Phil's little sister's dismembered hand when she escaped the theater. This seems to confirm that the creature that attacked the children likely killed them and then took their bodies with it. Matty's fate, too, was never confirmed, but he also likely became a victim in the show's opening scene. Welcome To Derry Episode 1's Opening Scene Explained In the Stephen King TV show's opening sequence, a young boy named Matty attempts to escape Derry by walking out of the town. Fortunately, for him, he manages to get a lift from a family of four. All seems good until the family members start acting strangely. Before Matty can even process what is happening, the woman in the car's front seat gives birth to a demonic baby. The show does not explain what is happening and never reveals the truth about the baby. However, since it is set in Stephen King's IT franchise, it is hard not to believe that the baby is a new incarnation or "rebirth" of Pennywise. The opening segment seems to mark the inception of the infection of the central town. After seemingly "consuming" Matty, the creature seems to use him as bait to strike fear in the minds of his friends. Audiences familiar with Pennywise's lore would know that the monster feasts on the fears of its young victims before consuming their flesh. Even the baby, who comes off as Pennywise's early form, does something similar by first scaring its victims and then devouring them. Who Leroy's Attackers Were In It: Welcome To Derry's Episode 1 Leroy moves to Derry with his family because, as a well-accomplished pilot in the Air Force, he is expected to try out the new B-52 aircraft. However, moments after he enters Derry's Air Force base, he and another new recruit notice a mysterious compound, which is revealed to be a "Special Project." Leroy also faces hints of racism from a junior officer before the officer is threatened with a court-martial. Before going to sleep the same day, Leroy is attacked by a group of masked men who ask him for the specs of the B-52. It seems like they are the same junior officers Leroy had previously confronted. Did You Know: It: Welcome to Derry is expected to have a total of 3 seasons, with each installment exploring a new timeline in the titular town's dark history. They attack Leroy and force him to reveal the aircraft's specs because they seemingly want him to expose confidential information and get discharged from the Air Force. Leroy, however, stands his ground and refuses to budge. While it is unknown how this will tie into Derry's supernatural horrors, something seems shady about Leroy's B-52 mission and the "Special Projects" in the Air Force base. "Ya Got Trouble" Song's Significance In Welcome To Derry Matty watches 1962's The Music Man in IT: Welcome to Derry's opening episode before all hell breaks loose on him. In the movie, he specifically sees the music video of "Ya Got Trouble," in which Robert Preston's Harold Hill tries to convince citizens that moral decay is gradually creeping into their town. The song seems to serve as the perfect metaphor for how, beneath the seemingly perfect and picturesque landscape of Derry, there is a corrupted core. Even the children keep hearing the song from their pipes, which hints that trouble is gradually heading their way. The final nail in their coffins comes when they hear the song in the local theater and Matty appears on the screen. By this time, Matty, too, remains nothing but a manifestation of the lurking evil. What's Wrong With The People In Derry? Soon after moving to Derry to stay with her husband, Leroy, Charlotte notices that something is seriously wrong with the people in the town. While a child gets bullied and brutally beaten by a bunch of kids, people in the town just mind their own business and pretend they see nothing wrong. Charlotte steps up to protect the child but soon realizes that no one else in the town seems to care. Viewers familiar with Stephen King's IT would know that the indifference of adults and bullying are both major themes in the original story.
