Copyright Screen Rant
It: Welcome to Derry, episode 3, offers viewers a closer look at the relationship between General Francis Shaw (James Remar) and Rose (Kimberly Guerrero). In a flashback, it is revealed that the two have a lot more history than audiences initially realized. The two were childhood friends and changed the course of each other's lives. The flashback takes viewers back to 1908 when Shaw and Rose were 12 years old. After a day at the fair, Francis encounters one of It’s terrifying forms in the woods. Fortunately, Rose saves him, and they run away. After they escaped, she told him that the entity couldn't leave the woods. The two form a close friendship and develop romantic feelings for one another. However, they lost touch when Shaw's dad got a new job outside of Derry. As an adult, he has no memory of Rose or It until he returns to the town. In an interview with ScreenRant's Ash Crossan, Remar and Guerrero discuss the significance of their characters' history and complicated relationship. The actors also explained how Rose and Shaw must feel when they see each other again decades later. Guerrero offered insight into the character’s transformation and how Shaw's influence shaped her. She said that this sense of purpose had always been part of Rose, but their unexpected encounter really caught her off guard and changed her. Kimberly Guerrero: For Rose, the way that she walks within the power and the position that she holds as an ancestral knowledge keeper, a wisdom keeper, and a protector, it all stems back from this summer. She already knew that she was called to this duty, but I don't think she ever expected love to sideswipe her, like first love does. Guerrero further elaborated on her character's emotional journey, particularly about how early experiences of love and heartbreak impacted her. She also explained how Shaw's leaving, in addition to teenage hormones, really took a toll on Rose. Kimberly Guerrero: When you're at that age, the hormones are starting to go. You're starting to understand what it means, and what the differences between girls and boys are. To have this young man come into her life unexpectedly, and then for them to be bonded by a life-and-death situation? That's incredibly traumatic. When he left, he left such a huge chasm in her heart that she knew, "I can never have anybody occupy that space again, because I cannot focus on what I need to do if I have this much romantic love for somebody else. I love my community. I love Derry. I love my responsibility. I have a duty to it, but I can't let this thing occupy my heart." [She has] communal love, familial love, but not romantic love, so she's been single her whole life. And so when he comes back in, it's quite the surprise. Remar reflected on the lasting impact of a formative experience in their characters’ lives and highlighted how a moment from their childhood continued to shape their story five decades later. He emphasized the significance of the bond they formed through shared trauma. James Remar: The fact that these two kids crossed racial lines and developed this romance based on a rescue from something terrible that only she understood informed the rest of our lives. The fact that it moves the direction of our story, and the way we want it to go, is a tremendous compliment. It means that it is very effective in the storytelling motion, that what happened to us as little kids propelled us into this situation 50 years later. I think it means everything. James Remar and Kimberly Guerrero Talk Character Growth In It: Welcome to Derry ScreenRant: What do you think is going through Rose's mind when she sees him again? Because he is now part of the system and serving the government. What is she thinking of him when they reconnect? Kimberly Guerrero: I feel like she's been following his career. She's an incredibly intelligent, in-tune woman. She knows what's going on with the world. I think that there was something she saw in him, and I think that's what bonded them so closely, because they're both leaders. They both have a certain way of thinking about the world and themselves. They're placed in the world [in a way] that not a lot of people are because not a lot of people rise to those levels of power and are created to do that. They're kind of born for that, and I think they recognize that in each other. I don't think it surprises her that he's risen to the height that he has; a three-star general at the tip of the spear of the American military during the height of the Cold War. But I do think she wonders and hopes that the things they talked about have instilled in him this deep love for humanity and the desire for peace and reconciliation. I think she's hoping that he's carrying that in his heart, even as he's a part of this huge machine. ScreenRant: For the first two episodes, I was like, "This guy's just a hardass, and he's going to thwart everything." Then you see when he remembers this crack in his heart form, and it's like, "I think I love him." James Remar: "Crack in his heart form." How poetic. I'm so glad it inspired you to say that. It's perfect phrasing. Kimberly Guerrero: And aren't we always looking for that next step? It's not binary. It's not good and evil, or villain and hero. Aren't we all so layered in carrying these things around with us? It's beautiful that this layer is there, and that it resonated with you so deeply. James Remar and Kimberly Guerrero's Love For Stephen King ScreenRant: I have to imagine stepping onto a set like this, from the mind of Stephen King, is incredible. And even watching it, there are so many Easter eggs hidden in each episode. What there anything you thought was just so cool? James Remar: Well, hearing the name Dick Halloran was very cool. Knowing that there's a guy on board with us that persists throughout this universe, actually in another area, for many years to come. I love the feeling of connectedness between different stories and offering a throughline to every story. To me, that's the best kind of storytelling, when it makes us feel connected. When I heard that Dick Halloran was around, and he was under my command? That's pretty badass. That tickled me to death. Kimberly Guerrero: So badass. I was staying in a hotel in Port Hope, where fictional Derry lives, and I was walking down from the hotel to set. I walked through all the automobiles, the picture cars, and there was a Shawshank bus. The bus to fricking Shawshank! And it's just like, "What this is?" That was my welcome to Derry moment. You start seeing these incredible background characters in the show, completely dressed head to toe in the era of 1962 era. You get to walk into Secondhand Rose, which is so seminal in IT: Chapter Two, when Stephen King is working behind that counter. To actually stand behind that counter where the capital S storyteller and auteur sat? It was just a really, really cool moment. And that was my first day on set. So, it really was like, "Welcome to Derry." ScreenRant: What was your first exposure to anything Stephen King, and which is your favorite? James Remar: I guess my first exposure was The Shining movie. When it came out, I decided to start reading his books. I read The Stand pretty early, and I read IT pretty early, but The Shining was pretty short comparatively. It really blew my mind. Everything that is in that book moves forward, and you can see it in other books, an inanimate object coming to life because of some malevolent force behind it that feeds on fear. It's a strong theme throughout his books, and how innocence and love seemed to be able to overcome it time and time again. So, it really goes beyond something that you would call the genre of horror. It's very impactful and a deep study of the human condition. I think his work is amazing. Kimberly Guerrero: Agreed. The literary richness is unquestionable. To get to marry that with such a popular genre as horror, it's a really powerful recipe of entertainment and character-driven drama. And it makes for a thrill ride. My first exposure was Carrie, reading it and then seeing the film. I just remember [wondering], "What's happening? I don't understand what's happening right now," at the climax of Carrie. I would say my favorite still is probably Stand By Me. There's something about being on the bike and being with your friends. I grew up in rural Oklahoma in a little town called Idabell, and that was our life. I was always at the railroad tracks, so I kind of felt like, "Me too. This is my story. I understand this story." I just loved that sense of adventure and coming of age, and how we come together and face — you would call it trauma now. How do we face these secrets that we carry, and when do we decide to share them with others, and kind of move through them or not? James Remar: Cujo scared the hell out of me. Kimberly Guerrero: Cujo was terrifying. James Remar: There's the seven stories you can tell, and this is man versus nature, or woman and her kid versus nature. It's just this rabid dog, and it's just so hopeless. Dog is supposed to be a man's best friend. Cujo is a very disturbing story.
