IT: Welcome To Derry: Season 1 Episode 1 – Recap and Review
Is IT: Welcome To Derry another show milking a hit franchise, or one that shows why IT has become one of Stephen King’s most lucrative adaptations?
Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Episode 1 “The Pilot” Details
- Director(s): Andy Muschietti
- Writer(s): Jason Fuchs
- Public Release Date (HBO Max): October 26, 2025
- Check out our page for this series, featuring more recaps, reviews, and articles.
Episode 1 “The Pilot” Storylines/ Recap
The Least Interesting Part Of The Episode: Leroy, Pauly
Leroy has just been transferred from fighting in Korea to Derry, Maine. The air force base, which in 1962 was seen as important in the battle against the Russians, needs a soon-to-be war hero like Leroy and his best friend, Pauly. But, with Leroy being Black, not all take well to being under his command, and a strange event happens when he is attacked for military secrets, but luckily Pauly helps him avoid being killed.
Matty, The Kind From The Wrong Side Of Town: Matty, Phil, Ronnie, Teddy, Lilly
Matty was a well-known poor kid who was nice, but things were so bad that kids like Teddy and Phil had to be bribed to come to his birthday party. Mind you, they did show Matty their secret hangout spot, but it seems they didn’t really take up with him publicly like a real friend.
As for Lilly? Matty had a crush on her, brought her to the spot that originally was Phil and Teddy’s, and when he tried to kiss her, she curved him and friend-zoned him. It wasn’t as bad as what Phil and Matty did, but it seems that having notable interaction with Matty leads to strange events.
Take Ronnie, who was nice to Matty! She kept him from being caught sneaking into Capital Theater, Derry’s notable venue for entertainment, and yet she got the same nightmare-inducing experience, featuring a song from The Music Man.
Do You Hear What I Hear, See What I See?: Matty, Phil, Ronnie, Teddy, Lilly, Susie
But, of all the kids, it is Lilly who takes the lead on trying to figure out, after Matty disappears for months, what happened. She heard him in the drain, alongside two fingers poking out. Ronnie heard him singing in the basement pipes of the Capital Theater, and Teddy? After the rabbi mentions how Jews would have their skin made into lamps, he sees what might be Matty’s face, skinned into his lampshade.
Phil doesn’t get his own unique experience, but with little sister Susie in tow, they all head to the Capital Theater to confirm the song Matty was singing was from The Music Man, and as Ronnie has the movie playing, Matty appears. At first, he seems confused and agitated, and the next thing we know, he unleashes a flying demon baby that kills everyone but Ronnie and Lilly.
Other Noteworthy Information
- Developed by Andy and Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs
- Juniper Hill: The local mental asylum
- The show started in December 1961/January 1962, and the episode ended in April 1962
New Cast and Characters
Leroy (Jovan Adepo)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Leroy Hanlon is a veteran of the Korean War, reassigned to a base in Maine, where, after moving with his family constantly, base to base, he plans to settle to make a home.
Pauly (Rudy Mancuso)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Pauly is Leroy’s right-hand man.
Matty (Miles Ekhardt)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Matty Clements is a poor kid, sometimes seen with a binky in his mouth, who was never fond of Derry or the hand he was dealt. However, his mom tried to make the best of it, foster him having friends and acquaintances, but what didn’t come naturally for Matty wasn’t made better by his mom getting involved.
Phil (Jack Molloy Legault)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Phil is Teddy’s best friend, who is obsessed with what is happening at the local military base, and theorizes that aliens are there.
Ronnie (Amanda Christine)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Ronnie is Hank’s 12-year-old daughter, who loves movies as much as her dad.
Teddy (Mikkal Karim Fidler)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Teddy is a short, red-headed Jewish kid who has been Phil’s best friend since the 1st grade.
Lilly (Clara Stack)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Lilly, cruelly nicknamed Loony Lilly Bainbridge, hasn’t had an easy year. Her dad died in the local jarring plant, partly due to her asking him to go back for something she forgot during a visit, and to add to that issue, her only friend is worried about her dragging them down socially.
Susie (Matilda Legault)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Susie is Phil’s little sister.
Review and Commentary
Highlights
Easy To Connect With the Leads [86/100]
One thing the IT franchise has strangely done well, no matter who is at the helm of it, is honor the fact that, if you put a group of kids in a Stephen King production, they better not only be relatable, have good chemistry as a group, but also, as individuals, shine. Every single actor does that, and it’s almost shocking, but at the same time, this is HBO, so while it is under a CEO who has long pushed for more quantity, surprisingly, it hasn’t lost its quality since that mandate came around.
On The Fence
More Gorey Than Scary [78/100]
But not all that shines is gold, and one of the clear issues of IT: Welcome To Derry is that the tone of the movies is gone and replaced with gore and grotesque imagery. Now, you could submit, losing the big screen theater, booming sound system, that is part of what’s lost in watching the show. I’d submit, especially due to the demon baby and its birth, that the problem is IT: Welcome To Derry is leaning a bit too heavily on shock value.
Now, for this case, it doesn’t appear to need it, and with shock value usually done to compensate for a show’s weakness, it is hard to say whether its use is like adding manure and pretending it is chocolate frosting or a mountain of frosting which makes things so sweet it is damn near inedible.
Leroy Is Going To Be A Problem, Isn’t He? [72/100]
I think for me, the issue with Leroy is that he feels unnecessary. He isn’t like the adults in Stranger Things, where you can say he can be as much of a hook as the kids. Him being a military hero of some kind, or in the making, doesn’t hold much of an appeal. His representation of the racism in the military at the time doesn’t do much for the show, and even if Pauly was his secret lover, it just wouldn’t make him anything more than a break from what’s going on with the kids, to make you long for their return.
Could it get better? Maybe. But if we were to be frank, I feel Leroy is a supporting character being thrust to the forefront, and nothing about the character, granted in one episode, presents the idea that should be.
Overall
Our Overall Rating [78/100]
While IT: Welcome To Derry aces the casting of the kids, and their performances, and the writing dedicated to them, can make the show, I’d submit the horror elements feel a bit more in your face vs. built up tension, and Leroy? He is a reminder of why most people remember the kids who fought against Pennywise far more than the adults.
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