IT: Welcome To Derry: Season 1 Episode 3 – Recap and Review
As glimpses of Pennywise are seen, Will becomes the lead of the kids and Hallorann begins to form a bond with Leroy.
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Episode 3 “Now You See It” Details
- Director(s): Andrew Bernstein
- Writer(s): Guadalis Del Carmen, Gabe Hobson
- Public Release Date (HBO Max): November 9, 2025
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Episode 3 “Now You See It” Storylines/ Recap
The Pivotal Summer That You Forgot: Rose, Francis
When General Shaw was 12, he lived in Derry with his dad, and after a carnival where Pennywise played with him, on the way home, he met Rose. She was a local indigenous girl, sweet, but it isn’t clear if, over the summer, anything romantic happened.
What is known is that Rose never left, but did gain a prominent role amongst her people, so as the military digs around their sacred lands, she may have the voice and connection to do something beyond their leader sending strongly worded letters. Never mind thinking the federal government will get involved and be on their side.
Everyone Knew Someone, Who Knew Someone, Like You: General Shaw, Leroy, Hallorann, Charlotte
General Shaw has Leroy and Hallorann meet, and while Leroy is a bit freaked out by Hallorann sensing where Pennywise is, or his beacons, it seems he moves beyond that due to skin folk being kin folk. Note, there is also this sense that Hallorann may have been there the night Leroy was jumped, but he seems willing to move on since Hallorann is a bit of a weird one.
However, while Leroy and Hallorann get along, with Hallorann even finding Leroy to be a bit of a badass, Charlotte perhaps loves Hallorann the most. He gets her in a way most don’t, in terms of not only asking about who she was down south, a school teacher, but also seems interested in her activism. Which, because of Leroy’s position and his desire to move up, she suppresses, but it does seem clear that while Leroy may not approve of his wife being part of the movement, she has a friend in Hallorann.
The Essential Four Reunite: Ronnie, Lilly, Will, Rich
Lilly gets out of Juniper Hill rather quickly, but before she leaves, she speaks with one of the janitorial staff about her next move, which is trying to reconcile with Ronnie by telling the truth. Thing is, she doesn’t want to without evidence, so the idea is, take a picture. This leads to talking with Ronnie, who asks Will to get involved because he seems smart, surely he knows how to develop film, which he does. Rich joins since he knows a bit of Santeria, and is Will’s best friend, and the group hopes Rich’s knowledge will conjure whatever it is that killed their friends.
The four of them head to a graveyard, invoke spirits, and this leads to Pennywise using the corpse of Susie and others to chase the kids, with many of them snapping photos and barely making it out of there in one piece. Afterwards, they head to school, in the middle of the night, develop the photos, and get the kind of proof that, back in the 60s, wasn’t something that could easily be dismissed as being Photoshop, AI, or anything like that.
New Cast and Characters
Rose (Kimberly Guerrero)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Rose is an indigenous woman from the Derry area who owns a vintage store and is one of the prominent voices of her community.
12-Year-Old Francis (Diesel La Torraca)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
12-Year-Old Rose (Violet Sutherland)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
Review and Commentary
Highlights
The Threat To Will’s Life Had My Heart Rate Up [86/100]
Will being the leader of his group is honestly perfect. From his best friend being Rich, who is one of the coolest Hispanic kids I’ve seen on a show in a long time, to the potential puppy love between him and Ronnie? I swear to you, when it seemed like Pennywise could get him to stir the pot on this show, my blood pressure went up.
For truly, similar to Yellowjackets, it is the young people on the show who are really keeping it going and while the adults are okay, it’s Will’s crew that will surely not only keep me coming back to justify my HBO Max subscription, but also because I’m invested to see what happens next.
Hallorann Making Leroy Interesting [84/100]
Hallorann stole every single scene he was in, and when around Leroy, it wasn’t hard. But, in many ways, this is what was needed with the adults. They needed a Hallorann who, even without his weird power, has presence, charisma, and the vibe of someone who should be first billed. On top of that, he also comes off as the type of lead who has more than enough going for himself, so he can also shine the light on another character or actor’s performance, without having to dim his own light.
Rose and Francis’ Story [81/100]
Can I just say, I wish the chemistry Rose and Francis had as teenagers fully converted to when they were adults. It wasn’t fully lost, but as much as Francis seemed a little nervous, which was cute, I want more. But, at the same time, I’m glad that it appears Rose is going to be someone prominent, even if not the head of her people’s governing body; clearly, she holds influence. That isn’t seen often, just as we don’t see indigenous people too often.
But there is a chance she could stand out, and that’s what matters most here. That and her having at least one face-off with Pennywise and getting him like she did when she was a teenager.
Overall
Our Overall Rating [83/100]
IT: Welcome To Derry continues to push itself to be more than Warner Bros Discovery trying to milk every last franchise for what they are worth, as the show upholds the expectations of anything under HBO’s branding.
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