I really enjoy stories featuring a group of kids or teens, especially when they’re dealing with sci-fi or horror. There’s something special about seeing them work together to overcome challenges, like in classics such as The Goonies or the more recent Stranger Things. I thought I had a promising group of characters in the first episode of IT: Welcome to Derry, but I was shocked when three of them were unexpectedly and violently killed during a scene at a theater. Rest in peace to May, the conspiracy theorist; Suzy, the talkative younger sister; and Teddy, the comic book enthusiast.
Horror movies, especially those with large casts, often protect their main characters from real danger. That’s why characters like Will, Lucas, Mike, and Dustin have all survived for so long in Stranger Things – the show sacrifices other characters, like Barb and Eddie Munson, to create dramatic tension. I went into watching this new IT prequel expecting the same thing to happen – for some characters to be put in danger so others could live.
Lilly Bainbridge is a young girl struggling with the recent loss of her father and often ridiculed by others. She becomes determined to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of Matty, a boy who vanished months ago. She enlists the help of Matty’s friends, Phil and Teddy – the only ones who seem willing to take her seriously. Together with Phil’s younger sister, they discover that Ronnie was the last person known to have seen Matty. Ronnie had tried to help Matty leave the theater after he was caught skipping the ticket line.
The group of five went to the theater hoping to find some answers, but they quickly found themselves in danger. The strange demon baby from the beginning of the story attacked them. The episode ended with a shocking scene: Lilly holding Suzy’s severed arm while Ronnie watched in horror, and Lilly screaming, covered in blood.
The show deliberately surprised viewers by sidelining characters they expected to be important, like Phil and Teddy. Many thought Suzy’s role would naturally decrease after her brief appearance, and Will Hanlon would join the main group. However, the show’s creators, Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane, have revealed that this unexpected turn of events was intentional.
As a fan, I always got the sense the creators wanted the pilot to be really unexpected, to show us right away that this show wasn’t going to follow the usual rules and that anything could happen. But it wasn’t until Brad got involved that vision really came to life. I heard Jason Fuchs say he’d actually written a pilot with a slightly different ending, but Brad suggested they all… die! Jason said his first reaction was total panic because he loved the characters, but then he realized that if he was shocked, that meant it was exactly the right move for the show.
Brad Caleb Kane explained that they discussed keeping viewers on edge by making them believe any character could die. He jokingly suggested the most extreme way to do that would be to kill off all the main characters in the very first episode, noting it would have been a surprising and innovative approach to the story.
As a huge fan of the series, I have to say the opening scene was definitely a bold, and honestly, unsettling way to start things off. I recently read that Andy Muschietti, one of the creators, actually defended the choice, explaining that the showrunners really wanted to stay true to the original story when they made it.
He explained to TopMob that the monster is closely connected to the children and the story’s themes. He sees it as a broader exploration of what makes childhood special – things like imagination, belief, and faith – qualities we often lose as adults. Ultimately, the story is about holding onto hope even when things are difficult, and that’s why children are central to it. They’re both affected by the conflict and, in the end, become the ones who overcome it.
It will be interesting to follow Lilly and Ronnie as they try to be heroes after this terrible event. Whatever happens next won’t be easy for them, that’s for sure.
Read More
- Gold Rate Forecast
- Elden Ring Nightreign Minor Update 1.002.004 Brings Short List of Fixes
- Elden Ring’s Switch 2 port delayed into 2026 by FromSoftware for “performance adjustments,” and people are surprisingly OK about it: “I’d rather it releases in a better state”
- ETF Exit: A Tale of Diversification and Dwindling Dreams
- Sarah Jessica Parker Gives a HOCUS POCUS 3 Update
- Wuthering Waves 2.5 banners: Phrolova debuts
- Superman Tops Black Adam After Full Week On Nielsen, Outperforms Marvel
- DuPont Dumps Union Pacific: A Chaotic Shift in the Freight of Finance
- ASML’s Perilous Dance: 3 Risks for the Chipmaking Maestro
- Skydance’s David Ellison Making Johnny Depp Great Again
2025-10-27 05:09