WELCOME TO DERRY Gives IT an Powerful Origin Story and Sets Up a Pennywise Bloodbath Tai Gooden | usagoldmines.com

Somehow, Welcome to Derry is already halfway through what we surely hope is the first of three seasons. (Give us the renewal news now, HBO!) Things are heating up in Derry, Maine as Pennywise’s machinations continue, targeting Will Hanlon and his friends. And, while we have yet to see Pennywise make a proper onscreen appearance yet, it is certainly coming soon. Episode four of Welcome to Derry gave us an intriguing backstory for IT that roots itself in Native American lore and sets up a terrible next step for Operation Precept. 

In this episode, General Shaw grows tired of not getting any closer to locating the entity. He also knows that his former friend Rose, a Native woman whose community is fighting for their ancestral lands to remain untouched by military operations, is thisclose to springing into some sort of legal action. So, he targets a group of Native kids who have been spying on their not-so-covert Operation Precept proceedings, specifically bringing in Taniel. He happens to be the nephew of Rose and Shaw suspects that Taniel knows where the pillars are that can lead them to the entity’s location. Of course, Taniel doesn’t give this information up freely, so Shaw sends Hallorann in to break into Taniel’s mind to discover it. There, we see a memory of young Taniel and Rose together as she asks him to recite the tale of the Galloo. That’s the name they use for the entity now known as IT.

Essentially, this evil came millions of years before this tribe’s first ancestors settled in the region and obtained a dagger from the spirit’s vessel to protect them. They learned to respect the woods where the spirit lived, staying outside of their bounds and not hunting there. But, of course, problems came for the Native Americans when white settlers invaded the area. They did not heed warnings to stay out of the woods and avoid hunting and the spirit made them pay for it. The Galloo fed on them and became stronger, which meant it could soon be able to expand outside the Western Woods.

After a council meeting among the tribe, they decided they would have to leave the area. But one warrior’s daughter didn’t want to leave the land, so she decided to take a group into the woods to gather more sacred stone. Things went awry and her warrior mother, who came to save her, ended up dying trying to save her daughter alongside others. They went into the woods once more, finally finding the Galloo’s cave and getting pieces of the ancient star/vessel. They set up pillars all around that area to cage it. Now, as Taniel reveals, those pillars are in the tunnels under the Well House. So, the military will surely check this out and, well, we assume their fate will not be much better than those colonizers.

Working With the Penobscot Tribe and Wabanaki People to Craft Welcome to Derry‘s Origin Story for IT

This story is a vibrant origin tale for IT/Pennywise. Actress Kimberly Guerrero, who plays Rose, says the entire team behind Welcome to Derry put a lot of thought into making it feel both authentic and respectful of standard Native folklore. She told Nerdist that she and other Native people were able to collaborate with these creatives to craft this origin story. 

“It’s credit to our showrunners, HBO and everybody behind the show, and of course Stephen King as well,” said Guerrero. “They invited us into the circle to help tell a part of the story that they couldn’t break… Who are the first people that encountered IT and what did they do? How did they respond to IT? They had been in this land for thousands of years. They understand not just the land and what you can see and touch and hear and smell, but they understand the spirituality behind the things that we cannot sense with our five senses. So there’s a relationship with the unseen world.” 

She continues, “Being able to collaborate with them on that, but also being able to work with this incredible Penobscot Elder named John Bear Mitchell, was incredible. John Bear is our North star, and the Penobscot tribe and the Wabanaki people were always at the forefront of our hearts as we honored their people from the past, present, and future.” 

With the origin story of IT set in place and the military getting ready to close in on Pennywise, we will certainly see him in all his glory soon. And, if we (the collective) are really smart, we will learn something from this tale about respecting sacred spaces and forces that are beyond our limited understanding.