WELCOME TO DERRY’s General Shaw Is a No Good, Very Bad Man (and I Hate Him) Tai Gooden | usagoldmines.com

Like the films and the novel that came before IT: Welcome to Derry, the main antagonist in this series is undoubtedly the ancient entity that we call Pennywise. This being rises every 27 years and crafts a bloodbath in Derry, Maine, by toying with people’s greatest fears and altering their perceptions. However, just as much as Pennywise is a beacon of evil, there are human forces who aid in bolstering the entity’s thirst for fear and blood.

We see this play out in sickening fashion in episode seven as the former Police Chief Bowers and a gang of white men burn a barn full of predominantly Black people alive all in the name of justice. Bowers is a heinous person and, unfortunately, he’s not the only man with power and influence who makes me wish that Pennywise would devour him. Leroy Hanlon’s boss General Francis Shaw is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad man in Welcome to Derry and I truly hate him. 

Before I get into how evil Shaw is, I’d like to give the legendary actor James Remar his props. He’s absolutely fantastic in this role as a military leader who has a one-track mind towards accomplishing a frankly diabolical mission. You are great, sir, and I have no problem with you. But IT: Welcome to Derry‘s fictional General Shaw is a morally corrupt moron who will lead many more people to their demise. In episode seven, the military is still determined to complete Operation Precept and find the pillars that cage Pennywise.

Dick Hallorann believes the entity is sleeping once again and reveals information about where one pillar is located. However, upon retrieving it, Leroy Hanlon quickly realizes that something is amiss. Instead of moving the pillars closer to cage the entity so the military can weaponize it to stop global war (SO STUPID), Shaw wants to destroy those powerful objects on IT: Welcome to Derry. That’s right, he wants to actually free Pennywise. He tells Hanlon that Americans are out of control with too much division. His solution to socioeconomic strife, racism, etc., is to release an ancient evil that feeds on people’s fears and flesh. The more death that occurs, the stronger this being becomes.

Shaw says that the fire at the Black Spot was actually good for Derry because the streets are peaceful. So, why not let this entity out so it can scare people into submission? It is quite possibly the worst idea I’ve ever heard about trying to bring society together. IT can easily spread more fear and panic, which will eventually lead to more deaths. Why? Because there is no cage to try to contain this evil.

And, to be honest, I can accept the nature of IT before I can accept Shaw’s philosophy on Welcome to Derry. Unlike human beings, IT is not governed by a moral compass, human conscience, or the laws and rules (both stated and implied) of our society. It simply exists as a predator that feeds off of fear, chaos, and discord. Wanting IT to stop doing what it does is like asking a lion to no longer kill for sustenance. Rose’s ancestors had the right idea: respect the entity’s boundaries and existence.

Shaw, on the other hand, is a human being who expresses a desire to, I dare say, make America great again, by opening the door for more bloodshed. He’s literally seen what fear and discord can do as a military leader. Just like the settlers who wreaked havoc hundreds of years before due to their lack of respect for this being and other human beings, Shaw is going down this same direction in IT: Welcome to Derry. It is nothing more than ignorance that stems from the societal privilege of being a white and able-bodied man with a position of power.

What gives him the right to put not only Derry but essentially the entire country (and possibly the world) at risk because he thinks it is the best solution? Both the faux plan he initially presents to Hanlon and his actual intentions are the most asinine things I’ve ever heard. And, it is even more baffling that he would choose this route, considering that he nearly lost his life to IT as a child. This choice proves that Shaw doesn’t truly care about Rose, who saved his life and trusted him with Derry’s darkest secret, nor any of the other Native people in the region. It is not surprising, given his station in life, but disheartening nonetheless.

In our reality, I would never wish death on another human being, even one who hates me for simply existing. But, in this fantasy world of IT: Welcome to Derry, I hope that Shaw dies the most excruciating death possible and that Pennywise has a glorious feast on his flesh. Or, at the very least, I want Hanlon to take him down and smile while doing it. Thanks to Shaw, the episode ends with Pennywise in his house, seemingly harming his son, Will. And Hanlon is still reeling over the tragic loss of his best friend Pauly, who died because of this mission. You are a trash person, General Shaw, and I don’t like you.