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A ‘nightmarish’ Stephen King adaptation has been lauded for delivering the ‘most terrifying hour of television all year’.
Developed by Andy and Barbara Muschietti, It: Welcome to Derry serves as a prequel to the films It (2017) and It: Chapter Two (2019), which were based on Stephen’s 1986 novel of the same name.
Starring Bill Skarsgård, who has reprised his role as Pennywise from the films, the HBO series aired in October.
Now, however, following the release of the season’s penultimate episode, fans have praised the show for its ‘excellent’ handling of the iconic clown character.
Taking to X, @MovieFilesLive said: ‘If you were waiting for Pennywise to truly deliver, IT WELCOME TO DERRY Ep 7 is it.
‘This is not hyperbole, it is, by far, the best episode of the season AND one of the most terrifying and emotional hour of television you will see all year. Prepare yourself. You are not ready.’
@FreddyInSpace added: ‘Been enjoying WELCOME TO DERRY since the start but Ep 7 is the most complete realization of what this show can be.
‘At times I felt there were too many storylines in play but it all came together so well tonight. Felt like a finale. Handling of Pennywise continues to be excellent.’
Previously, viewers raved about the ‘absolutely wild’ opening episode, which features Pennywise haunting a child in their bedroom in the form of a lampshade made out of skin and a miniature demonic entity.
@0628i wrote on X: ‘I watched the first episode of #ITWelcomeToDerry and the beginning gave me trauma.’
@stcrksgauntlet also said: ‘I watched IT and welcome to derry back to back and i indeed couldn’t sleep with the lights off … the clown still got it.’
What did Metro think?
Our deputy TV editor Tom Percival described the first episode as being as bloody as a family outing to the local slaughterhouse…
After watching five episodes, do I think this new chapter floats like a haunting red balloon or sinks like a waterlogged corpse?
Well, I’m happy to report that Welcome to Derry is every bit as devilishly delightful as its cinematic predecessors and might just have viewers scheduling another session with their therapist.
What won me over? Well, as a bit of a gorehound, I was charmed by how gruesome Welcome to Derry was.
To read more, click below.
Meanwhile, @__Timidbeauty wrote: ‘Me making the mistake of watching welcome to derry at 12 am now I’m too scared to go to sleep and I covered all the drains in my house.’episode.’
Much to the surprise of fans, Barbara likened the ‘brutal’ opener to one of the most gruesome Game of Thrones episodes of all time.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Barbara explained: ‘We love it. It’s our Red Wedding.’
Andy, who directed the premiere, added: ‘This is strategically a devastating event to set the audience into that sense of “nothing is safe in this world”. We kind of trick the audience into thinking that these are the new Losers.’
The episode in reference (for those who haven’t seen Game of Thrones, look away now), which is still traumatising fans today, sees a massacre occur during a marriage feast.
Orchestrated by Lord Walder Frey as revenge against Robb Stark for breaking a marriage pact, the episode resulted in the heartbreaking deaths of Robb Stark, his mother Catelyn Stark, his wife Talisa and many of his soldiers and bannermen.
Sharing their thoughts on the series, several fans noticed the Game of Thrones connection, with Stratticus14 commenting on Reddit: ‘They went full game of thrones in the last 5 minutes and it totally worked. My jaw hit the floor.’
The new prequel series is set 27 years before the events of the It film franchise.
Diving into Derry’s dark past and even darker sewers, we witness a previous generation of kids trying to deal with a ravenous Pennywise.
Skarsgard’s killer clown is an evil entity who preys upon children of Derry, Maine, every three decades using a variety of powers, including shapeshifting.
The eight-part show also stars Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, James Remar and Stephen Rider.
This article was originally published on October 28, 2025.
IT: Welcome to Derry is available to watch on Sky and the streaming service NOW.
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