Welcome to Derry’s Lack of Pennywise Is Worth It for 1 Reason

The most obvious It: Welcome to Derry criticism is actually a positive development, and there is one main reason why. Season 1 of the Stephen King adaptation premiered on HBO Max on October 26th, 2026, and is a terrifying prequel to the 2017 and 2019 movies It and It Chapter Two. Set in Derry, Maine, in 1962, Season 1 juggles a few major storylines, from the military’s search for 13 magical pillars that can fight the It entity to the young characters’ shifting friendships and inner battles between wanting to be popular and embracing who they really are.

It: Welcome to Derry is a well-crafted adaptation and has all the staples of a good horror show: a creepy small town, a long-running mystery, and a group of child characters determined to face evil. It also doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of the movies and stands on its own. However, while one criticism keeps coming up, there’s a reason this aspect of the series works well.

‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Doesn’t Feature Much Pennywise, But That’s a Good Thing

HBO Max

When tuning into It: Welcome to Derry Season 1, Episode 1, it’s easy to ask one big question: where is Pennywise the Dancing Clown? Many have criticized the King series for not including Pennywise in the first few episodes, and that’s a fair point. But thanks to the strong storytelling in Episode 5, “29 Neibolt Street,” it’s possible to praise the HBO Max series for delivering some legitimate scares.

The big Pennywise reveal happens in the sewers, as it should, when Matty Clements (Miles Ekhardt) turns into the iconic villain, proving that It was pretending to be the young boy. It’s a genuinely horrifying reveal and wouldn’t be as effective if Pennywise had shown up earlier. Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack) and her friends aren’t expecting this at all, and since they’re also dealing with the grief of seeing Matty’s dead body, the scene reminds viewers of the many painful losses they’ve experienced.

The shocking Matty moment also proves that Pennywise is still an effective villain, even after he’s appeared in a few different projects. Although Tim Curry is excellent in the 1990s miniseries, Bill Skarsgård, who played Pennywise in the 2017 and 2019 movies, still portrays the clown’s cruelty with ease.

Since the clown is such a famous pop culture figure, it’s easy to forget that the It entity appears in various forms. It: Welcome to Derry does a great job reminding viewers of this fact. And, despite how awful it is when Pennywise says “Duck and cover, kiddos” in the sewer, It’s previous appearances are even more chilling than this scene. While all horror villains have motives, It goes for the jugular. The entity preys on Lily and Ronnie Grogon’s (Amanda Christine) childhood trauma by showing up as disgusting versions of their deceased dad and mom. Lily and Ronnie both carry around guilt for these deaths. Lily’s dad died at the pickle factory where he was employed after finding her mood ring, and Ronnie’s mom passed away after giving birth to her.

These scenes bring up terrible memories and are more than just scary; they’re heartbreaking. It’s also clear that while many fans would love to see more Pennywise, It: Welcome to Derry has delivered more than enough powerful, gory moments to make any King devotee and/or horror lover happy. Well, maybe not completely happy, given the upsetting death in Derry Episode 7 and all the emotional moments so far.