Did Pennywise Creep Into Episode 3? Welcome To Derry Creators Weigh In

If you thought that blink-and-you-miss-it clown reveal at the end of Episode 3 was Pennywise stepping onto the stage, you are very much not alone. And the showrunners know exactly what they are doing.

About that Episode 3 ending

We are in 1962 Derry, and the slow boil is starting to bubble. In Episode 3, Will Hanlon (played by Blake Cameron James) is lured to a cemetery crypt after a string of creepy noises. He snaps a photo of a shadowy figure, develops it, and the image resolves into what sure looks like a clown silhouette. Will clocks it right as the screen cuts to black. Classic nightmare fuel timing.

So did we actually see Pennywise?

• Co-showrunners Brad Caleb Kane and Jason Fuchs addressed the fan theories in a chat with Deadline and kept things deliberately hazy at first. Kane basically posed the question himself about whether that was Pennywise at the end of 103, then shrugged it off with a non-answer.
• He explained that the whole series is built to keep you off balance. From the end of the very first episode, they wanted you to feel like nobody is safe, nothing is what it looks like, and anything can happen.
• Fuchs leaned in with a wink, essentially saying he thinks it is Pennywise.
• Then Kane pivoted and went bold with this:

"It’s absolutely Pennywise. That’s what I’m going to say to your viewers, and they should go in thinking that. We’ll have to see what happens in the latter half of the season."

So yes-no-yes. Either they are enjoying the dance, or they are trying to throw people off while also stoking the hype. Probably both.

Where the show is at

It: Welcome to Derry is a prequel on HBO set in 1962, digging into the roots of Pennywise’s reign of terror. Episode 3 is the first time the series really puts a clown-shaped fingerprint on the glass. Whether that was the definitive entrance or just a nasty tease, the showrunners want you thinking it was him while still promising more answers in the back half of the season.