It: Welcome to Derry Finale Reveals What Really Happened to Pennywise
Fog swallows Derry as General Shaw barrels ahead with his mission, forcing the Hanlons, Rose, Dick, and a band of kids into a last-ditch stand in Winter Fire—the finale that finally reveals Pennywise’s fate.
It: Welcome to Derry lands its finale and immediately smothers the town in fog and bad decisions. The episode is called 'Winter Fire,' and it goes big: kids in danger, a supernatural tree, a magic dagger, the military making things worse, and a ghost save that comes out of nowhere. Here is how it plays and where everyone ends up.
How the finale actually goes down
General Shaw is locked in on running his mission his way as Derry disappears into dense fog. While he pushes forward, the Hanlons link up with Rose, Dick Hallorann, and the kids to stop the thing tearing the town apart.
Pennywise snatches the kids first and heads for an ancient tree at the edge of his supernatural cage. Lilly, Ronnie, and Marge go after him to pull Will out of danger, while the rest of the adults tap into Dick Hallorann's abilities to track the clown and catch up.
Rose has the plan that matters: the only way to hold Pennywise is to bury a magical dagger under that tree, which completes the cage and locks him in. Simple pitch, hard execution.
Dick runs distraction, holding Pennywise long enough to try to free Will and Marge. Right then, Shaw's troops roll in to stop the adults. Yes, the military is basically here to make sure Pennywise slips away. Leroy steps up to keep the soldiers busy so the kids can reach the tree. It turns into a mess: adults versus the military, and in the chaos Pennywise breaks loose and gets behind the kids.
Just when it looks cooked, the show throws a curveball: the spirit of Sesqui sends the ghost of Rich Santos to back up his friends. With Rich's help, they get the dagger into the ground beneath the tree and finish the cage. Pennywise is trapped.
Where everyone lands
- Pennywise: sealed by the completed cage after the dagger goes under the ancient tree. Trapped, but the vibe is very much 'not gone forever.'
- Rich Santos: shows up as a ghost, helps save the kids, then attends his own funeral to comfort his parents.
- Dick Hallorann: pushed by Rich to use his powers for something good, he leaves the military and starts over in London as a chef.
- General Shaw and the troops: they arrive to shut down the adults and effectively try to let Pennywise escape; Leroy keeps them off long enough for the plan to work.
- The rescuers: Lilly, Ronnie, Marge, the Hanlons, Rose, and the kids all pull together to execute Rose's plan and save Derry.
All eight episodes are streaming now on HBO Max.