This article contains spoilers for IT: Welcome to Derry’s episode 1.
I made the mistake of assuming that IT: Welcome to Derry was the new Stranger Things replacement before the Stephen King show raised a middle finger at the Netflix series with just one shocking sequence.
When IT: Welcome to Derry‘s early promotional images and trailers came, I found it hard not to believe that it would be similar to Stranger Things in more ways than one. After all, Stranger Things draws from many Stephen King tropes and seems reminiscent of several stories written by the author, including Carrie, Firestarter, Stand By Me, etc. Even this year’s first Stephen King TV adaptation, The Institute, seemed in the same vein as Stranger Things with its portrayal of superpowered children.
In its early moments, HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry does not shy away from embracing its Stranger Things similarities. In fact, there are scenes where it even intentionally draws glaring parallels. However, just when a viewer, like me, sighs, “here we go again,” and falls into the trap of believing it’s just another Stranger Things “reimagining,” the Stephen King TV show defies all expectations in the most brutal way possible.
It: Welcome To Derry Avoids Stranger Things Comparisons In The Most Brutal Way
The premise below might sound a little too familiar:
- A child from a small town disappears and is presumed dead.
- His friends are haunted by visions of him before they set out to find him.
- The kids bike through their quiet neighborhood, hoping to find clues that will lead them to their friend.
- An overarching government lab in the town secretly runs experiments.
All story threads described above are introduced in both Stranger Things and IT: Welcome to Derry‘s opening arcs. Like Stranger Things, Welcome to Derry also instills nostalgia with its vintage visuals and Spielbergian aesthetic. However, after introducing its young Stranger Things “alternatives,” the show throws an ultimate curveball towards the end of episode 1. The young characters in the show encounter a version of the terrifying Pennywise, who ruthlessly kills almost all of them.
Like most viewers, I found myself feeling attached to all the young characters IT: Welcome to Derry introduces in its opening moments. Since Stranger Things is about to end, I was expecting Welcome to Derry‘s new young roster to grow into the next Eleven, Will, Lucas, Mike, Dustin, and Max. The Stephen King show, however, poured cold water on all my expectations and arguably delivered something even better by getting half of its young characters out of the way as soon as it began.
Welcome To Derry’s Early Subversion Sets It Up As A Smart IT Adaptation
IT: Welcome to Derry had the perfect opportunity to riff on Stranger Things‘ popularity. It could have taken the easy route and captured everything that made the Netflix series so popular. However, its subversion of Stranger Things‘ tropes makes it even better. It establishes that it is not trying to be the next Stranger Things. Instead, it is on its way to becoming a gruesome and disturbing adaptation of one of Stephen King’s most iconic and terrifying books.
Many Stephen King adaptations, like The Institute, try too hard to appeal to the masses. In turn, they become watered-down and less scary versions of their source material. Fortunately, IT: Welcome to Derry is not treading the same path. What initially seems like a Stranger Things replacement is a brilliant subversion of several tropes audiences have grown too familiar with. Put simply, IT: Welcome to Derry should not be mistaken as the next Stranger Things but seen as a course correction for Stephen King‘s adaptations.
