This article was originally published on FearHQ.com.
In It: Welcome to Derry's fifth episode, "29 Neibolt Street," Matty Clements, the boy who vanished in the show's premiere, is revealed to be alive as he reunites with Lilly, Will, Ronnie, Marge, and Rich, and tells them that he managed to escape Pennywise's lair.
Matty stops them from getting any adults involved, and explains that Teddy's brains were eaten by It, and Suzie bled out after her arm was torn off. Phil, however, is still alive. With that, a plan is agreed on to head into the sewers and save their friend.
At the same time, the military mounts an attack on Pennywise's lair; General Shaw has figured out that one final bloody event marks the end of a cycle, and that there will then be 27 years of peace. The reason the town seems to become so unhinged during the entity's attacks is because It sheds its skin, tainting Derry's water.
A monstrous Uncle Sam attacks the invading soldiers, and Hallorann is mentally tortured by Pennywise after encountering the creature with his psychic abilities. As events underground continue to escalate, Leroy inadvertently kills his friend and the kids learn a devastating secret.
That isn't Matty; Pennywise has been posing as him this whole time, and is finally revealed in all his horrible glory as Bill Skarsgård's iconic monster attempts to devour the kids he's been stalking.
Fortunately, Lilly manages to fend Pennywise off with a piece of his cage, originally taken into the sewer by the military (possibly giving these kids an advantage in the weeks ahead).
Hank, meanwhile, has escaped prison after being falsely accused of the murders and is revealed to have been secretly seeing Lilly's friend from Juniper Hill Asylum, Ingrid
The episode ends with Hallorann emerging from the sewers, not quite in his right mind after his encounter with the entity opened up a Pandora's Box of traumatic memories he's spent his whole life suppressing. Critics have yet to see the final few instalments, so where things go from here remains to be seen.
Set in the world of Stephen King's It universe, It: Welcome to Derry is based on King's It novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the feature films It and It Chapter Two.
The cast is led by Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, Rudy Mancuso, and Bill Skarsgård.
The series, from Warner Bros. Television and developed for television by filmmakers Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti (It, The Flash) and Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman), will debut on HBO and also be available to stream on HBO Max. Muschietti will direct four episodes of the nine-episode series.
Five episodes of It: Welcome to Derry are now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes released weekly leading up to the season finale on December 14.