Episode 5, “29 Neibolt Street,” turns the season on its head when Matty Clements reappears to lure the kids into the sewers — only to morph into Pennywise. Co-showrunner Jason Fuchs has said the notion began life as a scrapped It: Chapter Two beat in which adult Mike Hanlon was secretly a manifestation of It. Fuchs explained the original version “felt like an interesting idea that was wrong” for the film, but it proved brutally effective once adapted for television.
How the reveal was staged
Series creators Andy and Barbara Muschietti and Fuchs deliberately delayed Bill Skarsgård’s face-off. “Pennywise should be a little bit like the shark in Jaws,” Barbara said, adding, “it was important for us to delay the pleasure, or the terror.” Andy called it “a game of anticipation” to build audience hunger for Skarsgård’s entrance, while Fuchs noted TV lets them explore non‑Pennywise forms before unleashing the clown.
Cast and characters in play
- Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise
- Miles Ekhardt as Matty Clements
- Jack Molloy Legault as Phil
- Matilda Lawler (Marge), Arian S. Cartaya (Rich), Clara Stack (Lilly), Blake Cameron James (Will), Amanda Christine (Ronnie)
- James Remar as General Francis Shaw; Kimberly Guerrero as Rose; Taniel (Rose’s nephew)
- Madeleine Stowe as Ingrid (with a connection to Mrs. Kersh)
- Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann
- Other names referenced this week include Leroy, Charlotte, Hank Grogan, and Stan the Butcher.
Reactions and fallout
James Remar described Shaw’s choices in stark terms: “It was the most callous thing I could possibly do,” and said the general “was being torn apart inside because of Pennywise.” He also admitted, “I blackmail Rose with her nephew.” Critics noted Pennywise barks “Duck and cover!” during the chaotic Well House sequence as military and kids collide around the 13 Pillars and the house at 29 Neibolt Street.
Where it leaves, Welcome to Derry
With three episodes left, new chapters air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max. The episode also teases Ingrid’s identity by tying her to Mrs. Kersh, plus a Hallorann sequence nodding to Doctor Sleep, while Derry’s 1962 cycle accelerates toward the Black Spot arson.
Holding Pennywise back sharpened the shock when Matty’s true nature surfaced, and moving the “imposter friend” idea from Mike Hanlon to Matty preserves the integrity of King’s adult Losers while still weaponizing grief. The twist also corrals disparate threads — Shaw’s Cold War gambit, the kids’ clubhouse, and the Well House — into one trap laid by It.
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