Welcome to Derry episode 6 (“In the Name of the Father”) arrives with a revelation fans have been circling for weeks: Ingrid Kersh isn’t just a kindly confidante — she’s the devotee who believes she can bring her father, Bob Gray, back to her by helping the evil under Derry take root again. The hour roots that twist in a granular timeline (1908, 1935, and the show’s 1960s setting), while threading the looming Black Spot catastrophe and the fracturing kids’ alliance. Bill Skarsgård’s specter hangs over every frame — as Bob Gray in photos and as a voice that still calls his daughter “pumpkin.”
Release & where to watch
It: Welcome to Derry season 1, episode 6 premiered on Sunday, November 30, 2025. A weekly rollout continues toward an eight-episode finale in December.
Recap: Ingrid Kersh’s “Papa” problem, from 1908 to 1935 to now
Bill Skarsgård – IT: Welcome to Derry – Season 1 – Episode 6
The episode opens with a 1935 monochrome flashback at Juniper Hill Asylum. A younger Ingrid leads a little girl into the basement because “this is where the clown told you to meet him,” the camera puncturing black-and-white with sickly yellows and a red balloon. The sequence cements a pattern: Ingrid hears terrified children talk about a clown “in the pipes,” and she chooses belief — and complicity.
In the present, Lilly Bainbridge is still unraveling. During math class, she sees her father’s pickled head slither from her desk and hears, “Who’s gonna help you now, crazy?” She bolts to Ingrid’s house and wanders into an attic shrine to the past: a photo album that moves backward in time until 1908, where Bob Gray — the man who will become Pennywise — appears both out of makeup and in full carnival regalia. Ingrid materializes and, instead of outrage, offers a hug and a reassurance — “Whatever it is, it’s going to be ok” — before clocking Lilly’s stare at the clown portrait. Breathless, she asks, “Have you seen him?” and then all but sings: “You saw him! Oh, sweetheart, you did it! You brought him back!”
Bill Skarsgård – IT: Welcome to Derry – Season 1 – Episode 6
What follows is the hour’s blunt confession. Ingrid, now wearing the cadence fans know from It Chapter Two, explains, “My father was a carnival performer. He called himself Pennywise the Dancing Clown.” In her flashback, the creature steps from shadow not as a myth but as a man: Bob Gray, played — in photos and memory — by Bill Skarsgård. He coaxes, “Don’t be scared; I can explain everything. Just open the door and let me in! Everything’s gonna be all right!” and calls his daughter “pumpkin.” Ingrid’s takeaway becomes her creed: “I did what I had to do to see him again,” and later, the line every King reader recognizes: “No one who dies in Derry really dies.”
Lilly finally sees the trap. She spots Ingrid’s vintage carnival wig and the costume that matched the cemetery silhouette the kids photographed. When Ingrid invites her to “come tonight,” Lilly slices her hand with the alien dagger and runs. Meanwhile, the episode steers many of the ensemble — Will, Rich, and Marge; Ronnie with her father, Hank Grogan — toward the Black Spot, where trouble is at the door, and guns are starting to show.
Clara Stack – IT: Welcome to Derry – Season 1 – Episode 6
Cast & characters: who does what in episode 6
- Ingrid Kersh (Madeline Stowe): Juniper Hill’s housekeeper; revealed as the daughter of Bob Gray, the man behind the “Pennywise the Dancing Clown” persona. She uses endearments like “pumpkin,” repeats, “No one who dies in Derry really dies,” and stalks the kids in full clown attire to “bring him back.”
- Bob Gray / Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård, in photographs/manifestations): The human father Ingrid longs to resurrect; the episode frames him as the face that the thing in Derry uses to reel her in.
- Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack): The frightened kid at the heart of the hour, tormented by visions and nearly lured into Ingrid’s orbit.
- Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider): On the run and holed up, he tells Will, “If anything were to happen to me, it’s good to know someone of your character is looking out for my baby girl.”
- Ronnie (Amanda Christine): Hank’s daughter and the group’s moral anchor, who refuses a return trip to the sewers.
- Will, Rich, and Marge: The kids who keep pushing to stay together even as paranoia rises; Rich gives Marge an eye patch that supposedly belonged to a corsair his ancestors knew in Cuba; Marge exposes her wound to the Pattycakes.
- Patty and the Pattycakes: The bullying chorus that keeps turning the screws at school.
- Dick Hallorann: Still fighting the din only he can hear and drinking to dull it, even as the crisis swells.
- Charlotte Hanlon and General Shaw: Adults pushing the plot from different corners as pressure builds around the kids and the Black Spot.
- Clint Bowers: Armed townsfolk coalesce once he spreads word of Hank’s hiding place.
- Key locations: Juniper Hill Asylum; the Black Spot nightclub; Derry’s cemetery and sewers.
Lore check: what the twist changes — and what it doesn’t
Taylour Paige – IT: Welcome to Derry – Season 1 – Episode 6
By naming Bob Gray out loud and having Ingrid claim him as “Papa,” the show reframes Mrs. Kersh not as a new avatar of the monster but as a human devotee whose grief and denial make her the perfect accomplice. The line “I adored him, and he was taken from me” underlines the difference: this isn’t “It” reproducing; it’s Derry’s evil dedicating a lifelong acolyte. The 1935 basement ritual — yellow eyes, red balloon, a child named Mabel dragged into the dark — plays like the moment Ingrid lets the door open inside her as much as the one she opens on screen.
That clarity sharpens episode stakes elsewhere. The kids fracture as fear climbs. Adults choose denial or violence. And somewhere between those poles stands the Black Spot — a sanctuary already ringed by men in masks with guns. The hour ends with the sense that Derry is setting the table for a massacre, and that’s exactly the kind of feast that fattens the thing beneath it.
Verdict
Madeline Stowe – IT: Welcome to Derry – Season 1 – Episode 6
Welcome to Derry episode 6 foregrounds Bill Skarsgård’s Bob Gray even when he isn’t “on screen,” by filtering him through photographs, voices, and Ingrid’s longing. The twist works because it’s specific: names, dates, a father’s pet name, and quotes that echo across time. The horror lands because Lily finally sees that “kind” adults can be the scariest ones of all.
Episode 6 reframes Mrs. Kersh as an acolyte driven by grief to resurrect Bob Gray, not “It” itself, tying the season’s timeline (1908, 1935, 1962) to the cyclical horror. The hour sets up a looming attack on the Black Spot while advancing the kids’ rift, all under the shadow of Pennywise’s return.
Welcome to Derry episode 6 doubles down on lore while keeping Bill Skarsgård present as Bob Gray in memory and manifestation.
With a collective experience in film analysis and entertainment journalism, our team, comprised of avid movie buffs, has always been on the frontline of exploring cinematic universes, from the enchanting realms of Disney to the action-packed scenes of the MCU.
Our passion has led us to exclusive interviews with notable figures, early access, and active participation in the industry.
Recognized by the press, we dive deep into various genres, including drama, cartoons, comedy, and foreign films, always eager to bring fresh insights to our readers.
Connect with us or explore our journey to learn more about our adventures in unraveling the magic of the big screen.
