1935, Juniper Hill Asylum. A bit of woman is scared after seeing a creepy clown, and a nurse is serious about seeing IT, too. The grownup asks the kid to indicate the place she has seen the clown — then a purple balloon invades the black and white state of affairs, and Pennywise seems.
After the explosive introduction of the dancing clown in 29 Neibolt Road, Within the Identify of the Father slows down a bit, rearranging the items for the grand finale whereas offering some much-needed details about Ingrid Kersh and her connection to the clown type of IT.
All of it begins with Lilly going to Ingrid’s home as ordinary; nobody solutions her at first, however she enters anyway. After going up the steps to her pal’s room, she sees some unusual issues: an outdated {photograph}, a wig, and a clown outfit.
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After questioning Ingrid about it, we discover that Mrs. Kersh is the nurse in the opening sequence. She is also the daughter of Bob Gray, the performer behind the human version of Pennywise, the Dancing Clown. Ingrid is Periwinkle, the little girl who appears in the Now You See It‘s 1908 flashback dressed up as a clown. Not only that — we learn that Ingrid has been dressing up as Periwinkle and following the kids in their adventures. Why? She’s been waiting for Pennywise to show up. She expects that if “her father” — because she is deluded thinking her father is trapped in some kind of curse that turned him into the evil clown — sees her dressed up as the old times, he will be released from the curse.
Now we know why Will escaped easily from the clown in the cemetery: he wasn’t taking photos from IT, but from Ingrid instead. Same thing about the telescope jumpscare. That’s why Ingrid encouraged Lilly to gather a group of friends, so the nurse could follow them and wait for Pennywise’s appearance. That’s also why she seemed genuinely worried for Lilly going down the sewers — because she doesn’t want Lilly to die. But she does want to help her “father” — even at the cost of other children’s lives. After all, Ingrid fed Pennywise with children during the 1935 cycle, making her similar to Henry Bowers in the way she’s helping the Creature.
That revelation is interesting for many reasons, but the one that stands out to me is that along with Rose, Ingrid is one of the characters who has been present in all three cycles that the series intends to portray, possibly making the overall arc culminating in how (and why) the Creature has taken over its favorite form as Pennywise from Bob Gray in the 1908 cycle, with season two further developing how the relationship between Bob Gray and Ingrid in 1908 shaped up Mrs. Kersh to be the Creature’s helper in the 1935 cycle.
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| “Within the Identify of the Father” – IT: WELCOME TO DERRY. Pictured: Amanda Christine as Ronnie, Blake Cameron James as Will. Picture: Brooke Palmer/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
Lilly runs away terrified from the home of the lady she as soon as trusted, however that’s not the final we’ve seen of Mrs. Kersh — because the Augury (one final massive, bloody occasion that marks the tip of the cycle) approaches within the Black Spot, Ingrid attire up as Periwinkle. What’s her plan? Will she have the ability to see the reality earlier than it is too late? How will she react as soon as she learns that IT is a creature that manipulated and used her, dressing up as her father? We’ll have to attend only a bit extra to find.
This episode additionally reveals the implications of the journey within the sewers: Leroy argues with Will for happening into the tunnels, hitting his son; Dick is disturbed, seeing ghosts and together with his powers malfunctioning after the Creature messed together with his head; and Lilly and Ronnie have a giant struggle, as Lilly desires to carry the youngsters collectively and kill the Creature with the dagger, whereas Ronnie thinks they do not stand an opportunity.
In the meantime, Charlotte takes Hank to the Black Spot. There, Ronnie and Hank lastly reunite. And whereas Will, Wealthy, and Marge go to the Spot to strive convincing Ronnie they need to discover a technique to struggle the Creature, we get to see how the place works and the way vital it’s. Whereas Will has a pleasant chat with Hank, Wealthy and Marge have enjoyable. This duo is the strongest a part of the episode; there’s an particularly tender second earlier through which Wealthy takes care of Marge’s eye. Then, in school, they get weak with one another once more, with Wealthy sharing his nightly routines of what he does after listening to the voices from the pipes. That’s when the Pattycakes seem to encourage Marge to not develop into a “freak” and abandon her new associates, and in one among her greatest moments, Marge finds the braveness to confront the bullies.
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| “Within the Identify of the Father” – IT: WELCOME TO DERRY. Pictured: Matilda Lawler as Marge, Arian S. Cartaya as Wealthy. Picture: Brooke Palmer/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
It pains me that it took so lengthy for Wealthy and Marge to search out one another; their dynamic is enjoyable, cute, and endearing, and it’s a pleasure to look at Matilda Lawler and Arian S. Cartaya appearing as a duo. If something, this episode makes Marge’s growth extra spectacular, highlighting how insecure she began and the way a lot she’s grown. There’s even a second through which Wealthy and Marge are type of drunk on the Spot, and she or he’s charmed by him taking part in music, and that was one of the bittersweet scenes of the episode — it felt just like the calm earlier than the storm, that candy second earlier than tragedy strikes.
In any case, Charlotte deliberate to quickly home Hank on the Black Spot, get him out of city, after which depart with Will, no matter whether or not Leroy goes with them or not. Hank ought to keep only a few hours hidden there. However in a small city, even the partitions have ears, and a few of the worst individuals of Derry uncover quick the place Hank is. With that, the episode ends with the Black Spot surrounded by a number of automobiles, from which masked and armed white individuals emerge. The Augury is about to occur.
Taking a look at it as an entire, Within the Identify of the Father isn’t my favourite episode, and but it has a few of my favourite scenes. Marge and Wealthy are the apparent highlights, and there are additionally some fascinating selections right here, as using black and white for the 1935 scenes, with the purple of the blood and the balloon serving as distinction within the state of affairs. The episode manages to create lovely moments of friendship, companionship, and first loves — however its major reveal relating to Ingrid makes it contrived, the pacing hurting the moments of concern and pressure. Anyway, on the finish of the hour, I had just one thought: Wealthy is the one major child who hasn’t had a scary second alone with the Creature. The entire different children had at the least one scene displaying their explicit concern to us. This worries me. I believe that this solo second between Wealthy and IT is coming subsequent week, and it saddens me to theorize that he could not get out of this alive…
