**IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 1 Ends with Shocking Kills — A Bold Start for HBO’s Stephen King Series**
*Spoilers ahead for IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 1, now streaming on HBO MAX.*
The very first episode of *IT: Welcome to Derry* opens and closes with two absolutely ruthless Pennywise kills, setting a dark and intense tone for the series. If you thought a prequel set decades before the Losers’ Club faced down Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) couldn’t have teeth, HBO’s new Stephen King adaptation is here to prove you wrong.
—
### A Brutal Cold Open
The cold open follows a troubled little boy named Matty Clements (Miles Ekhardt) after he’s kicked out of a movie theater on a frigid winter night in 1962. Matty tries to hitchhike his way out of Derry, Maine, but winds up falling prey to an elaborate and deadly trap.
For the rest of Episode 1, Matty’s friends—Lilly (Clara Stack), Teddy (Mikkal Karim-Fidler), and Phil (Jack Molloy Legault)—try to figure out what happened to him. They enlist the help of the movie theater owner’s daughter, Ronnie (Amanda Christine), and bring along Phil’s little sister, Susie (Matilda Legault).
When Lilly hears Matty singing a song from *The Music Man*—the film he was kicked out of—through the theater’s pipes, the kids get the bright idea to watch the movie for clues. However, things quickly take a horrifying turn.
—
### Terror Unleashed on the Big Screen
Matty appears trapped inside the film itself, which soon transforms the moment of triumph into absolute terror. A grotesque monster bursts out of the screen and begins hunting the children. The gruesome encounter results in only Lilly and Ronnie surviving, with the episode ending on a chilling note: a blood-soaked Lilly clutching what remains of little Susie’s hand.
—
### Why Kill Off Kids in Episode 1?
So why would *IT: Welcome to Derry* open by obliterating literal little kids? What does this mean for the show going forward? Are the children really dead? And were any child actors traumatized by the harrowing scene?
Jason Fuchs, co-showrunner and Episode 1 writer, explained to *DECIDER* that the series wanted to subvert audience expectations right from the start.
> “You’ve seen two movies, maybe you’ve read the book, and so we wanted to take those expectations right from the start and upend them. We wanted audiences to feel like anything’s possible. No one is safe,” Fuchs said. “You can care about a character and they’ll still be taken from you.”
Indeed, Matty is still in Pennywise’s clutches, if not already dead, and Teddy, Phil, and Susie have also been killed. Only Lilly and Ronnie survive the first episode—a choice that was very much intentional.
Fuchs elaborated:
> “In doing that, we actually thrust you into the point of view of our lead characters, who are very much trying to get their wits about them and figure out what it all means and what the rules of this world are.”
He also teased why Lilly and Ronnie were specifically spared:
> “We were interested in their journeys. Derry is a town where if you see the truth, if you see the evil around you, if you’re sensitive to it, if you’re aware of it, your truth is denied.”
—
### Behind the Scenes: The Child Actors on Set
If you’re worried the child actors were negatively impacted by filming such a gory and intense sequence, rest assured—the actresses playing Lilly and Ronnie had a great time.
Clara Stack, who plays Lilly, gushed to *DECIDER*:
> “Honestly, I loved doing that scene. I love horror, intense scenes. So getting to scream like that and getting drenched in blood and seeing in the actual series how everything turned out, I think it’s super cool.”
Amanda Christine, who plays Ronnie, shared:
> “I definitely agree with Clara. It was so much fun filming that scene, and it was definitely action-packed.”
Christine also revealed some interesting filming details:
> “The crazy thing was, the way we filmed it, we did it kind of separately and in different chunks, different parts and everything. Some people got to film together, some people didn’t. So it was definitely cool to see everything come together.”
Stack noted the complexity of the sequence made it even more exciting:
> “There’s a lot going on. My character ducks under the seats, other characters run and jump over seats, and there’s just a bunch going on. Trying to truly portray the fear and endow the emotion while remembering cues and where to go—that was a really cool thing to balance out.”
Christine added she faced a unique technical challenge as Ronnie:
> “I had to learn how to actually work the camera and put the film in and make sure that it was all going and running. So that was really, really fun to learn and experience.”
—
### The Iconic Ending
The girls are especially proud of a certain shocking finale that might be giving viewers nightmares tonight.
> “And that ending scene? Clara?” Christine said, referring to Lilly clutching Susie’s hand. “Iconic.”
Stack responded with a blush:
> “Thank you. You, too.”
—
*IT: Welcome to Derry* Episode 1 wastes no time establishing a high-stakes, terrifying world where no one is guaranteed safety. With its bold storytelling choices and talented young cast, the series promises to deliver a fresh, chilling addition to Stephen King’s legend of Derry.
https://decider.com/2025/10/26/it-welcome-to-derry-episode-1-ending-explained-did-pennywise-really-just-kill-all-those-poor-kids/