Did ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’s Finale Just Drop an Easter Egg From Another Stephen King Classic?
While the creative team has pushed back on claims of a deliberate homage, the finale still plays like a collision of author King’s interconnected worlds — and that’s exactly what makes it so effective.
What Happens in the ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Finale?
Derry is caught in an unnatural, frozen fog, as the entire cast of main characters confronts Pennywise. The feel of the town is of being suspended between different realities; it is therefore isolated, disoriented, and almost entirely separated from the outside world. The characters are racing against the clock to return the mystical Dagger to the place where it belongs, and this is what helps to alleviate the stranglehold Pennywise has had over the town briefly.
The ending, however, was not that of a typical victorious finale. Instead, this ending focuses on survival. Pennywise is pushed back — but he is not killed, so the idea exists that this story is part of a much larger cycle. The theme of this larger cycle is presented through the new addition to the lore, which indicates that Pennywise is not bound by the laws of linear time; he sees all of history, the present, and the future at once. Additionally, this explains why Pennywise targets specific bloodlines and instills a sense of dread even in a prequel to the story.
Was the Finale Secretly Referencing ‘The Mist’?
Visually, it’s hard not to think of The Mist. Derry vanishes beneath a cold, blinding fog that isolates characters and transforms familiar spaces into something alien and threatening. The resemblance is striking enough that many viewers assumed it was an intentional nod to King’s 1980 novella.
According to creators Andy and Barbara Muschietti, however, the similarity wasn’t deliberate. The fog was designed to represent the expanding influence of the Deadlights — a physical manifestation of Pennywise’s otherworldly presence. Still, the overlap feels meaningful. In King’s larger mythology, The Mist and IT are both linked to interdimensional spaces beyond human understanding. Even if unintended, the imagery slots neatly into that shared cosmic language. In other words, it’s not an adaptation of The Mist — but it absolutely feels like it belongs in the same universe.
The Post-Credits Scene That Changes Everything
The series jumps forward to 1988, where a young Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis) appears at Juniper Hill psychiatric hospital on the worst day of her life: the discovery of her mother’s suicide. As Beverly stands in shock, she’s approached by an elderly Ingrid Kersh — played by Joan Gregson, reprising her role from IT Chapter Two.
They lock eyes. Ingrid offers chilling words about death in Derry. And just like that, Welcome to Derry quietly reveals that Beverly met Mrs. Kersh decades before Pennywise ever tormented her as an adult.
This single scene radically alters how IT Chapter Two plays. When Pennywise later disguises itself as Mrs. Kersh to terrorize Beverly, it’s no longer a random choice or symbolic echo. It’s a weaponized memory — one rooted in trauma, grief, and a moment Beverly never escaped.
Co-creator Jason Fuchs has explained that this realization reframes the encounter entirely. Pennywise isn’t just exploiting Beverly’s relationship with her father; it’s reaching back into a deeply buried experience tied to the day her childhood truly ended.
What Does All of This Mean for the Future of the Series?
Beyond the emotional gut punch, the finale sets the template for where Welcome to Derry is headed. The show has already confirmed plans to move backward another 27 years in Season 2, exploring Pennywise’s 1935 awakening and the infamous Bradley Gang massacre.
By establishing Pennywise’s fractured relationship with time, the series gives itself room to complicate the rules of prequels. The audience may know how Pennywise’s story ends, but Welcome to Derry suggests that knowledge doesn’t make the journey any safer — or any less horrifying.
