It: Welcome to Derry 1x08 Full Reaction!
Added 2025-12-16 14:35:56 +0000 UTC
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I did note the timing of Darabont directing Stranger Things coinciding with The Mist of it all here. Probably for the best we don’t get more than the chill as we don’t need as downbeat an ending as the downbeat ending from that movie here. Jesus, is that ending fucked up, and boy do I love it so. Great acting that you highlighted. Shame that Pennywise didn’t freeze the plastics into place so that the school bus could run them down, but we can’t have everything. Hanlon does come through. Amazing it is that we both used King of the Hill quotes with yelling at Shaw. Hanlon and Hallorann’s arc has been a highlight. We both had the response to Hanlon offering to shoot Hallorann if that’s what he wanted. Writing is tricky with that as you highlight, here worked well, complete with the reference that inevitably we both went with. We do say what we do about Shaw, and yeah, James Remar does sell his scenes. Seen most go with the Lord of the Rings comparisons with the shard. Feels slightly out of nowhere, but they run with it well enough. The one idea of the extra layer of safety actually makes Lilly even more of a paranoid wreck does speak to me. Good notes on the insults, and I notice that Margie turns the other cheek as she senses what’s up, and is more focused on getting through to Lilly. Behind on the Black Phone films, so I’ll take your word on that one. Lot of the cinematography and lighting in the Black Spot scenes felt very similar to Sinners, and that too is coincidental, so I get what you’re saying. The best prequel stuff with guaranteed to survive characters is the stuff that has you so engrossed that you forget about the forgone conclusions. Nice to hear The Princess Bride is your dad’s favorite movie. My dad had The Shawshank Redemption, which like you say, Rob Reiner gave Darabont one hell of a winning compliment on that one. Yeah, nothing in the book, nor previous adaptations ever directly brings up the idea that Pennywise’s mind is detached from linear time, which yes, is to set up future seasons. The lore established, combined with foreshadowing here, the idea does mesh well. Richie’s dad is a mensch for not minding much about Margie’s eye, and in addition to the Casablanca of it all, (Sidenote, Harry says “Best last line of a movie ever.” with Casablanca, I say that with Some Like it Hot.) you know that it was twue wove when they sang Surrey with a Fringe on Top at the Sharper Image in front of Ira. Nice reversal of Hallorann giving Pennywise a taste of his own medicine, and good North nod. Already figured that Shaw had no strategy beyond letting Pennywise loose and just assume that it would all go to plan. The fool. He fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia. But only SLIGHTLY less well known is this: Never be so MONUMENTALLY STUPID enough to cause both of us to quote Colonel Jessep’s big scene, and separate lines at that, when DEATH is on the line!! Yeah, we both got shocked by Rich riding in to save the day. As I said, my face must have looked like Hallorann’s. Jess provided everything and then some with her reaction to that, which also perfectly refutes the Annie Wilkes line that other fans had. Right, The Bucket List was Rob Reiner. Taking the opportunity to say that film has one of my favorite jokes that’s like the Asimov line in Alien: Earth that doesn’t explain the punchline. When Morgan Freeman asks Sean Hayes’s character if he prefers to be called Tommy or Thomas, and Sean replies, “It’s actually Matthew, but he finds that too biblical.” Heard fans have gone with the similar thought about Stan. It does help wash out the sour taste of the letter scene in the newer It. Get what you mean about Taniel. It does provide a Watsonian explanation as to why he’s not in the newer films, and even then, it does have that “victory must have a cost” thing, when we already crossed the threshold. Good Buffy nod that I had to google. Margie having the speech from the books was great. The scene with Rich’s parents does work so much better than it had any right to. Figured you’d have mild issue with the MCU style nod. As mentioned, I love that they didn’t play any ominous music, and combined with the hotel being in London does help. Sad though Will’s death is, Hanlon still keeps Mike ready for Pennywise when he’s not off chasing the Blues Brothers, or fighting Jason Voorhees. Hank would have the great time with Bowers. Bowers would say “You CAN’T!” and Hank could channel Paul Sheldon burning Misery Lives by saying, “Why not? I learned it from you.” That is sweet that Joan gets the one last appearance as Ingrid. Thought we wouldn’t see Sophia and just let the audience realize what we were seeing. The cgi deaging was distracting in part two. Distracting though her appearance is here, the scene still has the great punch, so I’ll let that slide. Oh, there’s definitely more coming. The extremely goofy vibe fits as there are the parts in the book where the cocaine was apparent. This ended up being so much better than we thought it would, so joining Jess for more is going to be a treat when it comes.
Thomas Corp
2025-12-16 22:06:54 +0000 UTCI've had to inform a few people as the show went on that Halloran survives in the book. Though the movie was kind of forced to kill him once Kubrick decided the mallet would look too silly and gave Jack an ax instead. One very amusing bit of synergy is there are currently a ton of kids who just came out of one of the biggest box office hits of all time, asking their parents what the deal was with the part where the bad guy limps through a hedge maze staring creepily at the camera. Though I have to reiterate, no one ask Jess to watch that one. Pennywise does come off as the biggest loser in the world now, armed with all the knowledge he could want to take out the people who'll eventually kill him by any of their ancestors, and failing every single time. He's just too distractable, I guess.
Ryan
2025-12-16 21:13:37 +0000 UTCWhat better way to celebrate Frank Darabont returning to what he does best than the Mist coming to town? I was a tad let down that all it seems to do is make things a bit chilly, but we have plenty of stuff that needs to be wrapped up here. Amazing performance by Robert Clarke as you fully believe he's dead weight being puppeted; certainly better than Bob Gunton managed, as skilled as he usually is. And with the plastics having already gotten the comeuppance that really matters, I'm fine with them just getting deadlighted and sitting the rest of this out. Leroy has been pretty shit this whole season, but now that he's finally had to tell Shaw "You're a loser, which means I'm a loser, which means my dad was right," he really steps up. He and Halloran have always been my favorite duo of the show, and this is a hell of a conclusion to their arc with Leroy going so far as to say he'll shoot Halloran himself if that's really what he wants after this. With the Shining going up to eleven like this, I can fully get why he reached this point, something that doesn't work with me a lot of the time. And Remar comes through again with that detestably smug confidence that he can just let them go now. Yes, you're very smart. Shut up. I have mixed thoughts on the true nature of the meteor shard. It's a neat concept that it works like the gauntlet from Farscape and makes sense with what we saw from Lily before, but I was also really digging the idea that she's so psychologically screwed up that having this extra layer of safety actually makes her even more of a paranoid wreck. Though it's oddly sweet that even under its influence, the worst insult she can come up with is "your stupid friends." Weird to think how this show and Black Phone 2 came out so close together that it has to be a total coincidence that they have such similar climaxes. But this one still definitely stands on its own and had me just as invested, even knowing the whole time that Pennywise would still be stuck in Derry in 1989. Though it does start with its weakest part as he lets Margie know first comes love, then comes mawwaige (I had to give it two since it's my dad's favorite movie). I've read the book and watched the miniseries, the movies, and every other episode of this show, and I'm 90% sure this is the first time it's ever been stated that his mind is detached from linear time, clearly as an excuse to add more intrigue to the later seasons with him remembering these events. But it still fits with the foreshadowing I can now see looking back, most of all them simply using the same name as one of the original characters. One wonders just how her future husband will respond to her insisting on that name rather than anything to do with him, though he's apparently such a mensch that her eye wasn't an issue. I'm imagining they started out getting on each other's nerves driving home from college, but eventually were watching Casablanca over the phone. Well done to Halloran for turning the tables on Pennywise as long as he did, even taking the chance to smack him around a bit. At least he was nice enough to skip the part where people were saying "Quick, loosen his pants." Which goes straight into Shaw at long last proving you're only young once but you're going to be stupid forever. Did he seriously have no plan beyond letting IT out into the world and hoping for the best? I guess he really couldn't handle the truth. Right up until the moment he appeared, it never occurred to me that Rich might get to be part of this ending, so that was the big high point for me, and you provided everything I was hoping for. Even if I can imagine a lot of fans saying to Muschietti "I don't want his spirit, I want him, and you murdered him!" Flipping off Pennywise who's powerless to stop him is certainly one for the bucket list. I'm also taking this as a sign that Stan was actually part of the final battle. The one real sour note to all this is Taniel's death, which felt totally pointless as we'd long passed the typical "victory must have a cost" threshold. It leaves the end here feeling kind of empty; the battle's done and we kind of won, so we sound our victory cheer, where do we go from here? Very nice touch giving Margie a speech straight from the book at Rich's funeral, and Halloran's talk with his parents works a lot better than by all rights it should, since as far as I can recall we've never once seen them before. I was rolling my eyes a bit at the hotel exchange, which teeters on an MCU level "wink, nudge" franchise building, but it helps that he mentions it's in London which means it's not actually the Overlook. And everyone who's left gets their happy ending, almost enough to make you forget Will's going to burn to death in a factory, before he can tell his son anything about the family duty. I just hope Hank got to stop by at Bowers' place on his way out. "You said I was dead, so I can do anything I want to you. You wanted to send me to Shawshank? Well, put your faith in the lord. Your ass belongs to me." Muschietti has revealed the stinger was a very last minute idea when he decided the episode was missing something, and he was darn lucky he got it filmed when he did before the 92 year old Joan Gregson passed away in June. It's also pretty apparent he couldn't get Stephen Bogaert back and had to rely on an elbow smack to sell it's actually Alvin, which, yeah, works for me. Sophia is rather more awkward, as it's immediately apparent she's now 23 trying to look even younger than her 15 year old self. Guys, Orphan: First Kill was a once in a lifetime thing that mostly got by on having a strong enough script that you're able to overlook the casting absurdity at its center; no one else really has a chance. At the moment there's no word on the show being renewed, but it's been a massive ratings success, including the second most successful premiere in HBO history behind only House of the Dragon, so I imagine it's a sure thing unless the execs suddenly decide they hate money. And after a rocky start I ended up really loving this season once I was able to meet it on its own extremely goofy vibe, so I say bring it on.
Ryan
2025-12-16 20:51:53 +0000 UTCLove the adults taking down and subduing the Colonel Wortman looking motherfucker. Keep forgetting his name. He looks like Colonel Wortman in the Iron Guts Kelly episode of M*A*S*H, so that’s the name I dub him. Love how they know that shooting Pennywise won’t kill him, but it can slow him down long enough. Bringing us to the moment which we all knew would get you so good: Rich remaining the bravest knight in Derry even in death. That young man had feet of FUCKING STEEL!!! Hallorann and I matched expressions as he correctly described it as a motherfucking miracle. My own expression was fueled by preemptively feeling your own ecstatic joy at the moment. Your work continues to exceed all expectations as that reaction was beyond goddamn FUCKING BEAUTIFUL, Jess. You dub Rich beautiful. Not Pennywise. Eh, Pennywise is pretty beautiful too. To me, anyway, but then maybe I’m just that fucked in the head. That was a hell of a thing, that victory. Rich’s funeral gets the reactions that I expected, and I lose it seeing Rich with his parents. Margie gets you with her words where you know that she’ll hold Rich in her heart forever. We learn that she does marry, hence Richie. Even so, you know that Margie never again had a love like the one she had with Rich when she was young. Jesus, does anyone? Had to fight hard not to break down when Lilly went to see her dad. Rose leaves Derry, leaving the farm to the Hanlons, explaining that. MAD respect for the show not winking with the music when Hallorann mentions the Overlook. Not even the Wendy Carlos synthesizer music. They do have that leading line, which I cackled a mite when you heard it. There are still some questions about Hallorann, more specifically is this timeline following the book or the film of The Shining. He’d be dead regardless by the time part two of the newer It films takes place, so I suppose it’s something of a moot point. We share relief of the Grogans getting some measure of a happy ending. Will expresses worry about the memories. The curse of Derry: old acquaintance be forgot. Just as the New Year’s song says. What does that song mean by the way? My whole life, I don’t know what that song means. I mean, “Should old acquaintance be forgot”. Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances? Or does it mean that if we happened to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot them? Then there’s Lilly and Margie’s talk where Margie shares what she learned. And like how you said, you love the questions with the answers. This is also the case with the book where the answers are still laced with questions. Even with some greater answers, questions still remain. Rather horrifying thought of Pennywise being aware and conscious of the flat circle of time and space and can see that everything is a pattern that grows out of itself. Sometimes he can no longer see the trees, only the roots. The smallest price to pay for immortality. Which would explain how Pennywise seems to adapt remarkably well to whatever time he wakes up in, even with separation of at least two generations each time. The further terrifying thing is that though a new wrinkle, this isn’t entirely inaccurate to the book. Works of King’s post It have a few lovely tidbits suggesting that somehow, Pennywise returned, even after what’s supposed to be his final death. This is a rather interesting way to tackle this idea. Makes me curious if we tackle the idea of alternate timelines and realities as a way to tie into the miniseries, and Tim’s beautiful portrayal. We can’t have Tim back as Pennywise for obvious reasons, but it would make for a lovely tribute, tie in I should think. At least the Losers’ Club of this timeline has a relatively more cheerful ending than their past variants. Though I doubt they’d ever get over the ordeal. I don’t know if anyone could ever totally get over something like that. And I imagine that the Losers’ Club would find it weird: That even though they know Pennywise is dead, they’d still think about him once in a while... But, as Lilly observed, if and when Pennywise strikes again, that’s for another generation to deal with the horror. They may have failed, and now it’s possible that the Losers’ Club failed. There is still victory. Even in failure, there is success. Because, as has been said, “Even when we fail, we move forward. The failures accrue, and we tread on them to advance to higher ground.” Is this not so? The ladies sense this and offer Godspeed to those who next have to dance with Pennywise. We catch up with Ingrid as was spoiled by the opening credits. We confirm she lived, as I was curious if her glare to the kids was real. She lives at least until the year of your birth where her face is still known to us. She sees the suicide of Elfrida. Leading to that fantastic final moment where she offers the hauntingly comforting words to a very familiar girl. Hell of a thing to end on. All in all, this was a pure delight sharing this reaction, and this season with you, Jess. I’ve not yet heard an official renewal, but I’m sure it’s coming. You’ve now expressed such appreciation for us sharing the journey with this season. Will we join you for the seasons to come? As you wish.
Thomas Corp
2025-12-16 17:32:12 +0000 UTC
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