IT: Welcome to Derry | "The Black Spot" Recap & Review | "Winter Fire" Preview

*SPOILERS AHEAD

Episode 7, "The Black Spot", opens with yet another eerie flashback, this time returning us to what appears to be the 1930s cycle of IT. Bob Gray—the real Pennywise—entertains the crowd at a bustling fair, his performance full of the unsettling charm that only he can summon. While he entertains, a mysterious child observes from a distance through a window. Whether this child is merely curious or, more disturbingly, another early manifestation of IT remains one of the episode’s quieter but chilling questions. We also witness Ingrid as a young girl showing Periwinkle for the very first time, hinting at the deep roots of her identity even back then.

The scene grows more sinister when the same distant child later approaches Bob alone in the woods. There’s something off about him—something that doesn’t belong to a normal kid—and Bob seems to know it. He remarks that children are always drawn to him, a line layered with meaning for long-time fans. Before we can process it, a scream rings out deeper in the forest. Whether it’s bait, a trap, or something else entirely is left hanging—an ominous thread the episode promises to pull later.

Back in the present, chaos erupts at the Black Spot as an angry mob led by former Chief Bowers storms the grounds. What looked like it might become a brutal brawl turns into a catastrophe: fire spreads, people die, and the building becomes a hellscape. Dick Hallorann’s shine activates in the middle of the carnage, and he sees horrifying visions—a Native American warrior, Pennywise, and a rotting horde of the dead pressing in. Outside, Stan Kersh finds his car won’t start and comes face-to-face with his wife Ingrid—now fully revealed as Periwinkle. His threats barely escape his mouth before Pennywise decapitates him in one of the series’ most shocking moments. Pennywise devours Stan’s head and brain while speaking cryptic but cutting truths to Ingrid about her destiny. But then he announces something unexpected: he must sleep. She lashes out, and he responds by opening his face into the Deadlights. The screen floods with horror—and the scene ends abruptly.

The Black Spot’s aftermath is grim. Marge discovers Rich’s lifeless body still propped against the container he used to shield her. Outside, the surviving kids reunite as Ingrid is loaded onto a stretcher. Her eyes are open, unblinking—less shocked than aware. She scans the kids with a strange, chilling calm, as if she is seeing beyond them rather than at them.

Meanwhile, the kids rush Charlotte to Hank while Leroy goes to check on Dick. Dick remains rattled from his visions, and Charlotte quickly works out a plan to hide Hank from the military. Dick, however, has become preoccupied with the Native American warrior he keeps seeing through the shine. He believes he can use this spirit’s guidance to find one of the ancient pillars that bind IT.

It’s soon confirmed that Pennywise has entered the end of his feeding cycle—a rare moment of dormancy. With the military now digging near the Black Spot under Dick’s direction, Dick sees the warrior chief again, but this time the vision feels more like a warning than guidance. The excavation leads to the discovery of one of the pillars—the one encased in a turtle shell, another clear connection to IT’s cosmic origins. But instead of studying the artifact, Shaw orders it destroyed. Hanlon is outraged and even draws a gun, demanding they stop, but he’s forced down, and the artifact is shattered. Shaw reveals his true intent: unleash IT fully, plunge the country into fear, and use that fear to stabilize the nation under military rule.

Destroying the pillar is immediately catastrophic. A sleeping Pennywise stirs—then awakens. And in one of the episode’s final, terrifying moments, Will receives a call from Ronnie… only for Pennywise’s voice to cut in. The clown suddenly leaps off the fridge behind him and unleashes the Deadlights directly into Will’s face. The cycle has begun again.

Episode 7 positions the finale, set to drop on December 14th, for a massive collision of storylines. Pennywise is fully awake—but prematurely, violently awakened by the destruction of the turtle-shell pillar. Shaw’s faction has effectively broken the cosmic balance that keeps IT’s cycles contained, meaning Derry may be facing a version of Pennywise that is unstable, enraged, and not bound by normal patterns. Ingrid/Periwinkle is in custody yet spiritually connected to IT, and her ominous stare suggests she will play a decisive role in whatever comes next. The kids are grieving Rich while trying to protect Hank, and Dick’s visions hint that the warrior spirits aren’t guiding them—they’re warning them. The final pillar(s), if they exist, may be their only chance to stop IT or at least slow what Shaw has set in motion. With Pennywise already hunting again and the military split from within, the finale looks to bring the kids, the shine, the pillars, and Pennywise into a single explosive confrontation.