The shocking and gory finale of It: Welcome to Derry Season 1 on HBO ended with a surprise cameo from one of the main characters of 2017’s It film and the following sequel, shocking fans as it lays Easter eggs for the events of those films and what happens in the years following Pennywise’s (temporary) defeat in the show.
The final scene of It: Welcome to Derry season 1 takes place after the season’s final (and new) title card, as the season is revealed to be titled It: Welcome to Derry Chapter One, just like the film series.
Surprise time jump
In the final scene, we see Ingrid Kersh (Madeleine Stowe) when she is first institutionalized, before a time jump to October 1988 — 26 years later — when she is now much older and institutionalized, played by Joan Gregson, reprising her role from It Chapter Two as the older version of the character. While painting, she hears commotion down the hallway and goes to check it out and see what’s going on.
She ends up in the room of Elfrida Marsh, mother of Beverly “Bev” Marsh, who has hung herself, and her distraught family is screaming and crying — including young Bev herself, portrayed in a surprise cameo by Sophia Lillis, who played the young version of the character in both It films.
A cop leaving the room says, “Efrida Marsh, she’s really dead,” while paging someone. Bev attempts to comfort her father, Alvin, before he shoulders her away, after which she looks behind and sees Ingrid behind her.
A chilling callback that connects to the films
Appearing to know Pennywise has returned, she says, “Don’t be sad. You know what they say about Derry — no one who dies here ever really dies,” to which Bev looks shocked and confused before Ingrid gives her a menacing grin, hinting that this may actually be Pennywise himself… potentially.
Of course, this scene teases all of the events in the movies, specifically the encounter between Jessica Chastain’s older Bev and Kersh/Pennywise in It Chapter Two.