‘Welcome to Derry’ Episode 6 perfectly sets up season 2’s storyline, and Pennywise’s daughter may be key
‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ has never shied away from expanding Stephen King’s nightmarish universe, but episode 6 marks the series’ most ambitious chapter yet. The hour sets the groundwork for a sprawling story that appears designed to stretch into multiple seasons. With Madeleine Stowe’s Ingrid Kersh keeping the mystery alive week after week, episode 6 pushes her story to the center and reveals a web of twisted history that connects her to Derry’s greatest evil. The latest episode confirms a fan theory: Madeleine Stowe is portraying the “real” Ingrid Kersh, the figure Pennywise imitates in ‘IT: Chapter Two’ when terrorizing Beverly Marsh.
But ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Episode 6 goes further, peeling back Ingrid’s origins through an extended black-and-white flashback set in 1935. The time shift is deliberate as HBO is quietly building momentum toward a second season set entirely during that year. While the network hasn’t officially renewed the series yet, a writers’ room has been active since June, as per Comic Book Club. This year appears to be a crucial cycle in Pennywise’s history, where Ingrid has a fateful reunion with the entity she believes is her father. The story suggests that a real Bob Gray may have existed in 1908, long before Pennywise became the shape most associated with the creature known as IT.
Gray, a clown performer, traveled with his daughter, Ingrid, who performed under the name Periwinkle. Something happened to Bob, likely tied to IT’s emergence, and Pennywise eventually adopted the form of the once-human clown. Ingrid, still clinging to the hope that her father is alive, searches for him decades later. ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Episode 6 shows her working as a nurse at Juniper Hill in 1935, just as she does in 1962. When a young patient whispers about a clown waiting in the asylum’s boiler room, Ingrid becomes convinced this is her long-lost father reaching out to her. Instead, she unwittingly leads the child to Pennywise and watches the creature feed.
She interpreted it as a sign that Bob had finally returned to her. In 1962, Ingrid retells this story to Lilly Bainbridge, revealing a heartbreaking delusion that IT quickly learns how to exploit. Pennywise realizes he can maintain control by convincing Ingrid he is Bob Gray. Her misguided loyalty becomes more terrifying when the series confirms that the clown seen lurking outside young Will Hanlon’s window, and later photographed during the cemetery ghost scene, was not Pennywise at all. It was Ingrid, fully assuming her Periwinkle persona in an effort to draw “her father’s” attention.
This discovery recontextualizes several earlier moments in the season and cements Ingrid as a tragic, morally fractured figure who is both victim and accomplice. Perhaps the most intriguing takeaway from the latest episode is how much time the show dedicates to 1935. Since ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Season 2 is expected to unfold entirely this year, fans can expect a deeper exploration of Ingrid’s connection to Pennywise and the origins of the Periwinkle persona. The season’s ending twist, teased by the producers, may reveal why the series is moving backward through time.
It can possibly chart IT’s evolution toward the Pennywise identity and the moment it fully abandoned Gray for good. And if Season 3 materializes, it could finally depict the tragic event that severed Ingrid’s bond with her father and sealed Pennywise’s permanent form. Moreover, as per Dexerto, ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Episode 7 will premiere Sunday, December 7 at 6 pm PT / 9 pm ET on HBO and HBO Max.
