Spoilers for the “It: Welcome to Derry” season 1 finale and “It” movies to follow.

The “It: Welcome to Derry” season 1 finale ends on a note of triumph. After a string of terrifying events, Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) is forced back into hibernation by Will (Blake Cameron James) and his friends, who contain him inside Derry once again. This also means that Derry will be relatively safe for the next 27 years, giving adults like Will’s father Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) and Rose (Kimberly Guerrero) time to prepare for It’s next feeding cycle. 

Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse as the cycle approaches in the episode’s epilogue, as seen through the eyes of the now-elderly Mrs. Kersh (Joan Gregson, reprising her role from “It Chapter Two”). This sequence also features an unsettling cameo: A young Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis) is shown grieving the death of her mother, Elfrida, who seemingly died by suicide at Juniper Hill Asylum.

We already know how Beverly’s life will go after she joins the Losers Club, but this epilogue isn’t merely a nod to “Welcome to Derry” co-creator Andy Muschietti’s “It” movies. Rather, the episode itself affirms that Pennywise’s death (and everything leading up to it) is fated. This becomes clear when Marge (Matilda Lawler) is dragged by Pennywise into the mist and told she will eventually give birth to Richie Tozier (!), who will play a crucial role in It’s demise. The fact that Pennywise has foreknowledge of his death could mean that he experiences time differently, with the past, present, and future all blending into a temporal ouroboros. And though the creature still tries to kill Marge to change his fate, he doesn’t succeed.

Beverly’s presence at Juniper Hill is tragic, but are there any deeper implications to this reveal? 

Not too much is known about Elfrida, except that she feared that her husband, Alvin, was abusing her daughter. Stephen King’s “It” book and Muschietti’s first “It” film aren’t subtle about Alvin’s monstrous behavior, either, making him Beverly’s primary source of fear/trauma. Pennywise exploits this in “It Chapter Two” by using Mrs. Kersh as a monster who speaks in Alvin’s voice to terrorize the now-grown Beverly (Jessica Chastain) — an incident that convinces her that her childhood memories of It are real. 

At one point in that film, a flashback shows Beverly stating that Elfrida died by suicide because she was “sick.” Alvin reacts with rage, gaslighting his daughter into thinking that Elfrida did this because she was embarrassed to be her mother. It is also implied that Alvin’s abuse of Beverly became more pronounced after Elfrida’s death.

“It: Welcome to Derry” underlines the inescapably tragic nature of these events, as Beverly was present at Juniper Hill to witness her mother’s death. We also see her father push her away after she leans on him for emotional support, prompting her to look at the real Mrs. Kersh with tears in her eyes. Shortly after this event, Pennywise begins terrorizing Derry again and attacks Beverly inside her own home. This attack, it seems, isn’t random either, as Pennywise is aware of his destiny. He knows that Beverly is the least scared of him among her friends, and that they will do everything in their power to save her. But what he perceives as weakness is eventually revealed to be strength — namely, the power of friendship, and the power of true love — when the Losers’ bond leads to his demise.

“It: Welcome to Derry” season 1 is now streaming on HBO Max.