The first episode of the show is centered on the disappearance of Matty Clements in 1962, giving a new introduction to a small town’s curse. The main group consists of Theodore Uris, Phil Malkin, Suzie Malkin, Ronnie Grogan, and our main protagonist Lily Bainbridge, all located in Derry, Maine. Our secondhand protagonist is Major Leroy Hanlon, also related to Mike Hanlon and Stanley Uris in “IT” 2015-2017. 

Episode 1’s opening sequence does a great job setting up the rest of the season by keeping us on the edge of our seats showing the disappearance of a central character to the story. I like how the story has a 4-month time jump giving the story more depth and giving the main characters time to mourn and grieve. The episode ended off with a great cliffhanger giving Lily trauma from watching all of her friends disappear. This leaving her to be the only one left. I like how the show includes the military and does not have the whole focus to be the kids of Derry.  

The investigation held by the main group of kids was very interesting with them having experienced weird things happening to them all within a day. Lily and Teddy start connecting the dots and realize what’s happening to them is related to Matty’s disappearance because Pennywise has been dropping the clues to lure them somewhere. I think Lily, Teddy, and Ronnie are the smartest of the main group, always figuring out what’s wrong. 

Major Leroy Hanlon was transported to the Derry Air Force Base for a secret mission related to Pennywise, which the military wants to weaponize. His character doesn’t really have much depth, and I think that his depth should be explored in future episodes alongside his wingman, not mentioned in the intro Pauly Russo. Overall, a great episode and I enjoyed every little sequence they had leading up to the “Movie Theatre Massacre” dubbed as the climax.