What’s up, Losers? We’ve come to the end of IT. Literally. And man, has the time flown by. Feels like just a few weeks ago we started this little side project where my Kingcast Co-Host, Anthony Breznican, and I decided to record our impressions of the latest Stephen King show as each episode aired.
Now that we’re at the end of the road, I have to say my overall impressions of HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry are largely positive, thanks in no small part to the back to back bangers we’ve gotten leading up to the finale.
When Bill Skarsgard was finally revealed until now it feels like the show got to fully lean into the Pennywise of IT all, which has been so much fun to watch. The way they’ve broadened the character, given satisfying answers to some decades old fan questions (Bob Gray in particular), and let Skarsgard run absolutely buckwild with the character.
If it wasn’t clear until now, this first season of IT: Welcome to Derry is proof that Skarsgard is such a giant reason why Pennywise was reborn as a horror icon for a new generation.
Brez and I talk a lot about that in this latest Watching IT episode, and I somehow tie that thread to Steven Spielberg and Jaws, because that’s how my brain works. We also discuss what plot threads were successfully tied up at the end, what might be lacking, and how effective this finale is, even if you can poke some holes in the logic every now and then.
If you haven’t caught up yet, I highly recommend screening that finale before firing up the new podcast because we talk about it all, what our thoughts are for the future of the series, and how it’ll further tie back to the Muschietti films.
Check out the show on YouTube and see our pretty little faces below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoB45UGiNCQ
Then there’s always the audio version if you want to focus on our dulcet tones.
I want to thank you all for listening along. Hopefully we provided some insight, some laughs, and maybe even pointed out a few tiny King-y details you otherwise might have missed. Also a shoutout to the team at FANGORIA for supporting the show as thoroughly as they did, from our main design legend Jason Kauzlarich to the head honcho himself, Abhi Goel, and everyone else who has had a hand in making sure this thing was ready for prime time after the release of each episode.
It takes a village to make sure two Stephen King dorks can nerd out about a killer clown on a weekly basis and we’re grateful to each and every one of them who pitched in.
And of course, a big shoutout to Watching IT’s sponsor Blackmagic Design, the creators of the equipment and post-production tools actually used to make some of your favorite recent genre offerings, like Final Destination Bloodlines, Longlegs, and even Andy Muschietti’s IT films.
We know there’s a whole second season looming. If you guys want it, Brez and I will answer the King Signal and come back for another round of Pennywise’s origins. And perhaps we may decide to look at other cool genre shows that excite us between now and then. Who knows?
Until then, see all you Losers later!
