HBO’s “It” Tortures Its Child Characters More Than Game of Thrones

It: Welcome to Derry arrives on HBO this weekend, transporting viewers to a frost-bitten January in 1962 where a fresh group of children confronts an ancient, shape-shifting menace. The series returns to the franchise’s core — the terror faced by kids and adolescents — but it leans into a darker, more unflinching tone than the recent big-screen adaptations by Andy Muschietti.

The premiere opens with a haunting sequence: a 12-year-old (Miles Ekhardt) expelled from a movie theater for sneaking in, unwilling to face an abusive home, and clutching a pacifier as he attempts to hitch a ride out of town. When a stranger finally stops, the boy accepts warmth and refuge — and quickly learns he’s made a grave mistake.

To avoid spoiling the episode, I’ll stop short of explicit details, but it’s worth noting the premiere wastes no time demonstrating how graphic and disturbing the series can be — particularly in scenes depicting violence against children. Those sensitive to such material may want to heed a clear advisory: the show’s first episode ventures into especially harrowing territory. For context on similar cautions, see this advisory on graphic content. (Graphic-content advisory)

Showrunner Jason Fuchs has likened Pennywise to the unseen menace in Jaws — a predator revealed in fragments to build dread. But Welcome to Derry broadens the scope, emphasizing polymorphic horrors more closely aligned with Stephen King’s original novel. Freed from the time constraints of a feature film and buoyed by HBO’s extended runtime, the series luxuriates in atmospheric buildup, making its terror feel slower, stranger, and ultimately more unnerving than the 2017 and 2019 movies.

Viewers familiar with the It mythos know to expect unsettling scenes involving children; this adaptation, however, amplifies the menace further than both the miniseries and the films. For some, that escalation may cross a line — for others, it elevates the series into a richer, more sophisticated horror experience. Either way, It: Welcome to Derry delivers a premiere well-suited to the Halloween season.

Source: Polygon