Top 10 Things to Remember Before Seeing It Chapter Two

The first film might’ve been about the death of childhood innocence, but the past has largely shaped the adults the Losers Club have become. Bill, who never gave up on solving the disappearance/murder of his brother Georgie, is pursuing his passion for writing as a mystery novelist. The wisecracking Richie is entertaining people as a DJ while Ben has gone from chunk to hunk. Although Beverly and Eddie managed to escape their abusive parents, both have gone on to have unhealthy relationships with their romantic partners. Mike, the only Loser to remain in Derry, is battling an entirely new demon: substance abuse. Oh, and then there’s Stan.... wellllll, hopefully you weren’t too attached to Stan.

In Stephen King’s novel, the Losers first encounter It in the summer of 1958 and return to face their fears 27 years later in 1985. The timeframe is altered in the first movie, in which little George is killed by Pennywise in October 1988. The Losers manage to overcome the dancing clown in summer 1989. Just like in King’s novel, It comes out of hibernation every 27 to feed upon children. This would place “Chapter Two” in modern day, roughly around the same time “Chapter One” hit theaters. Weirdly enough, the first movie was released exactly 27 years after the 1990 “It” miniseries aired. Pennywise is nothing if not prompt.

Although the Losers seem to have the last laugh in the climax of “Chapter One,” they’re not convinced that they’ve seen the last of It. When Bev was abducted by Pennywise, she had a vision in which her and the other Losers are all grown up. Bill views this as a sign that It isn’t dead, proposing that the Losers take a blood oath to come back to Derry and kill the creature if need be. Cutting and holding hands, the Losers all accept the oath before parting ways. In “Chapter Two,” the Losers must make good on their blood oath and open up some old wounds.

“Chapter One” left a few threads dangling, including the love triangle between Bill, Bev, and Ben. Although Bev becomes friendly with both, Bill’s the one she wants to take things further with. Ben tries expressing his feelings in a poem, and it works... except Bev initially thinks that Bill wrote it. Bev doesn’t realize who her true secret admirer is until It sends her into a catatonic state and a passionate kiss from Ben snaps her out of it. Don’t feel too bad for Bill, though, Bev kisses him goodbye before departing from Derry. When Bev returns to Derry as an adult, the poem triggers old feelings. But are those feelings for Bill or Ben?

After killing her perverted father, Bev leaves her home town to live with her aunt. One by one, the other Losers depart from Derry too. The one exception is Mike, who preserves the town’s dark history as a modest librarian. It’s only natural that the Losers would want to get far away from Derry, given the well above average numbers of disappearances and deaths among the towns folk. All 91 people who founded Derry vanished shortly after signing the town charter and matters haven’t improved much. When bodies start piling up again, Mike realizes it’s time to call his old club. You can take the Losers out of Derry, but you can’t take the Derry out of the Losers.

In addition to the Losers, It also targets sociopath Henry Bowers. Instead of eating Henry, It uses him as an instrument of death. When the Losers set out to rescue Bev, Henry is motivated to do It's dirty work. Following a confrontation with Mike, Henry falls down the well to what appears to be his demise. This isn’t the last the Losers have seen of their childhood tormentor, though. Henry survives the fall and is taken in by the authorities for the murder of his father. Now that It has brought the Losers back to Derry, an adult Henry is ready to settle the score and it’ll take more than a few rocks to fend him off this time.

It feeds on the kind of fear only kids can have, and since the Losers are still harnessing feelings from the past, they’re able to see It even as grown-ups. But, there’s also something very off about the adults in Derry. It’s especially shocking when a man and woman drive by as the Bowers Gang is about to cut Ben up, but the two adults do nothing to stop them. Their actions are given some context, however, as a red balloon pops up in the backseat. Although It preys upon children, this entity can have an impact on adults as well. This explains why It has been getting away with murder for so long with no interference.

Within the Stephen King Multiverse, the Deadlights are bright, orange lights that can drive a person to insanity or even drive them to death. When Bev was taken by Pennywise in “Chapter One,” the Dancing Clown peeled his head back and forced her to gaze down his throat. She not only gets a peak of the Deadlights down there, but also hears what sounds like the souls of countless children screaming in agony. Fortunately, the Losers save Bev before her mind completely deteriorates. We got to see a little more of the Deadlights in the “It” miniseries and, from what Stephen King has shared on social media, they should play a greater role in this second chapter as well.

One of the most out-there characters in the novel is Maturin the Turtle, a Guardian of the Beams that supports the Dark Tower. Maturin also aided Bill as a child, giving him helpful advice during the Losers’ battle against Pennywise. While Maturin didn’t appear in “Chapter One,” Bill is briefly seen holding a turtle made out of toy bricks. It’s also mentioned while the Losers are swimming that a turtle is in the water. Could these just be throwaway Easter eggs or are the filmmakers building up Maturin’s arrival in “Chapter Two?” Considering how outlandish Maturin is, it's understandable that the filmmakers would cut him out of the story. But, if you see a giant turtle... don’t be surprised.

You know how people tend to mix up Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s Monster? The same can be said about Pennywise and It. Pennywise the Dancing Clown is the face of this franchise, but he’s just one of several forms It takes. In “Chapter One,” It also shapeshifts into a leper, a creepy painting, and a decapitated child, not to mention Bill’s deceased brother. As we’ll find in “Chapter Two,” It has even more forms in its repertoire, including an elderly lady. None of these are Its true form, however. It isn’t until Pennywise takes Bev and reveals the Deadlights that’s we’re given a glimpse of this cosmic entity. Will we see the creature in its entirety in “Chapter Two?” Who knows!