Episode 4 of IT: Welcome to Derry just dropped, and it did not waste time creeping under the skin. It went straight for the eyeballs. One minute, Marge Truman tries to keep her spot with the popular crowd. Next, she is staring into a mirror as her eyes slide out of their sockets like something in a nightmare. The sequence hits harder than most Pennywise tricks so far, mostly because Marge does not just panic. She grabs tools and tries to fix it herself.
Spoilers for Episode 4 of IT: Welcome to Derry ahead
Matilda Lawler, who plays the role, still laughs a little when she remembers shooting the moment. “Luckily, the saw had tape on it. Don’t worry – no children were harmed in the making of this show! But yeah, they go there; it got gory and that was fun,” she told Gold Derby.
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IT: Welcome to Derry- The guilt, the worm, and the moment everything breaks
The whole transformation actually starts a little earlier. Marge sits in science class half-listening to a lesson about a parasitic worm that swells a snail’s eyes to gross, bulbous shapes. She tries to focus, but she is getting dragged into a petty scheme to embarrass her former friend Lily. The guilt hits her at the worst moment. That is when Pennywise slips in.
Marge ducks into the bathroom, feels a sharp sting and watches her pupils stretch into slick stalks that knock her glasses to the floor. She stumbles down the hallway, screaming, “My eyes, my eyes!” and heads into the shop room. She grabs anything sharp, going for a tool first and then the table saw. Lily rushes in and pulls her away, but the damage is done, and students pour in to find a bloody scene and a stunned Marge on the ground.
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Behind the prosthetics… and deeper into Derry’s lore
Lawler admits the eye stuff freaked her out, too. “Whenever I see people touch their eyes, it always icks me out!” she says. The crew made it easier with a prosthetic covering half her face, and wires that the VFX team later replaced with the extended snail eyes. At one point, she had foot-long wires falling off her face.
The episode closes on heavier territory. Shaw brings in Dick Halloran, whose psychic shine opens the door to the indigenous community’s long history with Pennywise. Rose’s people spent centuries trying to keep the creature contained, only to have colonists unleash him again. It reframes everything Welcome to Derry has been hinting at – a town built on an old wound and a monster tied to it.
FAQs
Why do Marge’s eyes transform in the episode?
Pennywise targets her during a moment of guilt and fear.
Did Matilda Lawler perform the scene with real prosthetics?
Yes, she wore a large prosthetic with wires used for the CGI effect.
Does the episode reveal more about Pennywise’s past?
Yes, Halloran uncovers the indigenous community’s long history with the creature.
Is the table-saw moment real or practical?
The saw was safely padded, and the gore was created through prosthetics and VFX.
How does this episode connect to Stephen King’s universe?
It expands on lore from the original It and brings Halloran deeper into the story.
