IT: Welcome to Derry finally brought back what made Pennywise terrifying in the book and movies by showcasing its true form in the form of the Deadlights. HBO Max's prequel series further fleshed out Pennywise's origin story by taking viewers back to where it all began, showing why the entity was trapped in the first place and how IT targeted the real Pennywise, known as Bob Gray, and took his place as the killer clown who terrorized Derry for decades.
Pennywise the Dancing Clown is only one of the many forms of the ancient evil that haunted the lowly town of Derry, Maine, for decades. While the creature often weaponizes someone's fear, its proper form is its deadliest because of what it can do to someone's mind and body. Episode 7 took things to a whole new level by showing Pennywise at the peak of its powers, with the entity finally utilizing the Deadlights as its deadliest weapon.
What Are The Lights Inside Pennywise's Face In Welcome to Derry? Deadlights Explained
IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 7 finally showcased the Burning of the Black Spot, after spending weeks building up to one of the horrifying, tragic incidents in Derry's history. Aside from the fact that it featured perhaps the most heartbreaking death in the show's debut season by killing off Rich during the fire, Pennywise was seen terrorizing other victims by consuming them instantly amid the chaos.
All of this ties back to the big Mrs. Kersh and Periwinkle twist in Episode 6 after the latest installment confirmed that it was Ingrid who led the masked men to the Black Spot as a way to lure her "father" (Bob Gray as Pennywise's human form) out and finally convince him to come home and return to normal again. However, this plan backfired because Pennywise finally let Ingrid know the truth by telling her that IT had eaten her father, while also mocking her by saying it could still feel a part of him.
Pennywise then unleashed the Deadlights from his mouth, which rendered Ingrid Kersh in a catatonic state and left her unconscious. The creature also used the Deadlights to incapacitate Will Hanlon (one of the most important bloodlines in Derry's history due to his ties to the original Losers Club) in Episode 7's final moments to lure him as bait for the proto Losers and potentially, Dick Hallorann.
In IT lore from Stephen King's novel and the movies, Pennywise came from the macroverse, and the Deadlights are its proper form. Humans can only see these three binding lights because they are the closest their minds can comprehend. Whoever sees the Deadlights with the naked eye has terrifying effects on the human mind, such as not being able to recover from certain doom, being left unconscious while being levitated in the air, and, worst of all, death.
Stephen King's 1986 novel, IT, explains that the deadlights exist beyond normal space and time, and they are the creature's life essence. These three binding lights from Pennywise's mouth will not only render its victims unconscious, but they could also drive them permanently insane when exposed for too long.
IT: Chapter One also explained an intriguing aspect of the Deadlights after Beverly Marsh told the Losers Club that she had seen their future selves in a vision after being exposed to these deadly, binding lights.
How the IT Movies' Portrayal of Deadlights Hints at Will's Survival
Andy Muschietti's IT movies further explored the Deadlights in action by showing Pennywise using them on two members of the Losers Club: Beverly Marsh in IT: Chapter One and Richie Tozier in IT: Chapter Two. The killer clown used the deadlights to leave Beverly in a catatonic state (albeit temporarily). At the same time, it also used its true form on Richie during the final battle against the Losers Club in Chapter Two to leave him unconscious.
What's interesting about these portrayals is the fact that they indicate that the Deadlights are Pennywise's "last resort" in trying to control his victims. Given that the creature can instantly kill its victims with ease, as shown in both the movies and the books, it's quite intriguing that whenever IT uses the Deadlights, it is usually on the characters who have the strongest wills.
The common denominator between Richie, Beverly, Ingrid Kersh, and Will Hanlon is the fact that they are either not scared of Pennywise or they have a strong belief in what they are trying to accomplish. Considering that Pennywise's greatest fear is those people who are brave and willing to abandon their fear to survive (aside from the shards of its bindings), it would make sense that the creature would use the deadlights as a last-ditch effort to put its victims in an unconscious state before eventually consuming them.
Meanwhile, the reason behind Pennywise's act of putting Will Hanlon in a catatonic state instead of killing him inside his house in Episode 7's final moments was more of a strategic move to manipulate the other Losers. Pennywise is clearly aware that Lilly Bainbridge has perhaps the greatest weapon against IT, and using Will as bait to eliminate everyone could be the creature's way of trying to hit two birds with one stone by getting rid of these children and the only physical weapon that can actually kill the entity.
