IT: Welcome to Derry pulled back the curtain on who Ingrid Kersh really is in Episode 6, and the bombshell of a reveal could forever change everything we know about Periwinkle and Pennywise. One of the central mysteries introduced in HBO Max's prequel series to the IT franchise is the identity of Periwinkle. Episode 3's opening scene provided a glimpse of the young clown during the flashback sequence involving a young Francis Shaw (who may be doomed to meet his end in the 1962 cycle of Welcome to Derry).
Some have speculated that this young clown may be revealed to be Pennywise's daughter, Periwinkle, and this character has been hiding in plain sight in the form of Ingrid Kersh, the housekeeper from Juniper Hill Asylum, who has been guiding Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack) about the complex nature of Derry, Maine.
Mrs. Kersh's Pennywise Connection Confirmed In Welcome to Derry
IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 6 dropped a major bombshell about Ingrid Kersh's connection to Pennywise after confirming that she is the daughter of Bob Gray (Pennywise's human form who succumbed to the influence of the ancient evil during its 1908 cycle).
Lilly Bainbridge, who barely survived her encounter with Pennywise in Episode 5, was going through the stuff of Mrs. Kersh in Episode 6 when she discovered old photos of her with her clown father in 1908. She was able to piece together the connection, leading to the Kersh's revelation about her ties to Pennywise.
As it turns out, Kersh was also a carnival performer named Periwinkle, alongside her father. However, she believed that the ancient evil had taken her father away from her in 1908:
Ingrid Kersh: "I know you don’t understand, but you brought him back. It’s my old costume."
Lilly Bainbridge: "You followed us?"
Ingrid Kersh: "Yes. Yes. I thought he might appear that night in the cemetery. You kids were on your bikes, and I was worried I might miss him if he showed himself to you."
Lilly Bainbridge: "So that was you? But why?"
Ingrid Kersh: "My father was a carnival performer. He called himself “Pennywise the Dancing Clown.” I adored him. And he was taken from me. The carnival moved on, but I stayed in Derry. I suppose you could say I felt… drawn."
Ingrid's obsession with trying to bring her father back had gone too far in 1962. Episode 6 confirmed that it was Ingrid, dressed up as Periwinkle, who followed Lilly and her friends in the cemetery, and the picture taken by the kids was actually her, not Pennywise.
The episode also revealed that it was Periwinkle who stalked Will Hanlon (a direct relative of the Losers Club in the IT movies) at one point, when he peeked through his telescope during one night in Episode 4. This is a disturbing move for Kersh and a shocking betrayal for Lilly because she trusted her with her secrets.
The fact that she is "drawn" to Derry and didn't leave after the 1908 and 1935 cycles also explained why she didn't forget the terrifying events that Pennywise spearheaded in the town. This revelation also solidified that she is the same Mrs. Kersh that Pennywise took the form of in IT: Chapter Two when the entity tormented Beverly Marsh during the 2016 cycle.
Why Mrs. Kersh Becomes Periwinkle, Explained In Welcome to Derry Episode 6
IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 6 also revealed why Ingrid Kersh decided to become Periwinkle again in 1962. This was mainly due to her desire to bring her father back, amplified by her firm belief that Bob Gray's soul is still hidden somewhere within the confines of the ancient evil's terrifying form.
After a flashback showed Ingrid Kersh's first real encounter with Pennywise, she witnessed how this killer clown creature loved to torment and eventually kill kids. If anything, Kersh knew that the children served as the key in luring her "father" out. This explains why she was determined to follow the kids, and it even reached the point where she was scaring them as well.
It is unknown whether Kersh is aware that fear is the reason Pennywise lures and torments the kids before killing them. Given that the flashback ends with Pennywise (as Bob Gray) allowing Kersh to talk to him, there is a strong chance that she might have been clued in on how her father's modus operandi works.
Moreover, Ingrid's line of dialogue also provided a strong hint about her belief that her father and Pennywise are the same person, with her noting that her description of him was "different, perhaps changed by whatever he'd been through, or wherever he'd been:"
Ingrid Kersh: "It was him. Different, perhaps changed by whatever he’d been through, or wherever he’d been. But it was him all the same. A daughter knows. And suddenly I felt whole again for the first time since that awful day. But every time that he would return, this shadow would steal my father away."
Ingrid also directly confirmed that dressing up as Periwinkle is the only thing she can do to "see him again" and "remind him of the love that [they] shared:"
"I had to find a way to free him. So I did what I had to to see him again. If he could just see me once more as his Periwinkle, remind him of the love that we shared, I know that he’ll be able to break free."
Ingrid's efforts to sever her father's connection to Pennywise could be the first hint of her eventual downfall, considering that she is unaware that the dancing clown is only one of the many forms that the ancient evil takes to torment the citizens of Derry, Maine.
Moreover, this big reveal also complicates matters about her doomed relationship with Hank Grogan (who was set free for an unknown reason in Welcome to Derry Episode 5) because there is a chance that she might have entered that affair in the first place to get close to Ronnie and lure her as bait to bring Pennywise out.
Is Mrs. Ingrid Kersh Bad in Welcome to Derry?
What made this latest reveal from IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 6 is the horrifying truth that Ingrid is actually bad in the series, as evidenced by her conversation with Lilly about not thinking twice about hurting her friends for the sake of getting to Pennywise and trying to bring her father back.
While Ingrid claimed that she doesn't want to hurt Lilly (who had already gone through a lot after her father's tragic death), the same thing couldn't be said for her friends (Marge, Rich, Ronnie, and Will) because of her disturbing obsession with trying to see her father again:
Lilly Bainbridge: "Please don’t hurt me."
Ingrid Kersh: "Hurt you? I would never let anything hurt you."
Lilly Bainbridge: "And my friends?"
Ingrid Kersh: "Lilly… you above all people should understand. If you could see your father again, hold him, be his little girl, wouldn’t you do everything you could to make that happen?"
Lilly Bainbridge: "My father is dead."
Ingrid Kersh: "You know what they say about Derry, dear. No one who dies here ever really dies."
It's possible that a false truce was made between Pennywise and Periwinkle after Ingrid saw that one of her wards, Mabel, was brutally killed during the 1935 cycle. There's a chance that Pennywise (as Bob Gray) gave her a task or a quota of kids that IT wanted in exchange for freeing her father's soul.
However, this deal either could've been changed, or Ingrid didn't meet the quota in 1935, which could explain why she is desperate to do whatever it takes to bring these kids to Pennywise in the 1962 cycle. By dressing up as Periwinkle, she is essentially playing mind games with the kids, further deepening their trauma, which could make them ripe for the taking for the ancient evil.
Ingrid is the definitive wildcard in IT: Welcome to Derry because of her strong ties to Pennywise. This confirmation also essentially confirms that Season 1 won't be the last time fans will see this character, considering that Andy Muschietti plans to revisit the 1935 and 1908 cycles in future seasons.
