IT: Welcome to Derry's finale delivered a major surprise by featuring the return of a beloved character from the movies, while entirely changing the context of one key scene from IT: Chapter Two. HBO Max's highly anticipated prequel show to the IT movies expanded the lore behind Pennywise the Dancing Clown, Derry, Maine, and its shocking connections to the main members of the Losers' Club.
Will Hanlon's presence is an obvious connection to Mike Hanlon in the movies and the book, while the Season 1 finale finally confirmed that Margaret "Marge" Truman is the mother of another Losers' Club member: Richie Tozier.
Following the many big reveals in IT: Welcome to Derry's incredible finale, another surprise emerged after the main credits, featuring a last-minute cameo from Sophia Lillis' Beverly Marsh from the IT movies. Beverly's appearance was crucial in revealing more about her history and ties to Pennywise.
Who Died at the End of IT: Welcome to Derry After the Main Credits?
Following Pennywise's defeat at the hands of the proto Losers' Club in the 1962 cycle, IT: Welcome to Derry jumped forward in time to October 1988 after the main credits, which was a full year before the events of IT: Chapter Two. The sequence showed an older Ingrid Kersh (aka Periwinkle, who was confirmed to be Bob Gray's daughter in the IT universe) spending her final years at Juniper Hall Asylum before hearing a scream across the hall.
Mrs. Kersh rushed to the scene to find a dead woman who had hung herself in her room, and this is none other than Elfrida Marsh, the mother of Losers' Club member, Beverly, and the wife of her abusive father, Alvin.
A grieving Beverly was seen comforting her father before Mrs. Kersh arrived. One nurse confirmed that Elfrida is dead, with him even saying, "This time she's really dead," which implied that Beverly's mother seemingly tried to commit suicide several times before.
The scene also confirmed that Mrs. Kersh didn't really recover from her grief over her father's death, as evidenced by her creepy smile. In a way, Kersh's exposure to the Deadlights in IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 7 completely changed her and made her insane.
In Stephen King's novel, it was implied that Elfrida and Beverly were close, but it was apparent that her mother was not as happy with her living predicament, and she was worried that Alvin was sexually abusing their daughter. The book described Elfrida as a "small woman with graying hair and a grim look," suggesting that her life was far from perfect. Elfrida eventually died from cancer in the book.
IT: Welcome to Derry's confirmation that Elfrida died due to suicide was more shocking, and the fact that Beverly and Alvin saw her dead body made it even more heartbreaking.
How Elfrida Marsh's Death Ties to Beverly & Ingrid Kersh In the IT Movies
IT: Welcome to Derry dropped one more major twist because Ingrid Kersh was there with Beverly when Elfrida died, completely recontextualizing the IT: Chapter Two scene of an adult Beverly meeting Mrs. Kersh again in the 2016 cycle.
Ingrid's shocked reaction during the post-credits scene implied that she knew Elfrida before her death, which could also mean that she was also aware of Beverly and her abusive father. Beverly then looked at Mrs. Kersh with a sense of worry before the old woman told her the same line she told her in IT: Chapter Two:
"You know what they say about Derry. No one who dies here ever really dies."
For the uninitiated, IT: Chapter Two showed an adult Beverly (played by Jessica Chastain) visiting her childhood home in Derry, Maine, to collect a token required for the Losers' Club's Ritual of Chud to take down Pennywise. However, she met Mrs. Kersh instead, and she was the one who told her that her father, Alvin, was already dead.
Following Kersh's story about her father's origin as Pennywise, what came after was a terrifying sequence of Mrs. Kersh transforming into Pennywise (as a naked old woman) who chased Beverly throughout the house. This scene from IT: Chapter Two was crucial in providing viewers with a glimpse of Bob Gray's origin story and the ancient evil's takeover of the Pennywise persona, which was further explored in IT: Welcome to Derry.
The revelation in IT: Welcome to Derry, where Ingrid Kersh was present at Elfrida Marsh's death, punctuated by her creepy smile and suggestion that not everyone in Derry ever really dies, highly suggested that Pennywise's influence was forever etched within her.
If anything, Pennywise was able to use Ingrid Kersh as one of its many forms in tormenting Beverly Marsh because the ancient evil knew that Ingrid was too far gone, and her humanity was lost ever since being exposed to the Deadlights.
While the real Mrs. Kersh died at some point after Elfrida's death and the events of IT: Chapter One, Pennywise might have seen an opportunity to use her as a means to torment its victims, knowing full well that an innocent older woman would make both kids and adults alike easier to convince and eventually turn them into easy prey.
