IT: Welcome to Derry producer Barbara Muschietti pulled back the curtain on what really happened to Ronnie's mom following Pennywise's scare in Episode 2. The HBO Max prequel series introduced a new batch of kids targeted by Pennywise during his 1968 cycle, and one of them is Ronnie Grogan (Amanda Christine). Ronnie is the 12-year-old daughter of a theater employee at the Capitol Theater, who was the last one to see Matty Clements (the victim of Pennywise's cruelest trick in Episode 1) alive.
After she agreed to join the prequel's proto Losers' Club to investigate Matty's disappearance, Ronnie and Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack) became the only survivors following Pennywise's brutal massacre of their other friends inside the Capitol Theater. Episode 2 revealed that the haunting didn't end with the killing spree since IT continued to torment Ronnie by using her past against her.
IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 2 showed Pennywise wreaking havoc inside Ronnie's bedroom by transforming into her dead mother to taunt her because the ancient evil knows that she is still haunted by her death.
Pennywise, as Ronnie's mom, took the kid's pain and turned it into a nightmare, blaming Ronnie by saying, "you came out of me and ripped me right open" and "you killed me:"
Ronnie's dead mom: "You tore me apart, Ronnie."
Ronnie: "Mommy?"
Ronnie's dead mom: "You came out of me and ripped me right open. Why'd you do it? All I wanted was to hold my baby. And you killed me. Like you killed those kids. Like you're gonna kill your father."
In the Inside Look at IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 2, released by HBO Max, the show's executive producer Barbara Muschietti clarified what really happened to Ronnie's mom, pointing out that "Ronnie has this crazy guilt" about having killed her mother at childbirth:
"Ronnie has this crazy guilt about having killed her mother at childbirth."
Welcome to Derry creator and executive producer Andy Muschietti chimed in, confirming that Pennywise turned Ronnie's sheets "into [her mother's] womb:"
"IT, knowing this, turns into this horrifying creature. It basically turns her sheets into the womb. She thinks she's drowning in this amniotic fluid that suddenly is created under the sheets."
Welcome to Derry VFX supervisor Daryl Sawchuk also talked about the horrifying birthing scene, noting that part of Pennywise's antics was to put Ronnie "inside of her mother again:"
"And you know, very quickly, you realize that she's actually inside of her mother again. We see the belly itself, kind of, you know, moving and interacting with these punches that are happening. And next thing you know, boom, she comes out into the bedroom and she's kind of been birthed back into the room."
Stunt coordinator Jamie Jones then briefly explained how the terrifying scene came to life:
"We ended up coming up with a thing where we had actually ejected her out of a fake prosthetic womb, and she lands on the floor in all the liquid."
SPFX Supervisor Darcy Callaghan also touched on adding slime to showcase that Ronnie was covered in placenta goo:
"When we knew we had our sequences, we added slime, because then she's just covered in placenta goo."
What really happened to Ronnie's mom in IT: Welcome to Derry is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, Pennywise weaponized that tragic event as a means to weaken Ronnie further, making her vulnerable to his attempts to feed on her fear.
Developed by Andy and Barbara Muschietti, IT: Welcome to Derry explores the continued torment of Pennywise in the town of Derry during one of its 27-year cycles, which involves victimizing characters with ties to the original Losers' Club from the IT movies. The horror series premiered on HBO Max on October 26, 2025.
Why Ronnie Can Turn Her Guilt Into a Weapon Against Pennywise
While Ronnie's deep-seated guilt over the death of her mother is the perfect weapon for Pennywise to exploit against her, this same trauma could end up being her greatest weapon against the ancient evil.
Ronnie could flip the script by overcoming her guilt and understanding that it was not her fault that her mother died during her birth. Realizing this could mean that Pennywise has nothing on her anymore that puts Ronnie in a vulnerable position.
In fact, IT: Chapter One showcased how the Losers' Club managed to defeat Pennywise by overcoming their fears and demonstrating to the entity that they were not afraid of IT. This could be the only way Lilly, Ronnie, Will, Marge, and Rich could end up surviving, and they need to acknowledge that they are no longer scared enough to banish Pennywise (albeit temporarily).
While the pain of her mother's death will always be there, Ronnie could use her guilt as her only weapon to withstand Pennywise's attack, and the irony here is that the ancient evil was the one who "gave" her the realization that this is the way to survive.
