With The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function, Welcome to Derry is halfway into its first season, keeping up the pace with harrowing manifestations of the Creature, and some revelations that contribute to the worldbuilding.
Starting right where the last one ended, the kids take the photos — their evidence that IT exists — to the police. But things won’t be solved that easily: the ghosts vanished from the photographs, which now show only random parts of the graveyard, so Chief Bowers doesn’t believe the kids.
At school, they try to come up with another plan, but nothing sounds right — no one will believe them anyway. Then, Lilly decides to go to Madeleine Stowe’s character (unnamed so far, if I’m not mistaken) for some advice. The woman played by Stowe remains the most mysterious main character: she’s quick to believe Lilly, appears unaffected by the child’s claim, and is extremely supportive in a highly suspicious way.
“But don’t let that stop you from trying to figure out what’s happening. My father always said to me that with good friends at your side, anything’s possible.”
In the quick scene she is in, she once again mentions her father… Is there a chance she is related to the Creature somehow, and that’s why we still don’t know her name? Among the many mysteries of Welcome to Derry, this one captivates me the most. But for now, all we have is that Stowe’s character helped to bring the group of children together twice, getting them to track down the Creature.
Meanwhile, Charlotte is visited by Rose, who has some advice to give to the Hanlons. As Rose says, “Derry is a beautiful place, but things do happen from time to time. Never a bad idea to keep the people you love close.” Later, Charlotte discovers the pictures in the back of Will’s drawer. After calling him out, forbidding him to run “around wild at night”, she has enough reason to start investigating Hank Grogan’s prison — and by extension, Derry — by herself.
First, Charlotte tries to visit Hank, but they won’t let her in; then she visits his mother, and by talking to her, Charlotte realizes she needs to find out where Hank truly was the night the kids died at the cinema. With permission to visit Hank given by his mom and a few threats to the police, Charlotte gets to talk to Hank. Then, she discovers Grogan was having an affair with a married, white woman, and that’s why he can’t say the truth about his alibi that night, as this revelation would put him and the woman in even greater danger.
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“The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function” – IT: WELCOME TO DERRY. Pictured: Stephen Rider as Hank. Photo: Brooke Palmer/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
This episode also has some compelling scenes involving the two other Hanlons. Seeing how Will is impacted by the town, and not knowing all the truth about her son’s most recent discoveries, Charlotte encourages father and son to spend their free time together. Leroy and Will go fishing on a calm lake, devoid of human presence. Once again, the show highlights how different they are, with Will finding the fishing experience annoying and his father not understanding why the son doesn’t see how fun the activity is. Leroy leaves for a few minutes to go to the car, and with Will alone on the lake, the Creature has the perfect opportunity to scare him. Appearing disguised as a burned, haunting vision of Leroy, IT attempts to kill Will by dragging him to the bottom of the water, leaving marks on his skin. As the real Leroy comes to help his son, a red balloon floats above the water.
Elsewhere, the black soldiers start organizing the place where they will fraternize. Assumed to be the future Black Spot, it’s said the place is a little far from the base, and we see how happy they are cleaning and making it their own. I appreciate how the show is handling the construction of what should be a safe space for these soldiers, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats for what comes next. While he helps the others with their new place, Hallorann has a vision of his grandmother (her identity is not confirmed; this is a supposition) telling him to be careful and to KEEP THAT LID ON TIGHT.
Back at school, Lilly stole medicine from her mom to give to her friends. She does so thinking this could be enough to keep them from fearing the Creature, as her mom calls it, Mommy’s Little Helper, as “it makes all her fears and troubles melt away like magic.” But the Creature has other plans for Lilly… And for her friend Marge.
The Pattycakes use Marge to put their plan to embarrass Lilly in front of the whole School into practice, the first step being a fake reconciliation started by Marge during a biology class about a parasitic flatworm. The things said by the teacher may not be noticed at first view, but they cause Marge to be repulsed, which will lead to the episode’s most terrifying, gory sequence.
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“The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function” – IT: WELCOME TO DERRY. Pictured: Jovan Adepo as Leroy, Blake Cameron James as Will. Photo: Brooke Palmer/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
“There are almost 20,000 species of worms on Earth. Each one unique, each with its own purpose in the great swirling apparatus of our planet’s function […]. The parasitic flatworm, Leucochloridium paradoxum, which burrows into the bodies of land snails, causing their eyes to swell and expand into multicolored stalks, which subsequently attract the attention of birds, who then swoop down and pluck them out. Now, the most fascinating aspect of Leucochloridium paradoxum is how the parasite not only alters the snail physically but also hijacks its brain and alters its behavior.”
After lying to Lilly about a boy being romantically interested in her, Marge is consumed by guilt and tries to warn Lilly while they are in the bathroom. However, before she can say anything, Marge starts seeing her eyes really weird — swelling and expanding into multicolored stalks, like what happens to the snails. Scared by what she sees, Marge has a breakdown, running around the school looking for help. Ultimately, she goes into the carpentry room and uses both a screwdriver and a wood cutter to cut her own eyes. As Lilly tries to stop her friend from hurting herself, the other students are attracted to the room by the noise, finding our hero in a compromising position. The episode doesn’t show us what happens to Lilly after this, though, and we have to wait for next week to find out.
But we see Will later that night, trying to sleep without success. When using his telescope, the boy is scared once again by the clown’s silhouette. Awakened by his son’s desperate cries, Leroy goes to the street and shouts for the person watching the house to show themselves. Leroy once again sees the red balloon, which compels him to go talk to Francis and ask him about the weapon they are looking for.
Leroy arrived right on time, as Francis takes him to witness Hallorann investigating Taniel’s mind. Deep down in his brain, Dick finds the moment Rose told her nephew the story of how the natives imprisoned the Creature using pieces of the star that brought IT to Earth.
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“The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function” – IT: WELCOME TO DERRY. Pictured: Matilda Lawler as Marge. Photo: Brooke Palmer/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
“Millions of years ago, before of the time of the first people, an evil spirit was cast down from the darkest part of the Night sky, bound inside a falling star. But when they star struck the Earth, it broke open, and the spirit was set free. It roamed the woods for many snows and countless moons, until the creation of our first ancestors. The star that carried the monster had been its cage, and the stone it was made from still held power.”
In one of the show’s most interesting sequences, the story of the first interactions between humanity and the Creature (called “the Galloo” by the native) is told, with many minutes dedicated to the numerous battles fought by the native people trying to keep themselves protected from IT. Until the darkest hour hits, and a group of women does the unthinkable to trap the Creature.
“(…) They found the cave. And broke off shards of the ancient star the Galloo had arrived in. A plan was formed. Not to kill it, but to cage it. They would use the shards of its old bindings, the only thing the Galloo feared, to keep our people safe again. The children circled the Western Wood, which had been the monster’s hunting around for so long. And they buried 13 sacred shards deep into the earth. Over each stone, they lit a fire to mark its place, a line the Galloo could not cross. Our people made a sacred promise to guard the pillars and keep their places secret so that the monster that’s trapped inside could never break free. Our people would be safe, and the Galloo would remain within these pillars forever.”
After this, the episode ends with Hallorann discovering where the Creature lives: he just has to “follow the tunnels under the old well and (…) find the pillars right at Neibolt Street.” With the military having everything they need to go after IT, an inevitable bloodbath is coming their way. Delivering another competent hour that further develops the main characters and adds many bricks to the worldbuilding of the IT universe, even with an off-putting CGI at times, The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function helps to consolidate Welcome to Derry as a strong piece of television.
Feel free to leave a comment with your impressions and thoughts, and thanks for reading!