IT: Welcome to Derry season 1 episode 4 ending explained: Did Taniel lead Hallorann to Pennywise’s lair?

IT: Welcome to Derry, season 1 episode 4 ends on a chilling note where Hallorann is misguided to the Well House on Neibolt Street, the iconic creepy home from IT Universe, which is considered to be the monster’s lair, connected to the sewers and the place where Pennywise lives. With the pictures that the kids took of the clown and the dead friends (ghosts) at the cemetery, it was of no use to them. The police didn’t believe them, and they failed in their attempt to get Hank out of prison. 

Lilly, Will, Rich and Ronnie don’t have any proof to get Ronnie’s father an alibi, but Lilly has someone whom she can talk to about this — the lady (head of housekeeping) from Juniper Hills. Although the ghosts didn’t appear in those images, Pennywise did because, as per the theory, he’s a monster and not a ghost, which explains why he didn’t disappear from the pictures. 

By the end of IT: Welcome to Derry season 1 episode 4, the Well House is introduced. This suggests that the soldiers at the military base, including Hallorann, are about to face the clown. It’s the very same house where the Losers’ Club once fought Pennywise and locked him away in the sewers. Now, Hallorann is set to take General Frank straight to Pennywise’s lair, putting them both and everyone in Derry in unimaginable danger.

How did the natives cage Pennywise in the western woods in IT: Welcome to Derry season 1 episode 4?

The episode ends by showing Pennywise’s origins as Hallorann uses his psychic “Shine” to read the mind of Rose’s nephew, Taniel. General Frank opens the gates of the dig site, and through the surveillance team, they find images showing that Rose’s nephew had been there. After seeing this, they kept him for questioning, and Hallorann then enters his memories, trying to find out Pennywise’s location.

Soon after, we see young Taniel talking with Aunt Rose about Galloo, the monster, which was what Pennywise used to be called. IT’s origin comes from a fallen star from the universe that crashed on Earth long ago. Native ancestors contained it using magical shards hidden in turtle shells. When the star broke open and set the evil spirit free, they used a stone from it as a weapon. But some settlers ignored the rules about avoiding the Western Woods, and the monster, Galloo, fed on them, growing stronger. The dagger made from the star stone was not enough to stop him.

To protect their people, the Native war chief Sesqui’s daughter, Necani, goes into the woods to make powerful daggers from the star shards. But when she goes, her mom follows her too, but she and her people have no protection because the dagger is with Necani. The monster takes many forms, first as a priest, then as the baby that killed Matty in the first episode, which appears from his chest and kills her mother. 

Later, Necani commits to protecting her people. She creates 13 talismans from the star shards and buries them around the Western Woods to trap the monster. She also sets a line that Galloo cannot cross, forming a magical cage to protect Derry. When in Taniel’s memory Hallorann asks where those 13 pillars are, he leads him to The Well House, the last place they should ever go to. 

Will Lilly go back to Juniper Hills?

Lilly, who has always been scared of going back to Juniper Hill, gets into trouble again in IT: Welcome to Derry, season 1 episode 4. At school, Patty’s group and Marge plan a prank to embarrass Lilly by making her believe a cute boy likes her. Lilly goes to the washroom to get ready, but before Marge can tell her the truth, something terrifying happens.

Pennywise feeds on fear, and he brings out Marge’s worst nightmare. The snails they saw in biology class appear in her eyes, and her eyes begin to stretch out like snail stalks. Panicking, Marge tries to cut them off, first with a chisel, then with a bandsaw. It’s horrifying. Lilly tries to save her, but when other students walk in, it seems to everyone that Lilly has attacked Marge, causing damage to her eyes. Now, Lilly could be sent back to Juniper Hill once again, and the mystery behind the housekeeper who keeps her motivated in digging out the truth about Pennywise could open up more. 

What Will sees when he goes fishing with Hanlon in IT: Welcome to Derry season 1 episode 4?

Rose meets Leroy’s wife to ask about what the military is really doing at the base, since her own husband works there. But Leroy’s wife says she doesn’t know much either; it’s not just pipeline work, it’s something related to national security. She also asks Rose why Derry feels so strange, with the theater incident and the missing kids. Rose replies, “Derry is a beautiful place. But strange things happen from time to time.”

Rose later finds out about Will visiting the cemetery through the photos the kids took, and even learns about Ronnie’s father getting arrested. Wanting to protect Will, she asks Hanlon to take him out for the day. They go fishing, where Will sees his biggest fear, the burned vision of his father after the plane crash, pulling him into the water. Leroy arrives just in time and notices blood on Will’s hand. Soon after, they see a red balloon.

Hanlon now believes something is seriously wrong in Derry. He joins General Frank as Hallorann enters Taniel’s memories. Later, Will also sees Pennywise near his house through his telescope, and when Hanlon checks outside, he sees the same red balloon again.

Also, the kids have found a new way to protect themselves. Will figures out that Pennywise feeds on fear, and he scares the kids first before eating. While scared, mammals release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which Pennywise enjoys while feeding on them. So, Lily brings in her mom's medicines, Valium, a drug that the innocent kids assume will help calm them down. 

Charlotte Hanlon helps Hank in IT: Welcome to Derry season 1 episode 4

After Will tells Charlotte that his friend’s father is in trouble, she goes to meet Hank in prison. At first, she isn’t allowed, but she shows a letter signed by Hank’s mother allowing her to meet Hank and also warning that she has civil rights connections. That finally gets her inside.

Hank explains that he is innocent. He had nothing to do with the theatre attack or the missing kids. Although it was the clown, no one would ever believe that. Hank also admits he wasn’t at the theatre that night; he was with a white woman. He can’t reveal this because an interracial relationship would put him in even more danger.

Charlotte wants to help Hank and is ready to stand up for justice, even if it means going against her husband’s boss.