Miniseries Part Two

Lore & Background

The climax takes place in Derry's sewers, where the Losers Club confronts It's true form of an enormous, spider-like monster. Mike Hanlon, the only one to stay in Derry, contacts his old friends after hearing reports of missing children, signaling another awakening and feeding spree. All of the Losers return except Stan Uris, who cannot bear the thought of returning to fight It and slits his wrists to bleed to death. The remaining five Losers — Bill, Beverly, Ben, Richie, and Eddie — return to the sewers, where Bill realizes It has captured his wife Audra, who is catatonic and engulfed in spiderwebs. Eddie is grabbed and mortally wounded, but the others follow the injured demon spider, killing it by ripping out its heart and crushing it. They remove Eddie's body and the catatonic Audra from the sewers.

In Their Own Story

In May 1990, It kills Laurie Ann Winterbarger in her backyard, signaling another awakening. Mike, the only Loser to stay in Derry, contacts his old friends to fulfill their oath after hearing reports of missing children. All return except Stan, who commits suicide rather than face It again. Upon reuniting in Derry, the Losers are taunted and terrorized by Pennywise. Henry Bowers, with Pennywise's help, escapes from the asylum to murder the Losers. Bill's wife Audra travels to Derry but is captured by It, hypnotized by the monster's 'deadlights'. Bowers attacks and stabs Mike, but fatally stabs himself when Eddie and Ben rush in to save Mike. Mike is hospitalized, giving Bill the two silver earrings he retrieved from the sewers ten years ago. The five remaining Losers return to the sewers, where Bill realizes It has Audra. They reach It's inner sanctum, see the catatonic Audra in spiderwebs, and discover It's true spider-like form. Bill, Ben and Richie are entranced by the deadlights, but Beverly retrieves the silver earring she overshot. Eddie attempts to repeat the wound he inflicted on It as a kid, but is grabbed and mortally wounded. Beverly frees her friends, but Eddie dies. The others follow the injured demon spider, killing it by ripping out its heart and crushing it. They remove Eddie's body and the catatonic Audra from the sewers. Mike recovers in the hospital, explaining how the Losers go their separate ways, their memories fading over time save for his journal. Beverly and Ben get married and are expecting their first child, and Richie is cast in a film. Bill pulls Audra out of her catatonia by riding her down a street on 'Silver', his childhood cruiser.

Reader's Guide

The reunion begins when Mike Hanlon contacts his old friends after reports of missing children in Derry. All of the Losers return except Stan Uris, who commits suicide rather than face It again. Upon reuniting, they are taunted and terrorized by Pennywise. Henry Bowers escapes from the asylum with Pennywise's help to murder the Losers, attacking and stabbing Mike before fatally stabbing himself. The five remaining Losers — Bill, Beverly, Ben, Richie, and Eddie — return to the sewers to confront It. They reach It's inner sanctum, where they find Bill's wife Audra catatonic in spiderwebs and discover It's true form as an enormous spider-like monster. Eddie is grabbed and mortally wounded while trying to repeat his childhood attack on It. The others follow the injured demon spider, killing it by ripping out its heart and crushing it. They remove Eddie's body and the catatonic Audra from the sewers. Mike recovers in the hospital, noting that the Losers' memories of It and each other fade over time, save for his journal. Beverly and Ben get married and are expecting their first child. Bill pulls Audra out of her catatonia by riding her down a street on his childhood bicycle, Silver.

Did You Know?

• The miniseries was filmed over three months in Vancouver, British Columbia, in mid-1990 with a budget of $12 million, double the usual television budget.
• It was ABC's biggest success of 1990, pulling through with a total of 30 million viewers for its two parts despite mixed pre-airing critical reviews and coverage of President George H. W. Bush's foreign trips cutting into the program.
• The miniseries won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for Richard Bellis' score and an Eddie Award for the miniseries' editing.
• Tim Curry used Robin Williams-esque natural improvisation when playing Pennywise, giving the character a Bronx accent to sound like 'an old-time Catskills comic.'
• Malcolm McDowell, Roddy McDowall, and Alice Cooper were considered to play Pennywise before director Tommy Lee Wallace chose Tim Curry.