US NEWS: The penultimate episode of HBO’s Welcome to Derry, titled “The Black Spot,” arrives with the weight of the coming Augery pressing down on the town. Directed by Andy Muschietti, who helmed both It feature films, the installment balances chilling horror, deep character work, and some of the richest Stephen King lore the series has offered yet.
Viewers who feared the show might sidestep the infamous burning of the Black Spot, the racist attack on-base nightclub attack that claimed so many lives in the original novel, can rest easy. The tragedy unfolds with unflinching power in the episode’s final act, tying directly into the Hanlon family history and the larger cycle of violence that Pennywise feeds upon.
Before the flames rise, however, the episode opens with one of its boldest sequences to date: a extended 1908 flashback set at a traveling circus visiting Derry. For the first time, audiences meet Bob Gray, the human performer whose Pennywise the Dancing Clown persona the ancient entity later stole and twisted into its preferred form.
Bill Skarsgård returns in a tour-de-force dual performance. Stripped of the supernatural menace fans know so well, his Bob Gray is a weary, turn-of-the-century showman whose best years are behind him. The costume is familiar yet grounded: the same silhouette, but cleaner, with a slightly ill-fitting orange wig and subtler makeup that makes the character feel like a real vaudeville relic. Skarsgård keeps the loose-limbed physicality that made his Pennywise iconic, yet he softens the voice and layers in a believable melancholy.
The standout moment comes when Bob performs an emotional pantomime for a crowd of local children. Assisted by his young Ingrid (Emma-Leigh Cullum), who operates marionette strings offstage, he acts out the story of his late wife and former partner Periwinkle. Flowers bloom, a dress floats away on balloons, and the clown collapses in grief at a makeshift grave. The scene is oddly beautiful and deeply unsettling, especially when the mesmerized kids suddenly turn on him, swarming and attacking the performer in a burst of casual cruelty. The moment crystallizes Bob’s quiet bitterness and plants early seeds of the resentment the entity will one day exploit.
Back in the 1960s timeline, the looming Augery tightens its grip. The ensemble performances remain a strength of the series, with Chris Chalk, Arian S. Cartaya, and young Matilda Lawler continuing to carry much of the emotional weight.
While some plot threads involving the nearby Air Force base still feel forced heading into next week’s finale, “The Black Spot” succeeds because it never loses sight of what the show does best: using unimaginable horror as a mirror for very human pain, loss, and prejudice. With one episode left, Welcome to Derry has firmly established itself as essential viewing for fans of the It mythos and prestige horror alike.