Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 2 of IT: Welcome to Derry.
Following the startling massacre at the Capitol Theatre that concluded the previous episode, the HBO prequel series’ second installment hinted at the direction its inaugural season might take.
Episode 2, named “The Thing in the Dark,” premiered on HBO Max on Friday, ahead of its scheduled release by two days for Halloween celebrations, and depicted the children of Derry in the early 1960s still terrorized by some of It’s most frightening forms yet. Concurrently, at the Derry Air Force Base, Major Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), a new resident and Korean War veteran—and future grandfather to Losers Club member Mike Hanlon—was enlisted in Operation Precept. This classified DOD initiative aims to recover a weapon, long hidden in Derry, capable of inducing intense fear. General Shaw (James Remar) informed Leroy that this alleged weapon could secure a U.S. victory in the Cold War without firing a single missile, and that Leroy was uniquely suited for its retrieval due to his fearlessness. However, the mission’s success appears uncertain.
Toward the episode’s conclusion, Operation Precept uncovered a vehicle filled with skeletal remains at a drenched excavation site. This prompted soldier Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) to assert they were “close” to finding their objective. Having briefly appeared in the premiere, Dick received a more formal introduction in the middle of Episode 2 during an evening at Derry’s Falcon Tavern with two fellow airmen. The next morning, a hungover Dick was again seen at the same dig site, assuring an agitated colonel that he “felt” they were approaching their target. For those unfamiliar, this enigmatic series of occurrences might have sparked minor interest. Yet, for devoted Stephen King fans, the introduction of this iconic King character is expected to be one of *Welcome to Derry*‘s most captivating story developments to date.
Primarily recognized for his portrayal as the Overlook Hotel’s head chef in *The Shining*—and his role in its sequel *Doctor Sleep*—Dick shares the same psychic “shine” ability as *The Shining*’s young lead, Danny Torrance. This power enables both individuals to perceive ghosts, engage in telepathic communication, and exhibit clairvoyance. Within King’s 1986 *IT* novel, a considerably younger Dick is mentioned in an interlude chapter as an army mess cook serving in Derry concurrently with Mike Hanlon’s father, Will. As *Welcome to Derry* adheres to the chronology set by Andy Muschietti’s two-part *IT* film adaptations rather than King’s novel, Dick’s time in Derry within the series coincides with Leroy, not Will (portrayed by Blake Cameron James as a child), occurring approximately 30 years subsequent to the original narrative.
Nevertheless, given Muschietti’s statements that the anthology series’ first season will focus on the notorious Black Spot nightclub fire—the devastating destruction of a Black servicemen’s sanctuary by the white supremacist group, the Legion of White Decency, coinciding with one of It’s cyclical awakenings—it appears the show is charting a comparable course for Dick’s character as the novel. In the book, Dick is among the select rational adults in Derry who can perceive It in its diverse manifestations, and he also utilizes his shine abilities to rescue multiple individuals, including Will Hanlon, from the burning Black Spot on that fateful evening. While it’s presumed the Hanlon he saves this time will be Leroy, Dick’s courage is expected to still initiate the sequence of events that ultimately leads to the Losers Club’s triumph over It more than five decades later.
Regarding the progression of Dick’s storyline to that juncture, Chalk mentioned that his character will confront his profoundest fear throughout the eight-episode season. “Dick’s greatest fear, I believe, is being confined, either mentally or physically,” he informed * *. “And the remarkable aspect of this series is that he experiences both. He becomes completely ensnared within his mind and in an environment where he doesn’t fit, and this is what he must endure.”
This appears quite typical for Derry.