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The following story contains spoilers for It: Welcome to Derry season 1, episode 7, “The Black Spot.”
HERE WE ARE, late in 2025, talking about a big-budget horror television show that’s years-in-the-making and follows the period-set story of a group of spunky kids facing off against the ultimate supernatural evil. This group of spunky kids all have big personalities, and have bonded together not for any reason other than they’ve found commonalities, and, eventually, use those commonalities to grow close to one another, genuinely reflecting a strong, real relationship on screen with some major chemistry.
We’re not talking about Stranger Things, though—right now, we’re talking about HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry. And what’s become really, really interesting about Derry is that in just seven episodes, we’ve developed a really strong relationship with this group of characters who we’ve only known for a couple months; It doesn’t feel too far off from the dynamic Stranger Things fans have developed with that group of merry misfits, but that show has had the benefit of five seasons over the course of nine years.
These sorts of character dynamics—in this specific type of high-stakes show—are put to the test in one major way: When something tense starts to happen, do you get worried? Do you feel a shiver down your spine when danger is imminent? Are your arms suddenly covered in—as Stephen King calls it—Gooseflesh?
Episode 7 of It: Welcome to Derry puts many of its main characters in their most dangerous position yet—and it hardly has anything to do with Pennywise. As Hallorann and many of his fellow African-American soldiers have made themselves a makeshift home and safe haven in the form of what they’re calling The Black Spot (“The Black Spot” also being the title of episode 7), an anonymous tip (later revealed to be from Ingrid Kersh, the completely insane secret daughter of Bob Grey, the human clown whose likeness the Pennywise entity stole) told Chief Bowers and the rest of the angry local Derry racists where they were, and that they’ve been harboring (innocent) local fugitive Hank Grogan.
Bowers and the rest of his angry mob arrived, demanding Hank—but when Hallorann and the rest of the patrons and soldiers refused to comply, the mob left… and then set The Black Spot on fire. The ensuing sequence was a firefight (quite literally) that was thrilling, dreadful, and tense to watch, and also masterfully directed by Andy Muschietti (who directed the It films and several episodes of Welcome to Derry). As the sequence goes on and on, we just want our heroes to be ok, a wonderful testament to the work the show’s writers have done in so few episodes so far.
Hallorann—as close to a superhero as Welcome to Derry has—was able to save a number of our key characters, including Will Hanlon (a fact that was immortalized in the text of the original 1986 It novel). But no one could get to Marge and Rich, who in recent episodes have seen their own relationship and romance grow and grow and become a really cute highlight of the show. But as the fire continued to blaze, it became clear that there was no perfect outlook here—and so Rich helped Marge get inside a box, eventually sacrificing himself as the flame continued to rage on.
Pennywise showed up at The Black Spot, clearly knowing that there was fear, rage, and terror for him to feed on. But make no mistake: The events here were not his doing. This was pure hatred from the people of Derry, and in all of his nobility, Rich lost his life because of it. He will go down as a hero and legend of Derry, but it certainly was something that only happened because of the ugliness at the core of this little Maine town.
Stream It: Welcome to Derry Here
Did Rich really die in It: Welcome to Derry episode 7, “The Black Spot”?
Unfortunately, yes, Rich really did die protecting Marge in It: Welcome to Derry episode 7, “The Black Spot.” Both Arian S. Cartaya (as Rich) and Matilda Lawler (as Marge) gave really fantastic performances, selling the kind of earnest young love and indescribable sacrifice that no one should ever have to even imagine. Horror stories don’t often get the same respect and consideration as straight-up dramas, but when done well they can often create scenarios and situations like this, which creates opportunity for some of the best—and most human—acting you’ll see.
“Rich is like this character that is so pure and innocent and so full of life,” director and executive producer Andy Muschietti told The Wrap (via Just Jared). “It’s the tragic element, you know, of great love stories, like Titanic, or Romeo and Juliet or Doctor Zhivago, where this beautiful love story just doesn’t have a great end… Everybody loves him. So it’s hard, but the kid had to go.”
The episode continues as we see our surviving gang of kids—Marge, Will, Ronnie, and Lilly—learn of Rich’s sacrifice and demise. It’s a heartbreaking moment for this group of friends who have only initially even found each other through this horrifying conflict. But as It: Welcome to Derry moves to its season 1 finale, we know there’s going to be more motivation than ever for our heroes, and the good guys, to take down that damn evil clown (and do their best to combat all that comes in his orbit).
Unfortunately, as the conflict at The Black Spot showed, some evils are even harder to defeat than Pennywise.
Evan is the culture editor for Men’s Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE. He loves weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than he doesn’t.
