# Now You See It (It: Welcome to Derry)
**"Now You See It"** is the third episode of the first season of *It: Welcome to [Derry](https://www.edgepedia.org/derry-stephen-king)*, HBO's prequel series to the 2017 and 2019 *It* films based on [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king)'s novel. It aired on HBO on November 9, 2025, and reached [Sky Atlantic](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-atlantic) and NOW in the United Kingdom the following day.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/welcome-to-derry/allseasons/official) • [2](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/it-welcome-to-derry-release-schedule/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Season and episode | Season 1, episode 3 of *It: Welcome to Derry*[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/welcome-to-derry/allseasons/official) |
| US air date | November 9, 2025, on HBO[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/welcome-to-derry/allseasons/official) |
| UK air date | Monday, November 10, 2025, on Sky Atlantic and NOW, one day after the US premiere[2](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/it-welcome-to-derry-release-schedule/) |
| Writing and directing | Written by Guadalís Del Carmen and Gabe Hobson, directed by Andrew Bernstein[3](https://reactormag.com/tv-review-it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3/) |
| 1908 flashback | The episode opens in 1908, when a young Francis Shaw encounters the entity at a traveling circus and later fights it alongside a Native girl named Rose[3](https://reactormag.com/tv-review-it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3/) • [4](https://readysteadycut.com/2025/11/10/it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3-recap/) |
| Pennywise glimpse | The episode gives the series' first proper glimpse of Pennywise, though the character's full debut comes near the end of episode 5 with Bill Skarsgård reprising the role[4](https://readysteadycut.com/2025/11/10/it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3-recap/) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/news/it-welcome-to-derry-producers-pennywise-debut-bill-skarsgard/) |
| Series context | The show is set in 1962, 27 years before the events of the first *It* movie[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/online-originals/it-welcome-to-derry-hbo-pennywise-origins) |
## Story and structure
The episode, written by Guadalís Del Carmen and Gabe Hobson and directed by Andrew Bernstein, opens with a flashback to 1908, when a circus comes to Derry.[3](https://reactormag.com/tv-review-it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3/) • [7](https://www.sky.com/watch/it-welcome-to-derry/episode-3) A young boy named Francis is pushed into the show's "Human Freaks" attraction by a carnival barker, where an emaciated old man with an empty eye socket urges him closer from a dark corner of the tent.[7](https://www.sky.com/watch/it-welcome-to-derry/episode-3) Frightened, Francis runs into his father, who scolds him and gives him a slingshot he won at the fair.[7](https://www.sky.com/watch/it-welcome-to-derry/episode-3)
The flashback continues after the family's car breaks down on the road home. Francis trades his slingshot to a young Native girl named Rose for water, and the two children play together until Francis wanders into the woods despite her warnings.[7](https://www.sky.com/watch/it-welcome-to-derry/episode-3) The old man from the freak show reappears and turns into a bestial creature that pursues them on all fours; Rose nails it in the eye with the slingshot, buying Francis time to run.[7](https://www.sky.com/watch/it-welcome-to-derry/episode-3) Recap writers identify this boy as the future General Francis Shaw, whose adult determination to locate and, as a representative of the US military, weaponize the entity is rooted in this childhood encounter.[4](https://readysteadycut.com/2025/11/10/it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3-recap/)
In the 1962–1963 present, the episode follows two threads. At Derry Air Force Base, General Shaw pushes ahead with his top-secret mission after a major find yields few clues, ordering Major Leroy Hanlon and Pauly to escort Dick Hallorann, a character with the psychic "shine" ability drawn from King's *The Shining*, on an aerial search for a new dig site.[8](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/hbo-max/how-to-watch-it-welcome-to-derry) Meanwhile, Lilly and Ronnie go on a mission to find evidence of the terrifying visions they have experienced, joined by Rich and Will in an attempt to get visual proof by conjuring an Orixá, and Rose attends a tribal meeting about the military presence in Derry.[7](https://www.sky.com/watch/it-welcome-to-derry/episode-3) • [8](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/hbo-max/how-to-watch-it-welcome-to-derry) A reviewer at Reactor noted that the episode shows "just how diverse Derry actually is, and how deep the lore around IT goes."[3](https://reactormag.com/tv-review-it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3/)
The episode also picks up Lilly's story after her release from Juniper Hill Psychiatric Hospital, where she shares her guilt about Ronnie's father with a housekeeper and resolves to make things right.[7](https://www.sky.com/watch/it-welcome-to-derry/episode-3)
## Place in the series
*It: Welcome to Derry* deliberately delayed the appearance of Pennywise, who in the show's first episodes is felt mainly through other incarnations. [Executive producer](https://www.edgepedia.org/executive-producer) and frequent series director [Andy Muschietti](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-muschietti) explained the intent: "I think there was an anticipation and a desire to delay [Pennywise], considering that IT's a shape shifter, and we can feel IT's presence in other incarnations throughout the first episodes, and build that need to see the clown."[5](https://www.tvguide.com/news/it-welcome-to-derry-producers-pennywise-debut-bill-skarsgard/) "Now You See It" marks the first proper on-screen glimpse of the clown form,[4](https://readysteadycut.com/2025/11/10/it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3-recap/) though the character's fuller debut, with [Bill Skarsgård](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-skarsgard) reprising his role from the films, comes near the end of episode 5.[5](https://www.tvguide.com/news/it-welcome-to-derry-producers-pennywise-debut-bill-skarsgard/)
The 1908 setting also connects to the creators' larger plan. Andy Muschietti has spoken of a three-season plan for the series, with each season focusing on a different interlude from King's original novel; the third season would be set in 1908, a year later than the corresponding episode's events occur in the book, which places them in 1906.[9](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-shows/it-welcome-to-derry-easter-eggs-and-cameos-all-the-stephen-king-and-wider-franchise-references-you-might-have-missed/)
## Reception and notes
The Ready Steady Cut recap called the episode's climactic horror sequence the series' weakest and silliest so far, describing a "hilariously cheap-looking climax," while crediting the episode with deepening the show's engagement with King's wider universe.[4](https://readysteadycut.com/2025/11/10/it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3-recap/)
The episode contains a hidden cameo: director Andy Muschietti appears as the cigarette-smoking organ player inside the "Human Freaks" attraction in the opening flashback.[9](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-shows/it-welcome-to-derry-easter-eggs-and-cameos-all-the-stephen-king-and-wider-franchise-references-you-might-have-missed/)
## References
1. [IT: Welcome to Derry – All Seasons, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/welcome-to-derry/allseasons/official)
2. [It: Welcome to Derry release schedule, Radio Times](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/it-welcome-to-derry-release-schedule/)
3. [IT: Welcome to Derry Takes Us From the Circus to the Cemetery in "Now You See It", Reactor](https://reactormag.com/tv-review-it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3/)
4. ['It: Welcome to Derry' Episode 3 Recap – "Now You See It", Ready Steady Cut](https://readysteadycut.com/2025/11/10/it-welcome-to-derry-episode-3-recap/)
5. [IT: Welcome to Derry Producers on Why They Held Off on Pennywise's Debut, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/news/it-welcome-to-derry-producers-pennywise-debut-bill-skarsgard/)
6. [It: Welcome to Derry's The Muschiettis on Why Their Prequel Series Started As a Movie, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/online-originals/it-welcome-to-derry-hbo-pennywise-origins)
7. [IT: Welcome to Derry – Season 1 Episode 3 'Now You See It' explained, Sky](https://www.sky.com/watch/it-welcome-to-derry/episode-3)
8. [How to watch 'IT: Welcome to Derry', Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/hbo-max/how-to-watch-it-welcome-to-derry)
9. [It: Welcome to Derry Easter eggs and cameos, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-shows/it-welcome-to-derry-easter-eggs-and-cameos-all-the-stephen-king-and-wider-franchise-references-you-might-have-missed/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Episodes and serial chapters › Individual episode articles › General episode articles › Horror and thriller episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license