Interdimensional monsters, psychic rituals, and one very creepy clown.
If you're confused by the bizarre saga of the Losers Club, you aren't alone.
Put away your paper sailboats and grab your red balloons, because this is the "It" timeline,
fully explained.
The shape-shifting entity known as It is actually billions of years old, and is classified in
the Stephen King multiverse as coming from a tribe of fear-eating horrors known as Glamours.
It was born in a dimension outside of our own galaxy known as the Macroverse, but has
since established a home on Earth.
The true identity of It — as well as its real name — remains unknown, but it's sometimes
been referred to as the Deadlights.
"What is It's true form?"
"I hope it's a puppy."
King's lore says that no human being could actually visually process It's true form,
and would instead perceive It as a gigantic spider.
If someone actually tried to comprehend anything further, they'd end up like poor Beverly Marsh
in the 2017 film: dead-eyed and floating in Pennywise's cistern.
Early in the history of Derry, It unleashed a reign of terror that caused the disappearance
of a great deal of settlers.
Afterwards, It then spent centuries shape-shifting and feeding, frequently taking the form of
Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
Just about everything bad in the history of Derry can be traced back to the direct or
indirect influence of It, from the Derry ironworks explosion to the death of little Georgie Denbrough.
Each event took place roughly 27 years after the last, with an "odd character" — aka
It — present at just about every scene.
The main story in King's novel, the miniseries, and the films all begin when Georgie Denbrough
leaves his home to play with his paper boat in the rain.
The falling water washes away Georgie's boat and leads him to a sewer drain, where he meets
It in the form of Pennywise the Clown.
"Hiya Georgie.
What a nice boat."
Georgie is skeptical of the clown at first, but ultimately he doesn't seem too afraid.
When Pennywise offers him back his paper boat, he reaches out to grab it — but it proves
to be a fatal mistake, as Pennywise chomps down on Georgie.
No one in Derry truly questions what really happened to the little boy, leaving his older
brother Bill, the de facto leader of the Losers Club, to try and solve the mystery alongside
his circle of friends.
The more Bill and fellow Losers Eddie, Richie, Mike, Ben, Stanley, and Beverly pry into the
truth of It as children, the more intimately terrifying the entity becomes.
After weeks of tyranny, kidnapping, and possession, The Losers venture into the sewers, where
they find the monster's underground lair.
After coming face to face with what they each fear the most, the Losers battle with It,
eventually forcing the beast back into hibernation for another 27 years.
Beverly, having seen the true face of the Deadlights, knows that this bout with It will
not be their last.
The Losers make a blood pact to return to Derry as adults if It returns, swearing to
defeat the monster once and for all.
27 years later, Mike Hanlon — the sole Loser to stay in Derry as an adult — alerts the
crew that It has returned.
The crew all agree to return to Derry with the exception of Stanley, who decides to take
his own life rather than relive his childhood horrors.
The remaining six meet up at a Chinese restaurant and reminisce with one another before It makes
its presence known, beginning a new wave of terror.
Unfortunately, they don't just have to deal with It as an entity, they also have to deal
with Henry Bowers, their former bully who's fallen under It's evil influence.
In the novel, the only way to defeat It is by performing the Ritual of Chüd, a psychic
battle of wills requiring the power of imagination.
Yes, it's just as weird as it sounds.
The ritual is how Bill defeats It for the first time in the book, but he needs help
from the other Losers as an adult because he's lost his sense of childlike wonder.
The key to defeating It is simply believing that you can.
"This… kills monsters.
If you believe it does."
The film, on the other hand, presents the Ritual of Chüd as an ancient ceremony first
performed by the Indigenous tribes outside of Derry.
This version of the ritual requires sacrificial tokens that will force It into its true form,
which will allow the Losers to trap it in a ceremonial jar.
Most of "It: Chapter 2" is focused on each member of the Losers Club tracking down their
own sacred items before finally facing off with It for the last time.
King's original novel involves Pennywise possessing Beverly's abusive husband, Tom, and kidnapping
Bill's wife Audra as a way to lure the Losers to his lair.
However, the Losers manage to gain the upper hand by successfully completing the Ritual
of Chüd, causing a storm that destroys both It and the entire town of Derry.
The group goes their separate ways, and the memories of their horrific pasts begin to
fade over time.
"It: Chapter 2," on the other hand, goes in a wildly different direction.
The six surviving Losers head to It's lair to perform the ritual, but it fails.
It takes on the form of a gigantic clown spider, killing Eddie as the group tries to fight
back.
When they realize they need to make It feel "small" in order to destroy it, they begin
hurling insults at It, much like those they received as children.
It shrinks smaller and smaller before the Losers rip out its heart, demolishing the
monster for good.
They escape the now destroyed lair, vowing to stay in touch, and to never forget all
that they've been through... together.
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