Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for IT: Welcome to Derry’s finale.
Amidst all the horror in HBO Max’s IT: Welcome to Derry, fans have flocked to Andy Muschietti‘s television expansion of Stephen King‘s world in part because of the new group of Losers. After a shocking season premiere that saw a few of the new cast killed, and the non-stop tragedy that is poor Lilly’s (Clara Stack) life, the series finds hope in the relationship between Marge (Matilda Lawler) and Rich (Arian S. Cartaya). Seeing them fall in love is heartwarming, which makes Rich’s choice to sacrifice his own life in order to save Marge beyond heartbreaking.
Because Rich exists in 1962, and another character with a similar named, Richie, is part of the next generation of Losers, fans immediately began speculating whether the connection was purposeful. The series finale, “Winter Fire,” confirms this, with Pennywise revealing that Marge is the future mother of Richie Tozier, but this twist doesn’t happen during a particularly sweet moment.
Marge Is Revealed as Richie Tozier’s Mom in ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Episode 8
When we first meet Marge, she’s not at all a likeable character. Right as her best friend, Lilly, needs her the most, Marge is too worried about trying to impress a clique of popular girls. Thankfully, her better nature, along with an eye-opening (and cutting!) experience, results in Marge changing her ways, turning away from potential popularity and allying with Lilly and her new friends in their attempt to defeat the entity that haunts their town.
Then there’s Rich, the short kid who never feels small due to his vivacious personality. He also harbors a secret crush on Marge, even though she barely notices him. The two really get their time to shine in the sixth episode, where Rich tenderly treats her healing wound without judgment, and later, as they talk about knights and smile incessantly at lunch, Marge rejects the popular girls to stay with a boy who is beyond smitten with her.
Because this is horror, and a franchise where kids often die, Marge and Rich aren’t safe. However, instead of dying at the hands of a clown, hate ultimately seals their fate. When a white lynch mob burns down the Black Spot, locking everyone inside, Rich puts Marge in a fridge and lies on top of it, sacrificing himself to save her because he’s a knight, and knights protect fair maidens.
Pennywise Wants To Prevent Richie Tozier From Ever Being Born in ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’
Even though fans were devastated by Rich’s death, the wheels of speculation began to turn: If Marge loved Rich so much, is it possible that she grew up and had a son, whom she named Richie in his honor? The finale of IT: Welcome to Derry leaves no doubt about this in a scene where Pennywise comes face-to-face with Marge, where he refers to her as “Margaret Tozier.” The girl is confused by this, obviously, because Tozier is not her last name. Pennywise makes it clear that one day, she’ll have a son named Richie — “unless he dies with you.”
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This all feels sadly familiar.
The clown then holds up a missing poster that reveals the face of a 13-year-old Richie (Finn Wolfhard), but Pennywise isn’t dangling this in front of Marge to torment her. The entity is filled with rage because, one day, a grown-up Richie (Bill Hader) and his friends will bring about his death — or maybe his birth, since Pennywise reveals he can experience past, present, and future timelines all at once. Perhaps, if he kills Richie’s mother in the past, his own death will never come to pass. Although Pennywise attempts to eat Marge, he freezes before he can land a killing blow, with Marge once again saved — this time, thanks to Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) sneaking inside its mind.
‘IT: Welcome to Derry’s Finale Sets Up Pennywise as a Threat in the Past
Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) with a red lower face in ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’Image via Warner Bros. Television
At Rich’s funeral, Marge speaks about how much the boy she cared for meant to her in the short month she got to know him. His spirit lives on, too, which Hallorann bears witness to. Although Marge will fall in love again, get married and have a family, it’s her first love, the one who saved her life, who gets the honor of her child’s name. Without Rich’s sacrifice, Marge never lives, Richie never exists, and Pennywise is never killed.
After the funeral, with Pennywise sent into another 27-year sleep, Marge reveals what the clown told her to Lilly in a private moment. If death actually set the entity free, that could explain why it sees time differently. If it couldn’t stop Marge, perhaps it will try to kill someone else, like their parents, in the time before they were born. That conversation seemingly sets up the premise for the second and third seasons of IT: Welcome to Derry, each jumping back another 27 years. The next time we see Pennywise, it’ll likely be 1935, with the clown seeking out one of Richie’s grandparents. If they’re as brave as their daughter, have the courage of their grandson, and stare into the face of danger without looking back, like Richie’s namesake, they might just have a chance.