Warning: Contains possible spoilers from Stephen King’s IT novel.
Another episode into IT: Welcome to Derry, and the Stephen King crossovers are quickly stacking up.
Along with the clue-filled opening credits and the numerous IT references in the first episode, episode 2 widens the scope, introducing a character best known from a different Stephen King novel entirely.
So who is it, and where do we know them from? We’ve broken it down below.
Who is introduced in episode 2?
In episode 1, Major Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) joins the air base at Derry and encounters an unnamed soldier who keeps casting seemingly significant glances at him. In episode 2, we finally learn who this man is: Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk), the same man who works as a chef at The Overlook Hotel in The Shining and helps Danny Torrance understand his psychic gift.
Hallorann, it turns out, is currently working on the air base alongside Major Hanlon as part of a top-secret project.
But what exactly is he doing there, and is he also a character in King’s IT?
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What’s Dick Hallorann doing in Derry?
Shortly after we learn Dick Hallorann’s identity, we get an idea of what he’s doing in Derry — and why his psychic gifts are of particular use on the Army base there.
Taking Major Hanlon into the base’s restricted area, General Shaw (James Remar) explains that his lack of fear makes him uniquely qualified to help them in their search for a “weapon” buried in Derry “a long time ago.”
“This weapon, it generates debilitating fear in anyone who comes near it,” General Shaw explains. “In theory, it could scare a man badly enough to kill him where he stands.” He’s talking, of course, about IT.
The general goes on to say that there are “beacons” surrounding the weapon that will help them pinpoint its exact location. Dick Hallorann, using his psychic powers, is helping the Army locate these beacons.
Does Dick Hallorann appear in Stephen King’s IT novel?
The following details from King’s book could reveal spoilers for IT: Welcome to Derry, if it adheres to the IT novel. So proceed with caution.
The short answer is yes: Hallorann is in one of the historical sections written by Mike Hanlon, upon which IT: Welcome to Derry is based. In the book, Hallorann is involved in the fire at the Black Spot, the tragedy that ends Pennywise’s 1930s killing cycle.
The Black Spot is the name of a club where mostly Black soldiers from the nearby base go to drink and socialise. In the novel, it’s burned down by a local racist group, and Dick Hallorann (who is working in the kitchen at the time) is one of few people who manages to make it out alive.
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