Back during the third episode of IT: Welcome to Derry, we met a nurse character played by Madeleine Stowe. The weird part was that despite clearly being friends with Juniper Hill inmate Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack), we didn’t get to know what her name was (and you’d be forgiven from thinking it was Annie Wilkes from Misery because of that). Well, on this week’s fifth episode — spoilers past this point — “Neibolt Street,” we finally find out what her full name is: Ingrid Kersh. And if that didn’t raise your eyebrows? That’s the name of Pennywise’s daughter. Sort of.
There’s actually a lot going on with Ingrid this episode, as we discover she is the white lady that Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider) has been having an affair with. They’re clearly in love, and that’s very sweet — though with Hank having escaped from a crashed bus being sent to Shawkshank prison (you know the one), their reunion might be short lived.
However, more to the point of this piece, you’re probably wondering who Ingrid Kersh is, and how she could possibly be Pennywise’s daughter. The answer is “it’s complicated” and there’s every chance that this surprise last name reveal may clarify an important plot point from IT: Chapter Two.
In the 2017 movie, Beverly Marsh (Jessica Chastain) heads home to get some tokens she hid in her old apartment in Derry, only to discover that instead of her father, Alvin Marsh, living there, there’s an old lady named Mrs. Kersh (Joan Gregson). The old lady serves Beverly tea, and gets weirder and sweatier as the visit continues, with Beverly discovering a picture on the wall showing Pennywise in seeming human form as “Bob Gray,” standing next to a little girl. Mrs. Kersh explains that was her father… But she doesn’t actually exist, she’s another form of It as becomes abundantly clear once she strips naked, stretches into monstrous form and chases after Beverly. The latter escapes, only to discover there was no Mrs. Kersh, or apartment — the building had been boarded up years earlier.
The same sort of thing happens in the Stephen King novel, albeit without the bit about Bob Gray or Mrs. Kersh being his daughter. But there’s an open question whether there was a real Bob Gray (Pennywise does use the name sometimes in the book)… And certainly where the movie is concerned, whether Bob Gray had a daughter.
The answer is: maybe. There may have been a real human Pennywise the Dancing Clown that the creature It copied. And based on this week’s episode of Welcome to Derry, it sure seems like there’s a real Mrs. Kersh… Which could indicate we’re about to find out she was, indeed, the real Pennywise’s daughter. That’s a bit of speculation there, of course. But given Ingrid Kersh’s age, it seems unlikely she’s coincidentally named Kersh without that indicating she’s at least an inspiration for the form of It that becomes the Mrs. Kersh from IT: Chapter Two.
So is Ingrid Bob Gray’s real daughter? Is she merely Pennywise pretending to be a friendly nurse, and if so how will Hank feel when he finds out he’s been banging Pennywise? Or is something else going on? We’ve got three episodes to find out. Just… Don’t drink any tea Mrs. Kersh gives you, it’s actually sewage.
IT: Welcome To Derry Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
New episodes of IT: Welcome To Derry premiere on Sundays on HBO and HBO Max at 9pm ET.
Here’s the full list of episodes in IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 with premiere dates:
- Sunday, October 26, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 1
- Sunday, November 2, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 2
- Sunday, November 9, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 3
- Sunday, November 16, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 4
- Sunday, November 23, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 5
- Sunday, November 30, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 6
- Sunday, December 7, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 7
- Sunday, December 14, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 8 *Season Finale*
Where To Watch IT: Welcome To Derry
Comic Book Club Live Info:
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.