So, at last we enter the smokehole.
This whole post will be spoilers, as nothing like this is in the mini-series.
The gist is that Ben read about a native American ritual, where when a tribe needed guidance they'd sit in a smoke-hole, breath in the smoke until only a few were left, and had visions to direct them. The kids figure this may help them fight IT, and utilize their new in-ground secret clubhouse for the purpose.
Shit gets real.
The kids draw straws to see who stays out to pull them from the smoke, and the burned straw is made whole again. They know: this is something they all have to try and do together. The seven of them are meant to do this together.
Remember a while back, I advised that Ritchie was far more than the wiseacre of the group, being very smart and insightful under his humor. This the first meaningful instance of that coming to fruition. Ritchie thinks about the fact that Ben found the book, and the whole straw thing, and really reflects on the fact that they're being driven towards something, willingly or not. In the end, only he and Mike can stand the smoke long enough to have visions.
I think Mike is there for two reasons; one, he needs to solidify his bond with the others, as he' still the new guy. Two, he's the one with an appreciation of history: and those two boys are in for some history.
After breathing in the smoke, Mike and Ritchie find themselves transported to prehistoric Derry, or what King poetically refers to as 'ago'. They wander for a short time, marveling at the plants and wild rivers.
But then, IT came.
The closest thing the boys can connect IT's arrival to is a meteor or a spaceship hitting the earth. Ritchie tries to quantify the experience after the others pull them out of the hole. "It came from...outside. I got that feeling. From outside."
What he's trying to explain is that IT isn't from our universe, and feels so. King later does a piece or two from IT's perspective, and we learn Ritchie is correct. IT (as well as IT's counterpart, The Turtle) is from the Macroverse: a universe outside of ours. Think Lovecraft and you'll be in the ballpark.
The kids realize that IT has essentially always been. And how the hell can they hope to defeat something that's essentially immortal and ageless?
IT said something earlier in the book while chasing adult Bev that calls forwards to this:
“Tell your friends I am the last of a dying race,' it said, grinning its sunken grin as it staggered and lurched down the porch steps after her. 'The only survivor of a dying planet. I have come to rob all the women...rape all the men...and learn to do the Peppermint Twist!”
I think IT is being truthful here, to an extent. We see other IT-like beings in at least one more King book, and later events reflect this as well. But for now, it's enough that the kids (and the adults remembering these events) are finally beginning to have an appreciation of how impossible killing IT really is.
Tune in next time, when Eddie catches a break.
This whole post will be spoilers, as nothing like this is in the mini-series.
The gist is that Ben read about a native American ritual, where when a tribe needed guidance they'd sit in a smoke-hole, breath in the smoke until only a few were left, and had visions to direct them. The kids figure this may help them fight IT, and utilize their new in-ground secret clubhouse for the purpose.
Shit gets real.
The kids draw straws to see who stays out to pull them from the smoke, and the burned straw is made whole again. They know: this is something they all have to try and do together. The seven of them are meant to do this together.
Remember a while back, I advised that Ritchie was far more than the wiseacre of the group, being very smart and insightful under his humor. This the first meaningful instance of that coming to fruition. Ritchie thinks about the fact that Ben found the book, and the whole straw thing, and really reflects on the fact that they're being driven towards something, willingly or not. In the end, only he and Mike can stand the smoke long enough to have visions.
I think Mike is there for two reasons; one, he needs to solidify his bond with the others, as he' still the new guy. Two, he's the one with an appreciation of history: and those two boys are in for some history.
After breathing in the smoke, Mike and Ritchie find themselves transported to prehistoric Derry, or what King poetically refers to as 'ago'. They wander for a short time, marveling at the plants and wild rivers.
But then, IT came.
The closest thing the boys can connect IT's arrival to is a meteor or a spaceship hitting the earth. Ritchie tries to quantify the experience after the others pull them out of the hole. "It came from...outside. I got that feeling. From outside."
What he's trying to explain is that IT isn't from our universe, and feels so. King later does a piece or two from IT's perspective, and we learn Ritchie is correct. IT (as well as IT's counterpart, The Turtle) is from the Macroverse: a universe outside of ours. Think Lovecraft and you'll be in the ballpark.
The kids realize that IT has essentially always been. And how the hell can they hope to defeat something that's essentially immortal and ageless?
IT said something earlier in the book while chasing adult Bev that calls forwards to this:
“Tell your friends I am the last of a dying race,' it said, grinning its sunken grin as it staggered and lurched down the porch steps after her. 'The only survivor of a dying planet. I have come to rob all the women...rape all the men...and learn to do the Peppermint Twist!”
I think IT is being truthful here, to an extent. We see other IT-like beings in at least one more King book, and later events reflect this as well. But for now, it's enough that the kids (and the adults remembering these events) are finally beginning to have an appreciation of how impossible killing IT really is.
Tune in next time, when Eddie catches a break.
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