The IT Spot: Minor news and Rereading part 27

So, the Black Spot scene is going to kick off part two. Not sure how that is going to work, as they're clearly going to have to talk about why Mike is being pursued by burned hands in part 1.

It would be a hell of a lead-in, though, so I can't fault the producers for thinking ahead.

Now, back to the source material, where adult Bev is getting drunk in the library and bringing some old memories up front.

Bev’s tale (which is nothing more than a lead-in to Patrick’s tale) is another simple surface story: she sees the Bowers gang lighting farts in the town dump. Eventually everyone but Patrick Hockstetter peels off, and he is murdered by IT, while Bev looks on. But oh baby, that’s barely scratching the surface.

SPOILERS

Bev’s tale is really a bookend for the only glimpse into Patrick’s mind we have. While Henry is crazy, Patrick Hockstetter is a bonafide psychopath.

 Whelp, he's got the smile down.

He believes he’s the only "real" being in the universe, and the only thing he derives pleasure from is killing. He kills animals in the ‘now’ of 1958, but started killing when he was five, by smothering his baby brother (his father almost noticed, but shut out the thought, BTW).

Patrick is chilling. King describes in detail his finding of a fridge with the door still attached, and how he delights in putting cats and dogs in it to suffocate. It’s a hard passage to get through. When Patrick dies by IT there is horror, but not a trace of regret for the reader. If someone in the story deserves to die, Tom Rogan and Patrick Hockstetter are the top contenders.

Patrick only fears leeches, which of course IT takes the form of, literally sucking him dry before dragging him into the sewers. Bev watches the attack (as much as she can see) is attacked by a leech herself, and brings the others. When they open the killing fridge, it’s full of Pennywise’s orange pom poms, and the words “STOP NOW BEFORE I KILL YOU ALL A WORD TO THE WISE FROM YOUR FRIEND PENNYWISE.”

Up until now IT has kept Patrick’s fridge from being discovered. So why let Bev see it, and then kill him? Two reasons: 1 Patrick was distracting Henry (a who is only a minor tool, but someone IT intends to use). 2, and far more important, Bev was there. IT needs the Losers scared, so they will stop their campaign to destroy IT.

Plus, IT was probably hungry.

This is the first strong hint that IT senses their power, and that IT is scared. IT knows the losers may be able to hurt or kill IT (IT thinks these exact thoughts later). The display was nothing more than a demonstration.

Of course this backfires, when Bill gets angry, screaming (and not stuttering) to the skies about how IT needs to face them.

SAFE

The foreshadowing in the book is so strong. Granted, I’ve read IT probably a dozen times, but it's still there. We're almost done with the adults remembering things, and we're heading into the final section of the novel. It's gonna get fast and dangerous.