Wow, thirty of these posts. And while I've come to see a few new things about my favorite book, I also want to thank all of you for sticking with me.
Anyway, on to the attempted parental molestation!
Yeah, this segment is where things really start going off the rails in terms of minimally IT related horror. By that I mean stuff where IT influenced the perpetrators, but they let IT in, as Bev observes.
The section starts with the adults wrapping up story time at the library. Their palm-wounds reopen, and they share a few moments where all their memories come back (or so they think).
After leaving, Bev remembers her father finally succumbing to IT, demanding she take her pants off so he can see if she's 'intact'. He was tipped off by IT that Bev was playing with boys and smoking. Bev isn't quite sure what he means by 'intact' but can see that her father is no longer her father: he has given in to IT. She runs away, barely escaping, as townsfolk look on, uncomprehending. Once she loses her father, she is stalked by Henry Bowers.
The timeline then shifts back to Mike, alone at the library, and cleaning up. He too is being stalked by Henry Bowers. Yeah, remember when Henry escaped from Juniper Hill? Well, he's back, and he's going to kill the Losers or die trying.
They talk about IT for a few moments. Henry is armed with the switch knife IT gifted him. Mike tries to talk sense into him, pointing out that IT killed his friends 27 years ago, and will surely kill Henry when Henry is done doing ITs work. Henry almost listens, but hey, he's crazy. He attacks Mike, severing a femoral artery in Mike's leg. Mike refrains from killing Henry with a letter opener, realizing that would be doing ITs work for IT as well. He does stab Henry in the stomach, and call 911 while Henry escapes.
While possibly dying, Mike hears ITs voice on the phone, mocking him. He reflects on a few things: how all his planning has come to naught, how the Losers will be chased into the sewers just as they were before, how the others only THINK they remember everything, but are sadly mistaken.
It's a hard section to read. The foreshadowing about Bev's father was clear (mother asking if her father ever 'touched' her, primarily) but it's still hard to deal with. What's harder is Mike's injuries. We've spent much of the novel inside his words with the aside segments, and to have him kept out of the finale is a great loss. But, with the circle already broken by Stan's death, that makes the ending even more remarkable.
But that's for later.
Normally I try to write a blog about a whole segment of IT, but so much will happen over these last pages that I need to write about as much as I can as often as I can. The movie comes out soon, so I've got to try and hurry up.
Next time, Henry stalks Bev, and the sewers draw closer.
Anyway, on to the attempted parental molestation!
Yeah, this segment is where things really start going off the rails in terms of minimally IT related horror. By that I mean stuff where IT influenced the perpetrators, but they let IT in, as Bev observes.
The section starts with the adults wrapping up story time at the library. Their palm-wounds reopen, and they share a few moments where all their memories come back (or so they think).
After leaving, Bev remembers her father finally succumbing to IT, demanding she take her pants off so he can see if she's 'intact'. He was tipped off by IT that Bev was playing with boys and smoking. Bev isn't quite sure what he means by 'intact' but can see that her father is no longer her father: he has given in to IT. She runs away, barely escaping, as townsfolk look on, uncomprehending. Once she loses her father, she is stalked by Henry Bowers.
The timeline then shifts back to Mike, alone at the library, and cleaning up. He too is being stalked by Henry Bowers. Yeah, remember when Henry escaped from Juniper Hill? Well, he's back, and he's going to kill the Losers or die trying.
They talk about IT for a few moments. Henry is armed with the switch knife IT gifted him. Mike tries to talk sense into him, pointing out that IT killed his friends 27 years ago, and will surely kill Henry when Henry is done doing ITs work. Henry almost listens, but hey, he's crazy. He attacks Mike, severing a femoral artery in Mike's leg. Mike refrains from killing Henry with a letter opener, realizing that would be doing ITs work for IT as well. He does stab Henry in the stomach, and call 911 while Henry escapes.
While possibly dying, Mike hears ITs voice on the phone, mocking him. He reflects on a few things: how all his planning has come to naught, how the Losers will be chased into the sewers just as they were before, how the others only THINK they remember everything, but are sadly mistaken.
It's a hard section to read. The foreshadowing about Bev's father was clear (mother asking if her father ever 'touched' her, primarily) but it's still hard to deal with. What's harder is Mike's injuries. We've spent much of the novel inside his words with the aside segments, and to have him kept out of the finale is a great loss. But, with the circle already broken by Stan's death, that makes the ending even more remarkable.
But that's for later.
Normally I try to write a blog about a whole segment of IT, but so much will happen over these last pages that I need to write about as much as I can as often as I can. The movie comes out soon, so I've got to try and hurry up.
Next time, Henry stalks Bev, and the sewers draw closer.
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