So, after a short hiatus, we return to the IT Spot. And what a return it is! It's Ritchie's turn to meet IT.
SPOILERS
In a total departure from the mini-series (remember, they basically stole Ben's plot) Ritchie wanders the town aimlessly for a while. He is still in denial about his first childhood experience with IT, but the river is about to leave Egypt.
In Derry there is a statue of
Paul Bunyan. Nevermind that Tall Paul (
He's-a my all) is from Michigan, not Maine. We have a similar statue that I spotted while on vacation in Historic Mackinac City:
It's about the right size, but Derry's Paul is standing, and holding a gigantic ax.
You see where this is going.
After nearly getting killed by Henry Bowers and co, Ritchie escapes to Paul's park, daydreaming about a rock-n-roll concert. He 'falls asleep' (no, he doesn't) and sees Paul attack, barely escaping with his life. As an adult, the scenario replays itself, with a gigantic Pennywise speaking to him. Ritchie gets away again, doing an (unfortunately racist) voice until IT resumes the statue form. Once again, IT threatens and cajoles.
Untile the other encounters, IT lands a blow: IT makes Ritchie's eyes hurt, threatening to blind him, give him cancer, etc. There is one telling line, where Ritchie observes IT's finger is 'as big as a beam.'
My fellow Dark Tower fans know Beams are a big deal in King World. IT's main adversary, the Turtle, is a beam guardian, and an influencer of the Losers' club/Ka-Tet. I'm not sure if IT caught Ritchie's thought and put an end to it before the Turtle's specter could be called up, but I wouldn't be surprised.
SAFE
Next time, Bill sees a ghost.