from the first episode was terrible—which began and ends with the children becoming victims of the terrifying entity known as Pennywise the Clown—It’s: Welcome to Derry let viewers know to expect unbridled horror. And it certainly saved; we will never look at a pickle jar the same way.

Based on Stephen King’s itthe show was created by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs and serves as a prequel to their big-screen duology it (2017) and Chapter Two (2019). But while Welcome to Derry accomplished his stated mission to expand the world of King’s horror novel—gave us new characters, new motivations, and a new perspective on Derry’s history as well as its resident monster—it also left room for more.

It looks like HBO will greenlight a “Chapter Two,” but while we wait for news—and then begin the long wait for more episodes—here’s what we’re left to ponder. Welcome to Derry first time.

Is there more to Pennywise’s origin story?

We know even before that Welcome to Derry that Pennywise, or rather the entity that takes the form of Pennywise, is alien in origin.

“Millions of years ago, before the time of the first humans, an evil spirit was sent down from the darkest part of the night sky” is how the Native oral history passed down through the generations begins, and we get a visual of the shooting star—a kind of cosmic prison—that descends from the sky, erupts, and releases the most evil new inhabitant of the Earth.

That part is pretty obvious. But will Welcome to Derry does the story go deeper? Who decided to exorcise the evil spirit millions of years ago? Will someone show up to check on him? What is his homeworld (or home dimension, perhaps) like in that dark, dark part of the sky? Will Maturin, the “turtle god” who played a role in King’s novel as well The Dark Towerhas it gone back beyond the few subtle turtle references we saw in the first season?

Why does Charlotte want to stay in Derry?

The car is packed. The Hanlons are about to leave town. But at the last moment, Charlotte told Leroy that she wanted to stay in Derry.

Yes, the town where a group of racist men (all unpunished except Stan Kersh, chomp!) shot and burned down a bar for Black servicemen, killing dozens. The town that put convenient scapegoat Hank Grogan on the fast track to Shawshank State Prison, legal rights be damned.

The town where, every 27 years, a demonic clown emerges from the sewers to feast on children—a creature that nearly kills Will, Charlotte and Leroy’s beloved boy. The town where Pennywise’s lurking presence has a way of circulating bad vibes even when it’s his bedtime.

But, sure. Charlotte—the outspoken, intelligent, strong advocate for social justice and protective mother—wants to put down roots there.

This has to happen for story reasons, as we know that Will will eventually become the father of Losers Club member Mike Hanlon. But the decision still feels at odds with the way Charlotte has been portrayed over the past eight episodes. Even Taylor Paige, who plays Charlotte, questioned the way his character’s arc ended.

What will be explored in the coming seasons?

Before the filming of a season, Andy Muschietti said he has a plan of three seasons with Welcome to Derry: a second season set in 1935, and a third set in 1908. Both of those time periods are explored in the season’s 1962 setting due to flashbacks. When the show returns, what story will be told? A deeper dive into the lives of 1930s gangsters whose car was excavated in the first season? Or the 1906 Kitchener Ironworks disaster? (Both are apparently mentioned in Welcome to Derryopening credits, so that’s probably it.)

But beyond that, along with a new cast of contemporary characters, including an inevitable group of misfit kids, will there also be flash-forwards, flashbacks, and connections with other It characters, like we saw in the first season? And if so, what can those parts do?

If Pennywise’s death is also his birth, does that mean he won’t die in 2016 but be reborn?

From what we’ve seen, Muschietti’s approach is very past-oriented, as well as closely following King’s trademark approach to nostalgia as something good and full of horror. However, given Pennywise’s knowledge of his death in 2016, could there be a Welcome to Derry season set in the future—or even just scenes set in the future? What might Derry look like circa 2043? 2070?

Will Pennywise really get a page The Terminator?

Speaking of Pennywise’s incredible time perception, who can forget Margie’s worry that he’ll decide to travel back in time and kill her parents or her friends’ parents? Welcome to DerryThe writers clearly thought about the possibilities that idea had, otherwise it wouldn’t have been touched on repeatedly in the season finale.

What happened at Derry Air Force Base and the other soldiers involved in Operation Precept?

Did they all get honorably discharged (even those on the wrong side of some clown-based decisions) and told to keep their mouths shut like Leroy? Did the base close, no matter what we were assured about its strategic location in the northern United States, at the height of the Cold War? Was there any fallout from Operation Precept or the Black Spot fire, or was everything explained away and swept under the rug?

Did people outside of Derry realize what was happening?

Derry is a remote place with supernatural qualities that haunt its borders; We know, for example, that people who leave will forget most of the details about their time there. But from what we’ve seen, there’s nothing stopping people from coming into town and walking around. The US Air Force did it for the first time.

Rose tells Leroy and Charlotte that even though the military has retreated, the entity in Derry Carry On attract others in the future. Who else will show up? Are members of the media too curious and smart to fall for cover stories? FBI agents make a X-Files-style investigation? Circus historians? Cults? Family members of past victims with an ax to grind?

Do the rest Welcome to Derry the characters have a direct relationship with it and Chapter Two characters?

We know that Will is Mike Hanlon’s father, and Margie is Richie Tozier’s mother. We also know that Teddy Uris, who died in the first episode, had a brother who became the father of Stan Uris. Former Derry police chief Clint Bowers is clearly related to notorious bully Henry Bowers—perhaps his grandfather, though this has never been definitively confirmed. And, of course, our friend Ingrid Kershdaughter of Bob Gray, has two close encounters with the teenager and adult Beverly Marsh.

What other connections can be made? What new relationships may be introduced in the coming times? Bill Denbrough, Ben Hanscom, and Eddie Kaspbrak all feel like pretty obvious threads to pick up if the show returns.

What else are you thinking about? It’s: Welcome to Derrythe first season—and beyond? You can watch all nine episodes on HBO and HBO Max.

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