It: Welcome to Derry’s Episode 8 Cameo Changes Everything

It: Welcome to Derry’s co-showrunner Jason Fuchs has revealed that a last-minute cameo in the eighth episode wasn’t part of the original plan, but it’s ended up giving a whole new layer to a particularly unsettling moment from It: Chapter Two. Fuchs, who penned the episode, shared that the idea only came up during reshoots, which are pretty standard for big productions.

“That was a very, very last-minute decision,”

he explained.

“That scene came about in reshoots. Reshoots are a normal part of any big show or any film, but we were at the tail end of everything. And that was a scene that had been talked about a few times, just generally, like how do we have one more piece of architecture linking us to the films? We certainly had the Rich Tozier missing kids poster that popped up, but what was one other piece of the puzzle that could sort of build a bridge to the films and make it feel like this really takes you in many ways to the doorstep of It: Chapter One?”

Unexpected Connections

The cameo in question features Sophia Lillis reprising her role as Beverly Marsh. She’s seen in a hospital room at Juniper Hill, devastated and on the floor, looking up at her mother, who has just taken her own life. The season finale then jumps forward 27 years, showing an elderly Ingrid Kersh. Despite her dark past—she was responsible for the deaths of over 20 Black residents in Derry—she appears to be just a quiet, gentle old woman. That impression doesn’t last. Ingrid hears a ruckus down the corridor and heads off to see what’s going on. She finds Beverly on the ground next to her violent father, who recoils from her. Beverly, in tears, looks up at Ingrid, who leans in and says,

“No one ever really dies in Derry.”

Reframing a Chilling Scene

Fans might remember that in It: Chapter Two, Pennywise takes the form of an elderly woman, Mrs. Kersh, to torment the adult Beverly. It’s a deeply disturbing scene, with Beverly forced to confront the guilt and pain from her father’s abuse—her greatest fear. Now, with this new context, Mrs. Kersh isn’t just a random disguise for Pennywise.

Fuchs elaborated,

“It also changes the context of that scene in It: Chapter Two, because now you’re understanding, ‘Oh, wait, the reason that It takes that guise in Chapter Two is not just about tormenting Beverly as it relates to her traumatic relationship with her dad.’ It’s actually scratching a very deeply repressed piece of trauma in the back of her brain, which is Mrs. Kersh, the person she met the day she suffered the most traumatic event of her young life to that point, which was the suicide, obviously, of her mum.”

Bridging the Series and Films

With all episodes of It: Welcome to Derry now available to stream, this unexpected cameo has given fans a fresh perspective on the films. The show’s creators were keen to find ways to tie the series more closely to the original films, and this last-minute addition has done just that, offering a new understanding of Beverly’s trauma and the sinister presence lurking in Derry.

For those looking for more to watch, there’s a heap of new telly on the way in 2026, but this twist in Welcome to Derry is sure to keep punters talking for a while yet.