It: Welcome to Derry Star Unimpressed by Charlotte’s Finale Choice
Taylour Paige, who plays Charlotte Hanlon in It: Welcome to Derry, has voiced her doubts about her character’s decision in the season one finale, questioning its believability despite the historical setting.
After Pennywise is sent packing for another 27 years, Rose, the Grogans, and Dick Hallorann all decide it’s time to get out of Derry. The Hanlon family, though, make the call to stay put and take over the farm, even though Leroy had been dead set against it earlier. Charlotte, with a grin, tells her husband, “Maybe the next damn fool mission needs to be together,” hinting that they’ll be the town’s new guardians.
Paige Questions Charlotte’s Decision
Taylour Paige, who brings Charlotte to life, found it tough to accept that her character would stick around after everything that’s happened. In a recent chat, she didn’t hold back:
“I’m not happy with the way this was written, if I’m being honest. I’m like, ‘There’s no f*cking way.’ I mean, I guess the lore is that you forget when you’re in Derry, but I don’t buy it.”
Paige admitted she wanted a different outcome for Charlotte, Leroy, and their son Will. She gets that, for the time period, a woman going back to her homemaker role makes sense, but it still didn’t sit right with her.
Period Context and Character Limits
Paige reckons it would’ve been a bit much for Charlotte to just up and leave, especially in 1962.
“I think it would have been maybe too radical for Charlotte to leave. And also too radical for women of 1962 to be like, ‘I’m out.’ That was very rare. It just didn’t really happen then, right? Most people stayed in loveless marriages. Most women, I think, had to deny themselves to keep the family together.”
While she wasn’t thrilled with how things wrapped up for Charlotte, Paige did enjoy the scenes between Charlotte and her son, as well as the subplot with Hank Grogan, who Charlotte helped after he was wrongly blamed for the cinema murders.
Exploring Charlotte’s Inner World
Paige, now a mum herself, said those mother-son moments gave her a new perspective.
“I think, being a mother – at least I can speak to it now after, I wasn’t a mother when I was shooting -- but I think becoming a mother gives you these superpowers, and this super kind of compassion. That was a nice way to kind of get a little bit of more of Charlotte’s inner world and the way that she thinks, and what she believes in, kind of gives you a little bit more colour than just like, she’s at home cooking, stewing.”
She felt these scenes added depth to Charlotte, showing there was more to her than just the domestic routine.
Looking Ahead
With the next season set to jump back 27 years, it’s unlikely Charlotte will return. For now, punters can catch It: Welcome to Derry on HBO Max, and there’s plenty more Stephen King adaptations on the way for those keen for a scare.