HBO Max's "IT: Welcome to Derry" has captivated audiences with its first season, delving into the smaller moments of Stephen King's iconic novel to expand on the lore of Pennywise. Episode 7, titled "The Black Spot," serves as a pivotal penultimate installment, revealing shocking developments and a brutal tragedy that redefines the series' take on horror.

The episode begins with a flashback to Derry's carnival in 1908, introducing the human embodiment of Pennywise, Bob Gray, a balding, middle-aged clown performer. He performs with his young daughter, Ingrid, who adores her father. After his show, a mysterious boy approaches Gray, claiming to be lost. A scream in the woods follows, and the boy calmly states it's his mother. Gray, taking the boy's hand, ventures into the dark woods, only for Ingrid later to discover her father's blood-covered handkerchief, hinting at his monstrous transformation or demise.

Returning to 1962, the Black Spot club becomes the scene of horrific violence. A masked, racist mob, led by Chief Bowers, arrives, guns drawn, seeking Hank Grogan. A tense standoff ensues between the mob and the Black soldiers inside, before the attackers retreat, chaining the doors and unleashing Molotov cocktails and gunfire. The club erupts in flames, leading to a desperate struggle for survival. Dick Hallorann navigates the inferno, witnessing grotesque visions, including a soldier with his jaw ripped off. He attempts to create an escape route through the floor but is halted by the mystical vision of an Indigenous woman wearing a bear head.

Amidst the chaos, Pennywise emerges from the flames, offering a deceptive hand to a Black woman before savagely biting into her face. Ronnie witnesses this horror, screaming as she runs into Hallorann's arms, only to find Pennywise mocking them as more dead walk by. The Indigenous woman stands beside Hallorann, who pleads with her to show him where the children are.

Hallorann successfully guides Hank, Ronnie, and Will to a crawl space leading outside. However, a collapsing wall separates him from Rich and Marge. Alone, Rich finds a small fridge capable of holding only one person. In a profoundly heartbreaking moment, Rich forces a crying Marge inside, sealing his own fate. He sits on top of the fridge, reminiscing about knights protecting fair maidens, and they exchange declarations of love as the scene cuts away, their immediate fate unknown. This sacrifice, caused by human hatred and violence rather than Pennywise, underscores a deeper, more brutal kind of horror.

Meanwhile, outside the burning Black Spot, Stan Kersh's car fails to start. Ingrid, now fully made up as a clown, appears, followed by the killer clown Pennywise wielding a cleaver. Pennywise brutally cuts Stan's head in half and feeds on it. Ingrid, still believing this is her father, seeks his approval, and Pennywise commands her to bow before telling her he will go to sleep but will return. As she desperately clutches his arm, begging him not to abandon her, Pennywise turns, blood dripping from his mouth, confessing he ate her father, who now lives inside him. His jaw dislocates, revealing the horrifying dead lights, and Ingrid begins to float upwards, realizing the terrifying truth of her father's transformation.

After the fire subsides, a firefighter rescues Marge from the fridge. Her relief turns to despair as she discovers Rich's lifeless body, still guarding her. She weeps over him, joined by Ronnie and Will. Ingrid is found alive, though being wheeled away on a stretcher. Leroy and Charlotte Hanlon arrive, finding Will and a shaken Hallorann, who claims the entity is gone to sleep. Hallorann tells Colonel Fuller he can help them find one of the pillars by following the Indigenous woman only he can see.

The next day, a radio report falsely blames the Black Spot fire on an electrical issue and fakes Hank Grogan's death. Rose, surrounded by her tribe, declares the cycle complete, with "It" now sleeping, and emphasizes protecting the saved lives and keeping the entity caged. Charlotte tries to arrange Hank's escape to Canada. Will struggles with telling Lilly about Rich's death, a task taken up by Ronnie and Marge (now wearing an eyepatch), who then mourn at the standpipe, where Marge clutches one of Rich's toy planes.

General Shaw arrives at a new dig site with Hallorann, where they discover a massive double turtle shell containing a remnant of the star. Shaw orders its transport for analysis, dismissing Leroy Hanlon's concerns. Leroy suspects this is akin to leaving a cell door open. At the Derry Air Force base, the pillar is picked up by men in protective suits for incineration. Leroy draws a gun to stop them, but General Shaw intervenes, revealing his true motive: not to cage the entity, but to free it, believing fear will prevent civil war in a crumbling America. Despite Leroy's protest and a gun to his head, Shaw orders the pillar to be burned, dumping the star into molten lava-like flames. The episode concludes in the sewers, with Pennywise melting into the ground, seemingly asleep, but then opening his eyes. Will answers a call from Ronnie, whose voice eerily blends with Pennywise's as she speaks of smelling Rich. Will, declaring he's done being scared, turns to find himself staring into Pennywise's dead lights.

Rich's heroic sacrifice for Marge stands out as one of the most gut-wrenching deaths in the "IT" franchise, made even more poignant by being caused by human racism and hate, rather than Pennywise's direct actions. This devastating loss, contrasted with the initial romance between Rich and Marge, highlights the show's willingness to explore profound heartbreak alongside its signature gore, proving Stephen King's monster is still capable of delivering terrifying and emotionally resonant horror.