The Ending Of It: Chapter Two Explained

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How well does the sequel to 2017’s It adapt Stephen King’s classic novel while tying up all the loose ends from the first installment? Let’s roll up our sleeves, wade into the sewers and dig into the details of how the saga ends. This is the ending of It: Chapter Two explained.

And before you open the door labeled “very scary,” be warned: Spoilers await you.

Stephen King’s novel It isn’t just the story of a creepy clown terrorizing some kids and then returning to do it all over again when they’re adults. There’s a whole cosmology to the saga, which includes a giant, godlike turtle that coughed up the known universe when it had a tummy ache. Aside from a few subtle nods here and there, the movies mostly sidestep the ancient, interdimensional mythology of the book, but one element does show up in It: Chapter Two – the true form of It.

When he goes to visit the Shokopiwah tribe and takes one of their vision-granting concoctions, Mike learns that It came to Earth in a meteor strike that left a crater in Derry, and is made up of “Deadlights,” mostly orange but sometimes-blue spheres of light of immense power. Though the lights can be seen in brief moments in the first film, It appears entirely as deadlights as Chapter Two reaches its climax, and even after taking on other forms, the deadlights are still visibly powering the creature, becoming increasingly weaker as the Losers literally bring It down to size.

It’s true form is revealed because the Losers perform the Ritual of Chüd, a ceremony that differs pretty wildly in the movie from the way it works in the book. The movie’s take on the ritual involves each member of the club burning a “token” of his or her childhood and reciting a chant to make the Deadlights turn dark, then trapping the Deadlights inside a pyramid-shaped relic Mike stole.

The ritual is the key to defeating It in the book, though it takes two tries 27 years apart. But the Losers’ attempt essentially fails in the movie, at least at first. That’s because it’s revealed Mike lied to everyone in an attempt to simply bring them all back together. The ritual wasn’t successful before when the Native Americans tried to do it, and it doesn’t kill It when the Losers try it this time, either. At least, not until they’ve gone through the wringer just a little bit more so they can truly overcome the fears that feed It. Keep watching the video to see the ending of It: Chapter Two explained!

#ItChapterTwo #EndingExplained #It

Deadlights | 0:23
The Ritual of Chüd | 1:27
Childhood fears, adult anxieties | 2:21
The hypochondriac cuts loose | 3:24
Brotherly baggage | 4:17
Home at last | 5:06
The end of obsession | 6:09
Scars of the past | 7:20