Georgie’s first (and last) encounter with Pennywise the Dancing Clown is the most recognized scene in any iteration of the story. WOH’s version, in which “the joker” (Pennywise) appears in the families pool, ends up coming across much more menacing. In this version Rahul (Bill) dismisses Rohit (Georgie) in favor of working on writing. Rohit decides to play with the boat himself in the families pool; this is when Pennywise materializes, and after a brief conversation, pull’s Rohit under. This is all occurring while Rahul watches from the window. So in this version, our “Bill” actually sees this event occurring and isn’t able to stop it.

The design of WOH is also incredibly different from the 1990 or 2017 version; and regrettably the most conventional an uninspired design. While his facial makeup does change subtly depending on the situation, his overall appearance is comparatively lacking. As the series is more-so based on the second half of King’s novel we lose a great deal of the scariest moments seen in both other versions. There’s also a very strange diversion in terms of the clown’s origins and how it’s “defeated”–but then is reborn via the son of Rahul. Ultimately the true end of the series is very poorly executed, and this version of Pennywise is actually absolved of sin and allowed to leave the earth; no longer a violent spirit seeking revenge for… being short. A woman’s refusal of marriage (because he was too short) was the inciting incident that led to his initial suicide. A problem that was definitely not mirrored in the 2017 version, as Skarsgård is a human tree.

The true end of the series is very poorly executed…

All of that said, the adaptation wasn’t without its strength. The most successful aspect of this show was the opening credits sequence, which conveyed a deceptively darker tone more on message with the 2017 version. There weren’t enough instances of cultural variances to make this a dynamic experience. WOH ends up coming across as more of a poorly rendered Red Skeleton special that just won’t end. M.M. Faruqui’s performance as WOH is admirable at best, but lacks nuance, restraint, and any sense of the cosmic dread both other versions convey.

Regardless of which version is technically, commercially, or culturally “the best”–appreciating the narrative means accepting that the only true connection in all iterations is the cyclical threat that cannot be avoided by children or adults. The second part of Muschietti’s adaptation is scheduled for release in September of 2019. It allegedly will be the “darkest” chapter we’ve seen yet.