It: Welcome to Derry features Rich’s devastating death in episode 7, which highlights how the HBO show is nothing like Stranger Things.

Ricardo “Rich” Santos was easily one of the most adorable characters in It: Welcome to Derry, which made many viewers believe that the show would eventually kill him off. Audiences also gradually realized that Rich does not show up in any of the movies from the future timeline, which made his death even more likely. However, even though many foresaw his demise, it hits hard in It: Welcome to Derry‘s episode 7.

There is something heartbreakingly beautiful about how the show executes the young character’s demise by giving him a heroic ending instead of making him another Pennywise victim. At the same time, it also highlights that despite its shared themes with Stranger Things, It: Welcome to Derry is willing to do a lot of things differently.

Unlike Stranger Things’ Main Young Characters, The Ones In Welcome To Derry Get No Plot Armor

Stranger Things‘ main characters are still the ones that appeared in its pilot episode. Despite facing a potent threat, all of them have somehow managed to survive all these years. It: Welcome to Derry, in contrast, throws all caution into the wind and does not hold back from killing characters who initially seem to be its protagonists.

From its opening episode, It: Welcome to Derry establishes it is not trying to be the next Stranger Things or a typical horror show that tones things down to appeal to the masses. Instead, it focuses on highlighting the brutal town it unfolds in, where Pennywise dark influence spares no one. Rich’s death doubles down on this even though he does not directly become Pennywise’s victim.

Like Stranger Things, It: Welcome to Derry could have been another portrayal of how, no matter how powerful the overarching evil threat is, good shall always prevail. Through Rich’s sacrifice, though, it establishes that honor, too, can come with a cost. Rich’s sacrifice will likely become a trigger for the other kids to fight harder against Pennywise. His death, however, will also become another traumatic event that will further make them lose their innocence.

This proves Derry is no Hawkins. It is, as Stephen King described,

“…only marginally more charming than a dead hooker in a church pew.”

Welcome To Derry’s Brutality Makes Pennywise Seem Scarier & More Powerful Than Vecna

From an objective standpoint, Vecna would never stand a chance against a monster like Pennywise, given how Pennywise is not even human and can be compared with the likes of the Great Old Ones from Lovecraftian stories. The fact that Pennywise’s dark influence gradually consumes and possesses nearly everyone in Derry further nails this down, highlighting how it operates on a scale far beyond Vecna.

Even the lack of plot armor in It: Welcome to Derry makes one realize that, unlike Stranger Things‘ Vecna, Pennywise cannot be stopped so easily by humans. Telepathic characters, like Dick Hallorann, also do not stand a chance against the ancient being, and humanity’s best shot at surviving against it by imprisoning it. Even then, Pennywise manages to seep into the minds and the lives of those who live in Derry.