It: Welcome to Derry Star Questions Charlotte’s Season Finale Choice
After the It: Welcome to Derry season 1 finale, Taylour Paige voices her doubts about Charlotte Hanlon’s unexpected decision, challenging its realism despite the historical context.
As the dust settles in Derry, Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise is forced into another 27-year slumber, and the town’s survivors are left to pick up the pieces. Rose, the Grogan family, and Dick Hallorann all decide it ’s time to move on and leave Derry behind. But the Hanlons make a different call. Despite Leroy’s earlier reluctance, he and Charlotte choose to stay and take over the farm, hinting that they’ll become the town’s new guardians. Charlotte, smiling at her husband, says, “Maybe the next damn fool mission needs to be together.”
Paige Pushes Back on Charlotte’s Ending
For Taylour Paige, who plays Charlotte Hanlon, this decision didn’t sit right. In a recent interview, she didn’t hold back her feelings about the finale.
“I’m not happy with the way this was written, if I’m being honest,”
she admitted.
“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 felt the choice for Charlotte, Leroy, and their son Will to stay behind was hard to believe, even if it fit the era’s expectations.
Historical Context and Character Motivation
Paige acknowledged that, for a woman in 1962, leaving everything behind would have been a radical move.
“I think it would have been maybe too radical for Charlotte to leave,”
she reflected.
“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 understood the historical context, Paige still wished for a different outcome for her character and her family.
Finding Meaning in Charlotte’s Relationships
Although Paige wasn’t thrilled with how Charlotte’s story wrapped up—especially since a potential second season would jump back 27 years, making her return unlikely—she did find value in Charlotte’s moments with her son and her interactions with Hank Grogan. She enjoyed exploring Charlotte’s compassion and strength, especially as a mother.
“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,”
Paige explained. She appreciated the chance to show more of Charlotte’s inner life, beyond her role at home.
It: Welcome to Derry is currently streaming on HBO Max, joining a wave of new TV shows and fresh Stephen King adaptations this year.