Who is Scotty Mills in IT: Welcome to Derry? Here’s all we know about the character so far

IT: Welcome to Derry dives deeper into Stephen King's world, zeroing in on that creepy little town at the heart of the IT story.

This time, we are going way back. The show works as a prequel, digging into where Pennywise came from and all the twisted things that happened in Derry before the Losers Club ever showed up.

One name keeps popping up: Scotty Mills. He is an almost ghost-like figure; people talk about him, but you never really see him. Still, somehow, he is everywhere. Fans and critics can't stop speculating about who he is and what he means for the story. Even though Scotty hasn’t stepped into the spotlight yet, his shadow hangs over everything, hinting at secrets buried deep in Derry’s past.

IT: Welcome to Derry kicked off on October 26, 2025, streaming on HBO and HBO Max. The show drops you right into 1960s Derry, Maine, a place loaded with secrets and some pretty creepy history.

So far, there are two episodes out: the first one, The Pilot, dropped on October 26, and the second, The Thing in the Dark, landed just in time for Halloween on October 31. The season has eight episodes altogether, with new ones coming out every Sunday, all the way through December 14. Episode three arrives on November 9.

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Who is Scotty Mills in IT: Welcome to Derry?

Scotty Mills isn’t really a main player in IT: Welcome to Derry; he pops up more as a way to flesh out Marge’s story, especially in the second episode. In IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 2, Marge wants in with the Pattycakes, the popular girls at Derry High. The group starts picking on Elaine about her crush on Scotty Mills. Elaine calls him “kind of a dreamboat,” but Patty jumps in and calls him “Scott the Snot.”

Marge spots her chance. She joins in, making fun of Scotty and even imitating his voice. The Pattycakes laugh, and just like that, Marge is in. You can tell she is terrified of being left out, desperate to be accepted by the cool girls, even if it means turning her back on Lilly, her real friend. Marge’s choice here says a lot: she will risk something real for a shot at popularity. It’s not her best moment, but it’s honest.

What is interesting is, Scotty himself never really shows up. He is more of a symbol than a person, just this regular kid everyone teases, sort of forgotten except when he is the butt of a joke. He ends up representing that mix of innocence and cruelty you find in small towns, especially in Derry.

The way the girls talk about him says a lot about the social pecking order at their school: the need to belong, how gossip can sting, and those little fears that Pennywise loves to mess with.

Later on, Marge tries to keep Lilly away from Ronnie, calling her a “psycho’s daughter.” That alone puts a real strain on their friendship. Lilly probably feels hurt or maybe even judged for sticking by Ronnie, and that kind of move can crack even the closest bond. Marge risks losing the trust and support of her friends, and things just get tense.

In a horror story like IT: Welcome to Derry, being cut off from your friends and feeling all that emotional turmoil is exactly what Pennywise feeds on. He is always looking for fear, loneliness, and insecurity. So, all this drama doesn’t just mess with Marge’s social life; it actually makes her more vulnerable to Pennywise.

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IT: Welcome to Derry: The storyline so far

The story of IT: Welcome to Derry kicks off in April 1962, right in Derry, Maine. Matty Clements, a kid with a knack for trouble, sneaks into the local theater. Later, he hitches a ride with a family that seems friendly enough at first. But things go south as he ends up trapped in their car. Then, out of nowhere, the pregnant mom gives birth to this grotesque, winged demon-baby. The creature attacks the family and Matty. In the panic, Matty’s pacifier drops and disappears down a sewer grate.

From there, we start meeting the rest of the cast. Major Leroy Hanlon, fresh out of the military, moves his family to Derry. His wife, Charlotte, immediately gets a bad feeling about the place.

At the high school, new students like Lilly Bainbridge show up. She is dealing with her dad's recent death, plus the usual under-the-radar bullying that comes with being the new kid.

Meanwhile, a group of kids: Phil, Susie, Teddy, and a few others, start poking around, trying to figure out what happened to Matty.

Everything comes to a head at the Capital Theater. The kids gather there, and that same winged creature shows up again. It is a bloodbath. Teddy, Phil, and Susie don’t make it out. Pennywise the Dancing Clown doesn’t make a full appearance here. Instead, we get glimpses of monsters and bizarre creatures.

IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 2 kicks off right after the theater massacre. Lilly Bainbridge jerks awake, haunted by the nightmare of what went down. Cops zero in on Hank Grogan, the theater’s projectionist and Ronnie’s dad, even though he has an alibi. Doesn’t matter; they are convinced he had something to do with the kids’ deaths.

Meanwhile, the Hanlon family is trying to make Derry feel like home, but you can feel the tension everywhere. Leroy deals with open racism on the air force base, and the whole town just feels uneasy.

The kids are still reeling. Lilly and Ronnie can’t shake off what happened. In the grocery store, Lilly gets hit with a creepy vision about her dad’s death. Ronnie’s not sleeping well either. She has this bizarre nightmare about her mom, and it’s tangled up with birth imagery that leaves her rattled.

There is a whole other side to the story, too. Dick Hallorann, a familiar face from the King universe, shows up. He has been pulled into this secret military operation called “Operation Precept.” Using his “shine,” he tries to track down something hidden under Derry.

By the end of the episode of IT: Welcome to Derry, the military crew uncovers an old car at the dig site. Inside? Skeletons. Looks like they are getting closer to blowing the lid off whatever is buried deep in Derry.

Back at school, the kids deal with bullies and shifting friendships. New faces, like Will Hanlon, start making their mark. The story has picked up speed, and Derry’s secrets aren’t staying buried much longer.

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Episode three of IT: Welcome to Derry drops Sunday, November 9, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO, so that is 6 p.m. if you are on the West Coast. This one is called Now You See It.

Stephen Rider’s character, Hank Grogan, is in deep this time. He is being set up for a string of murders, and there is talk he could end up in Shawshank, the same prison you have heard about before. Meanwhile, the kids, Lilly (Clara Stack), Ronnie (Amanda Christine), and Will (Blake Cameron James), aren’t just sitting around. They are working together to clear Hank’s name.

On another front, Chris Chalk’s Dick Hallorann gets pulled even deeper into a military mission. There is something secret and seriously strange going on under Derry, and he is right in the center of it.

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Also Read: It: Welcome to Derry Episode 2 cast and characters - Meet the actors and guest stars of ‘The Thing in the Dark’