Today’s Wordle answer and hints for #1644 on December 19

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NME
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Wordle
Wordle. Credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Wordle may be several years old, but the wildly popular word game has managed to keep players hooked on their phone screens since 2021.

It’s for good reason that the game’s popularity hasn’t dwindled: it’s free to play and boasts a simple concept for a fun and engaging puzzle game that doesn’t take too much time. To play, you’re given six tries to work out each day’s answer, with each try providing another hint until you solve (or guess) your way into getting the right answer.

Even if you’ve been playing daily since launch, Wordle stumps the best of us every so often. Some answers are easier than others, and some might even be words you might not have ever heard of (cough, cough… WOOER).

But we’re here to assure you that there’s no shame in needing a little hint every now and then. Don’t worry, we’ll try to give you clues without giving away too much of the answer.

Here’s the Wordle answer for today:

Wordle hint and clues for today (#1644, December 19)

To start, yesterday’s Wordle answer (December 18) was RUGBY. Here are your clues for today’s Wordle answer

  1. This word is a noun
  2. It refers to a fragrant gum resin obtained from various Arabian and African trees and used in perfumery, medicines, and incense
  3. Begins with ‘M’
Wordle
Wordle. Credit: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Today’s Wordle answer (December 19)

Still stumped? We’ve got you covered! Today’s Wordle answer has no vowels and one repeating letter.

Here is the answer for today’s Wordle (puzzle 1644 on December 19): MYRRH

We’ll update this page each day to ensure it’s got the latest Wordle answer, but if you don’t want to make checking a habit, there are some handy tips to work out each day’s puzzle yourself. Try to open your guesses with a word that has plenty of vowels – as mathematician Jonathan Olson identifies, some great words to use first include ‘Salet’, ‘Rance’, ‘Alter’, and ‘Crate’.

Past Wordle answer archive

When guessing the Wordle answer for today, it can help to know what words have come before. Here’s some recent answers:

  • RUGBY
  • GRASS
  • SEGUE
  • DODGY
  • SWING
  • MISER
  • TRUCK
Wordle
Wordle. Credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Similar games to Wordle

If you find yourself struggling to land each answer every day, good news: there’s plenty of other similar games that can test your knowledge in other areas. The success of Wordle has meant that everyone has tried their hand at making similar games – even Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo chipped in to launch Weezle, which predictably tasks players with working out a lyric from the band’s songs each day.

If Weezer‘s not the band for you, there’s always Taylordle – which is the same game, except with Taylor Swift lyrics.

Beyond that, there’s also a battle royale, a dungeon crawler, and one that tests your knowledge of geography – so there’s plenty to choose from at the moment. There’s even a NSFW version for adults-only!

Wordle is available for free on PC and mobile.

‘Connections’ answers and hints for today, December 19

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NME
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NYT Connections answer and hints for today
Credit: FatCamera, Getty Images.

Out of the many daily puzzles available online, the New York Times’ Connections game is one of the trickiest. For those playing for the first time, the goal of Connections is to divide a block of 16 words into four common themes. Some of these – for example, grouping four types of fish – can be very straightforward, while others can be far more abstract. If you’ve found yourself stumped by the latter, we’ve put together Connections answers and hints for today (December 19) below.

If you already know how to play Connections, you can skip this paragraph to jump straight into today’s solution. But if this is your first time attempting the New York Times’ puzzle (or you just need a refresher), we suggest thinking outside of the box for your answers.

Some groups are deliberately deceptive – using a previous day’s puzzle as an example, you may think ‘Heart’, ‘Cell’, ‘Body’ and ‘Nucleus’ are all connected through biology. But you’d be wrong, as ‘Heart’ and ‘Nucleus’ were actually two of four “Nexus” words on the day we’ve used as an example. Think beyond what a word means literally, try to see subtle patterns, and your luck with Connections will improve drastically. That being said, some days are still fiendishly difficult – and if you’re still stuck, check below for the Connections answer for today.

Connections hints for December 19

If you’re still trying to solve December 19’s Connections yourself, here are all of the words in play today and some hints on what each group is.

  • COOK
  • DATA
  • WORF
  • LABOR
  • BIRTH
  • ENERGY
  • DELIVERY
  • PEER
  • INTELLIGENCE
  • EDUCATION
  • GO OUT
  • INFORMATION
  • DOC
  • DETAILS
  • COMMERCE
  • LEFTOVERS

With that in mind, here are four hints for December 19

  • Yellow: discoveries
  • Green: choices to make at dinner time
  • Blue: departments that make up the US government
  • Purple: words that sound like synonyms of marinas

Connections groups for December 19

If you’re still trying to piece everything together, here are all four of today’s groups.

  • Yellow: findings
  • Green: dinner options
  • Blue: U.S. cabinet departments
  • Purple: homophones of places to park a ship

Connections answers for December 19

Finally, here are the answers for Connections #922 on Friday, December 19.

  • Yellow: findings (data, details, information, intelligence)
  • Green: dinner options (cook, delivery, go out, leftovers)
  • Blue: U.S. cabinet departments (commerce, education, energy, labor)
  • Purple: homophones of places to park a ship (birth, doc, peer, worf)

You can check back for up-to-date hints and answers for each day’s Connections puzzle. If you get stuck elsewhere, we’ve also got answers for several other daily games – including Wordle, Framed, and Globle.

Globle answer today – here’s the answer and hints for December 19

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NME
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'Globle' game. Credit: Globle

Looking for a variant of the popular Wordle game? Here’s one for you that can be rather challenging: Globle. Like Wordle, players are tasked with guessing the game’s selected country for the day.

However, unlike Wordle, players have unlimited guesses for Globle so you won’t have to worry about losing unless you’re ready to concede defeat. Even for geography aficionados, guessing the Globle answer each day can be a real challenge. To help you out, we’ve included some hints in this page to help steer towards the right answer. If you’d rather just know the answer to keep your streak going, we have that too.

What’re you waiting for? Let’s get guessing!

How to play Globle

To play Globle, you’re first going to have to access the game’s website. To start playing, simply enter in the name of any country of your choice. You’ll then get a colour match for that country indicating how close to or far away you are from the answer.

The deeper the colour, the closer you are. After a couple of guesses you will slowly be able to narrow down the answer. A good tip is to pick larger countries that share borders with other countries. You can clear large sections of the map this way. Early on, you might also want to try varying your guesses between countries in different continents to narrow down your options.

Globle puzzle
Globle. Credit: The Abe Train

Globle hint for today (December 19)

To help get you closer to today’s Globle answer, we’ve included some hints below. We’ll start off fairly vague, before giving bigger clues.

  • The country is in the Middle East
  • The country begins with the letter ‘I’

Here’s the final hint for today’s answer. This one should really narrow things down for you.

  • The country’s capital is Baghdad

Globle answer for today (December 19)

This is your final chance to walk away before getting today’s Globle answer spoiled for you. If you’re sure you can’t guess today’s country, keep reading for today’s answer.

Today’s Globle answer is Iraq. This is the answer for December 19 with a new puzzle coming tomorrow. Stay tuned for more fun with geography!

Globle answer archive

We’ll be keeping some past Globle answers in the archive list below. Check them out to narrow down your guesses.

  • Grenada
  • Côte d’Ivoire
  • Palau
  • Guatemala
  • Turkey
  • Denmark
  • Togo

Framed answer today – here’s the solution for December 19

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NME
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friends sharing popcorn at the movies
Gettys. Credit Klaus Vedfelt

The last couple of years have seen a huge rise in browser-based puzzle games, tasking players with working out a certain kind of answer using limited guesses. Framed is one of the newest, following in the footsteps of Wordle, but offering a slightly different twist. You’ll still need to work out the answer using limited information and only six tries, but it’ll be movies that you’ll be guessing.

You see, Framed focuses on individual frames, or stills, of an ever-changing roster of movies. Some show a fair amount of action at the start, while others will take careful analysis and decent trivia knowledge to crack. With each wrong guess, a new still is revealed, hopefully adding enough extra information and context for you to guess the correct movie title.

With only six guesses at your disposal, you may need a little help guessing today’s Framed answer. To give you a hint, we’ve included some clues that will tease the title of the movie picked as today’s puzzle. If you’ve already failed today’s puzzle, or would just like to know the answer, we’ve detailed that as well.

How to play Framed

To play Framed you just need to follow these steps, in your browser of choice. Note that any Framed versions you find elsewhere on app stores or other storefronts are likely to be fakes.

  • Go into your browser and visit framed.wtf
  • Take a look at the still for today
  • Make a guess, if it’s correct, you will see the rewards screen
  • If incorrect, you have five more chances, each showing a new still.

Framed hint for today

Today’s puzzle is an American science fiction film.

  • Released in 2002
  • Directed by Stuart Baird
  • Stars Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis, Tom Hardy

Framed answer for today (December 19)

The answer for Framed today is Star Trek: Nemesis. This is the answer for December 19 with a brand new puzzle tomorrow. Check back in if you need any help!

Previous Framed answers

Sometimes, when trying to solve the Framed puzzle of the day, it can be extremely advantageous to know previous answers. Here are the answers from the last few days.

  • The Drop
  • Last Man Standing
  • Boomerang
  • Brewster’s Millions
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
  • Unforgiven
  • Incendies

That’s all you need to know about Framed, and the answer for today. For more puzzle-game goodness, check out our hints for today’s Connections.

Does ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’ have a post-credits scene?

By
Adam Starkey
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'Avatar: Fire And Ash'.
'Avatar: Fire And Ash'. CREDIT: 20th Century Studios/Disney

Jake Sully and Neytiri are wrestling with grief in the sequel to 2022’s Avatar: The Way Of Water.

Directed by James Cameron, the third film in the series, Avatar: Fire And Ash, follows the married couple’s struggles after the death of their son, as a new Na’Vi tribe, the Mangkwan clan, threatens to escalate the conflict in Pandora.

Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña reprise their roles as Jake and Neytiri respectively, alongside Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, Edie Falco and Jemaine Clement.

Avatar: Fire And Ash was released in cinemas worldwide on December 19, 2025.

Is there a post-credits scene in Avatar: Fire And Ash?

'Avatar: Fire And Ash'.
‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’. CREDIT: 20th Century Studios/Disney

Like the previous films, there is no post-credits scene in Avatar: Fire And Ash. As such, once the credits hit, you’re free to escape.

Is Avatar 4 happening?

While there are plans for a fourth and fifth film, slated for 2029 and 2031 respectively, director James Cameron has said they won’t happen if Avatar: Fire And Ash doesn’t make enough profit at the box office.

Asked on the The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast about the budget for Avatar: Fire And Ash, Cameron said: “It is one metric fuck ton of money, which means we have ot make two metric fuck tons of money to make a profit. I have no doubt in my mind that this movie will make money. The question is, does it make enough money to justify doing it again?”

Avatar’s future might be unclear at this stage, but Cameron has said he’s ready to walk away from the franchise if the latest film doesn’t set the world alight.

“I’ve been in Avatar land for 20 years,” he added. “Actually 30 years because I wrote it in ‘95, but I wasn’t working continuously on it for those first 10 years. Yeah, absolutely, sure. If this is where it ends, cool.”

Olivia Dean shares how struggling single mother inspired her to hit out at Ticketmaster and AEG’s “vile” re-sale practices

By
Emma Wilkes
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Olivia Dean. CREDIT: Gwen Trannoy

Olivia Dean has shared the story of how encountering the story of a single mother who couldn’t afford a ticket to her show inspired her to call out Ticketmaster and AEG’s “vile” re-sale practices.

After tickets for Dean’s 2026 US tour went on sale and quickly started to appear on re-sale sites at inflated prices, the ‘Dive’ singer called out Ticketmaster, Live Nation and AEG and said that they were “providing a disgusting service”.

“The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes,” she added. “Live music should be affordable and accessible, and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER.”

She also apologised to fans for the high prices on resale sites and said that she found it “extremely frustrating” that people were being “scammed or overcharged for our show”.

When speaking at a Soho Sessions and Grammy Museum event on Monday (December 15), Dean explained what drove her to speak up, and it was the words of just one fan on a low income.

Olivia Dean. Credit - PRESS
Olivia Dean. Credit: PRESS

“When the tickets went on sale, I was looking at some stuff I was tagged in,” she recalled. “I saw a video of a single mother, and she was like, ‘I connected so much to this album [‘The Art of Loving’]. I can’t afford a ticket. I can afford the gas money and the babysitter, but can you just give me a ticket?’” Dean continued. “And I was like, you are exactly the person that should be coming to the show.”

“It was unfair the way that the operation was running, and I just thought, ‘Let me have a go and see what I can do.’ And we did something, and Ticketmaster are gonna refund everybody their money that they paid, which is like $2 million or something.”

In response to Dean’s criticisms, Ticketmaster put a cap on the price of Dean’s resale tickets and offered to refund fans for any markup they already paid to resellers on Ticketmaster”.

“We share Olivia Dean’s desire to keep live music accessible and ensure fans have the best access to affordable tickets,” it said. “While we can’t require other marketplaces to honour artists’ resale preferences, we echo Olivia’s call to ‘do better’ and have taken steps to lead by example. We hope efforts like this help fans afford another show they’ve been considering – or discover someone new.”

The tour dates are in celebration of Dean’s second album, ‘The Art of Loving‘ – which has seen her become the first female solo artist to have four singles in the Official Charts UK Top 10 simultaneously.

The comments from Dean calling out Ticketmaster came just days after the UK government announced that it would be introducing new regulations, making it illegal to re-sell tickets for live music, sports, comedy and theatre events above original cost.

The move will make re-sold gig tickets roughly £37 cheaper on average, and save fans approximately £112million per year.

SHINee’s Key breaks silence over illegal medical treatment controversy

By
Emma Wilkes
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Key
Key. Credit: Han Myung Gu/Getty

SHINee‘s Key has addressed the controversy surrounding him receiving alleged illegal medical procedures from a woman known as the ‘injection aunt’.

The controversy arose after the woman, referred to only as Ms Lee, had posted a photo of a dog believed to be his and text exchanges with him on her Instagram account.

It later transpired that Key had met Lee through an acquaintance and hadn’t realised that she wasn’t a licensed medical practitioner. She had been treating him in a hospital in Gangnam and later at his home.

Key’s agency SM Entertainment released a statement addressing the matter yesterday (December 17), confirming that Key had withdrawn from all scheduled commitments.

“Hello, this is SM Entertainment. We would like to address matters regarding our artist Key,” it began.

“First, we sincerely apologise for the delay in issuing a statement as we needed to communicate with various parties involved in his world tour schedule and activities.

“On an acquaintance’s recommendation, Key visited a hospital located in Gangnam where Ms. Lee works and was first introduced to her as a doctor.

“Key continued to receive treatment at that hospital, and on several recent occasions when visiting the hospital was difficult, he received medical care at home. Believing Ms. Lee to be a physician—and with Ms. Lee offering no indication to the contrary—Key did not realize that receiving care at home could be problematic.”

They continued: “Amid the recent controversy over Ms. Lee’s medical license, Key became aware for the first time that Ms. Lee is not a licensed physician. He himself is extremely confused and is deeply reflecting on his own lack of awareness.

“Recognizing the gravity of this matter, Key has decided to withdraw from his currently scheduled activities and step down from the programs in which he is appearing.

“Once again, we sincerely apologize for causing concern to everyone including the fans.”

Key addressed the situation with a statement of his own. “I sincerely apologize for causing many people concern with the various issues related to me recently,” he wrote.

“I, too, was confused and flustered by the newly revealed facts, and I apologize for not being able to quickly organize my thoughts and clarify what I will do moving forward sooner.

“I had always prided myself on being able to distance myself from such issues, but I feel incredibly sorry and ashamed toward the many people who trusted and supported me as I believe that thought is what prevented me from looking around my surroundings more wisely.

“I will diligently do everything I can regarding this matter. I will once again take time to reflect on myself and my surroundings.

“Once again, I am truly sorry.”

Key has just finished a string of dates in the US off the back of his recent album ‘Hunter’. It earned a glowing five-star review from NME, with Carmen Chin writing: “The only gripe to be had with ‘Hunter’ is its brief runtime, with its longest song clocking in a little over the three-minute mark. But that speaks less to this particular album than it does to a broader industry trend that favours TikTok-friendly brevity. Instead, what stands out is an incredibly taut and cohesive artistic vision – both musically and visually – as one of the most exciting releases out of Korea this year. Key may have unparalleled experience as an idol, but on ‘Hunter’ he makes a strong argument for his case as the next pop disruptor.”

Ofcom names most complained about TV show of 2025

By
Emma Wilkes
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TV remote
TV remote. Credit: Marcus Brandt/Getty

Love Island has topped Ofcom’s annual list of the most complained about moments on TV in 2025.

The broadcasting regulator received 14,121 complaints in 2025 relating to the ITV dating show, totaling 30 per cent of the total 49,580 complaints it handled in the last 12 months. This was a drop on the level of complaints it received in 2024.

The most complained about moment of 2025 related to the alleged bullying of contestant Shakira Khan in an episode on July 24, which raised 3,547 complaints in total. The same issue prompted complaints over the episode of July 22, some of which were also about Megan Forte Clarke returning to the villa. Those issues also led to a large number of complaints over the episodes that aired on July 23 and 25.

Also featuring in the top 10 most complained about moments were Vanessa, amassing 1,866 complaints over a discussion of breastfeeding and its benefits which some found misleading. There were 1,391 complaints on the GB News show Headliners over a comment complainants believed linked the LGBTQ+ community to paedophiles, which was later found to have broken Ofcom’s broadcasting rules.

Celebrity Big Brother received 1,008 complaints over homophobic comments made by Mickey Rourke towards JoJo Siwa on the April 9 episode, for which he was given a formal warning and later ejected. Meanwhile, there were 938 complaints made over the BRIT Awards for Sabrina Carpenter‘s opening routine, which took place before the 9pm watershed, and Charli XCX‘s outfit.

Ofcom’s most complained about TV moments in 2025 are:

  1. Love Island, ITV2, July 24 – 3,547 complaints over alleged bullying of Shakira Khan
  2. Love Island, ITV2, July 22 – 2,509 complaints over alleged bullying of Shakira Khan and return of Megan Forte Clarke 
  3. Love Island, ITV2, July 23 – 2,003 complaints over alleged bullying of Shakira Khan and return of Megan Forte Clarke
  4. Vanessa, 5, June 10 – 1,866 complaints over potentially misleading discussion of the benefits of breastfeeding
  5. Headliners, GB News, January 22 – 1,391 complaints over presenter’s comment potentially linking the LGBTQ+ community to paedophiles
  6. Today with Samantha Washington, Sky News, June 7 – 1,302 over alleged misrepresentation of the Madleen, a vessel trying to peacefully deliver aid to Gaza
  7. Love Island, ITV2, July 25 – 1,296 complaints over alleged bullying of Shakira Khan and the way Blu Chegini spoke to Toni Laites
  8. Love IslandL All Stars, ITV2, February 12 – 1,240 complaints over alleged bullying
  9. Celebrity Big Brother, ITV2, April 9 – 1,008 complaints over Mickey Rourke’s homophobic comments towards JoJo Siwa
  10. The Brit Awards, ITV1, March 1 – 938 complaints over Sabrina Carpenter’s performance and Charli xcx’s outfit

Last year’s most complained about episode on TV was Julia Hartley-Brewer on TalkTV, which amassed 17,366 complaints over comments the host made during an interview with Dr Mustafa Barghouti, the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative.

In 2023, it was Dan Wootton Tonight on GB News, in relation to misogynistic comments made by Laurence Fox about journalist Ava Evans. The incident brought 8,867 complaints to Ofcom.

Children hurt in Ariana Grande Manchester arena bomb attack to get £20million in payouts

By
Emma Wilkes
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Young people at a Manchester attack memorial
Young people at a Manchester attack memorial. Credit: Peter Byrne/Getty

Almost £20million will be paid to some of those who suffered injuries during the Manchester Arena bomb attack, a judge has ruled.

In total, 16 people who were all aged under 16 at the time of the attack on an Ariana Grande concert will receive sums of between £2,770 to £11.4m, which was agreed at a Manchester Civil Courts of Justice hearing.

The attack occurred on May 22, 2017, in which a suicide bomber detonated an improvised device in the foyer of the AO Arena as fans were leaving Grande’s concert. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed 22 people and injured hundreds more.

None of the 16 people or their families can be identified due to a court order. Some of them suffered “catastrophic” and life-changing injuries, while others experienced severe psychological trauma.

A public inquiry into the bombing started in September 2020 and found that opportunities to prevent the attack had been missed, as well as “serious shortcomings” in security. The family of Martyn Hett, one of the victims, went on to say that they had felt “badly failed” by the MI5.

The damages will be paid by venue manager SMG Europe Holdings, crowd management company Showsec International Ltd, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and British Transport Police (BTP). According to the claimants’ layers, all four organisations have apologised to the bereaved families and to the survivors and have acknowledged their failures.

Following the hearing, claims by another 352 people will be agreed between lawyers for the defendants and the claimants. They are all adults deemed to have capacity, including the families of the 22 people who lost their lives. No details of any public money to be paid out by the BTP and GMP will be made public as the agreements have been made out-of-court.

“Each of these cases has a common link, that is injuries and loss suffered, arising out of a single and unimaginable act of terrorism committed on the evening of May 22 2017 at the end of a concert attended by very many young people and their families,” said Judge Nigel Bird, who presided over the case.

“Twenty-two innocent lives were lost and and the lives of countless others impacted. The love and care a parent gives to an injured child is beyond monetary value.”

He went on to pay tribute to the “courage, dedication and fortitude” of the families involved in each case. “Each, through their quiet determination, has brought about promises of change in the hope that in the future, other families need not go through what they have been through.”

The three lead firms representing the claimants – Hudgell Solicitors, Slater & Gordon and Broudie Jackson Canter – issued a statement in response to the verdict. “This is not a day of celebration. It is a moment to acknowledge the mistakes that were made and the unimaginable suffering our clients have endured over the past eight-and-a-half years.

“Their strength and resilience have been extraordinary, and without that, we would not have reached this settlement.

“We now expect all parties to honour their commitment to do what they can to prevent those same mistakes from happening again.

“It has been a privilege to work on behalf of our courageous clients. We wish them only peace and strength as they look to the future.”

Earlier this year, ‘Martyn’s Law’, named after Hett, came into force, implementing more anti-terror measures to protect fans at live music events. It requires staff at entertainment venues to have more training and better safeguarding against terrorists and potential terror attacks.

‘It: Welcome To Derry’ ending explained: is Pennywise a time travelling clown?

By
Adam Starkey
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Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in 'It: Welcome To Derry'
Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in 'It: Welcome To Derry' CREDIT: Sky/HBO

It: Welcome To Derry dives into the origins behind Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

Created by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, the prequel series takes place in 1962, 27 years prior to events in 2017 film It, as the residents of Derry are once again haunted by the cosmic creature.

Like other screen adaptations, the series is based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel. Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo and Clara Stack lead the show’s cast, alongside James Remar, Stephen Rider, Matilda Lawler, Amanda Christine, Blake Cameron James and Bill Skarsgård.

All eight episodes of It: Welcome To Derry are available to stream on NOW in the UK.

What happens at the end of It: Welcome To Derry?

The kids take on Pennywise in 'It: Welcome To Derry'
The kids take on Pennywise in ‘It: Welcome To Derry’ CREDIT: Sky/HBO

Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack), Will Hanlon (Blake Cameron James), Marge Truman (Matilda Lawler), and Ronnie Grogan (Amanda Christine) all manage to stop Pennywise the Clown, a shapeshifting evil entity, from breaking beyond the confines of Derry.

They do this by burying a magical dagger (made from the remnants of a fallen star that imprisoned the entity centuries prior) under a tree which reactivates the ancient cage preventing the evil from spreading to the rest of the world. They don’t do this alone, however, as the ghost of Rich Santos (Arian S. Cartaya) helps plunge the dagger into place.

Pennywise is once again imprisoned, but as anyone familiar with It knows, the evil reawakens in 27 years time. The final scene of It: Welcome To Derry connects to the 2017 film adaptation, as Ingrid Kersh – the daughter of the original Pennywise performer Bob Gray – witnesses the death of Beverly Marsh’s mum in the mental asylum 26 years later.

In the scene, Sophia Lillis reprises her role as Beverly from 2017’s It. As Beverly and her father mourn the loss of her mother, an older Ingrid tells Beverly not to worry, as in Derry “no one ever really dies”.

What do we learn about Pennywise in the finale?

Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in 'It: Welcome To Derry'
Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in ‘It: Welcome To Derry’. CREDIT: HBO/Sky

When Pennywise attacks Marge, who is revealed to be the mother of Richie (Finn Wolfhard) from the 2017 film, the clown explains how his perception of time is nonlinear. In other words, he can see the future and the past – but it’s unclear if he can travel through time in the conventional sense. “Tomorrow, yesterday, it’s all the same for little Pennywise,” he cackles.

While it’s unclear how this works exactly, Pennywise in It: Welcome To Derry is aware of his death in It: Chapter Two. This is why he wants to kill Marge and her friends, to stop her from giving birth to Richie who, along with the Losers Club, help cause his demise 27 years later. It inevitably opens up a can of time paradox plot holes though, but maybe that will be explained further in the planned second season.

How does It: Welcome To Derry connect to The Shining?

The show connects to Stephen King’s other classic novel through the presence of Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk), an airman who eventually becomes the head chef at the Overlook Hotel in the 1977 book. In It: Welcome To Derry’s final episode, Hallorann uses his telepathic abilities to stall Pennywise, allowing Marge and the other kids to imprison the clown back in his cage.

After Pennywise is sealed away, Hallorann states he’s leaving Derry behind to work in a hotel kitchen in London. “How much trouble can a hotel be?” he remarks, which is a clear nod to The Shining, even if the hotel where he eventually meets the Torrance family is in Colorado.

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