It: Welcome to Derry Star Questions Charlotte’s Finale Choice
Taylour Paige, who plays Charlotte Hanlon in It: Welcome to Derry, voices her doubts about her character’s decision in the season one finale, sparking debate over its authenticity.
As the dust settles in Derry following Pennywise’s return to slumber, several characters make their exit from the troubled town. Rose, the Grogan family, and Dick Hallorann all decide to move on, leaving their haunted pasts behind. In contrast, the Hanlons opt to remain, taking over the farm previously owned by another family. Despite Leroy’s earlier reluctance, Charlotte offers a hopeful outlook, telling her husband with a smile,
‘Maybe the next damn fool mission needs to be together.’
The implication is clear: the Hanlons are set to become Derry’s new guardians.
For Taylour Paige, who portrays Charlotte, this resolution felt somewhat implausible. In a recent interview, she admitted,
‘I’m not happy with the way this was written, if I’m being honest. 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 expressed a desire for a different outcome for Charlotte, Leroy, and their son Will, even though she acknowledged the historical context that might have influenced such a decision.
Period Expectations and Character Motivation
Paige reflected on the social norms of the early 1960s, noting that it would have been highly unusual for a woman to leave her family at that time.
‘I think it would have been maybe too radical for Charlotte to leave,’
she observed.
‘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 writers’ intentions, Paige still found it difficult to reconcile Charlotte’s choice with the character’s journey throughout the series.
Despite her reservations about the finale, Paige found satisfaction in other aspects of Charlotte’s story. She particularly enjoyed the scenes between Charlotte and her son, as well as the subplot involving Hank Grogan, whom Charlotte supported after he was falsely accused of the cinema murders.
Exploring Charlotte’s Inner World
Paige spoke about how motherhood influenced her portrayal, even though she was not a mother herself during filming.
‘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,’
she explained. These moments allowed viewers a glimpse into Charlotte’s deeper motivations and beliefs, offering more nuance than the traditional image of a housewife.
With the possibility of a second series set decades earlier, Charlotte’s future on screen remains uncertain. For now, audiences can revisit her journey as It: Welcome to Derry continues to stream, while speculation about the next chapter in Derry’s dark history grows.