Something happens to you when you leave this town.

Far the way, the hazier it all gets.

We made a nose.

If it ever comes back, we'll come back to you.

We can't let it happen again. Hello and welcome to another Slate Spoiler. we'll come back to you.

We can't let it happen again.

Hello and welcome to another Slate spoiler special.

Today we are going to discuss It Chapter 2, the sequel to It Now, It Chapter 1, directed by Andy Muschetti.

I'm joined today by Jack Hamilton, who is Slate's pop critic and an assistant

professor of American in Media Studies at the University of Virginia. Hello, Jack. Hey, Jeff. How's it

going? Thanks for having me. You're welcome. And I'm also joined by a former Slate staffer,

who I'm delighted to see in the studio today, Laura Bradley, who is now Hollywood writer at Vanity Fair. Hi, Laura. Hi, good to be back.

Although I'm leading us in today, I'm going to turn things over to you, Jack, because I already cannot

remember what happens in this three-hour movie. And Jack, as you all will learn, as our resident

it scholar, is quite familiar with both the book and now has seen the movie more recently than we have.

The first thing, though, what we should do before I turn it over is just we do the baseline thing.

We talk about what we thought of the movie. Why don't I start with you, Laura?

It was so long. That's that my primary, my primary thought, especially now having seen it a couple

weeks ago and also feeling

the plot points slowly dripping out of my brain is that I remember how long it was. And I remember

that the ending made me think that there's really very few ways to make that compelling on screen.

Yes, to turn it to myself, and we'll let Jack go last, because I feel like he's going

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