The Military and Operation Precept in WELCOME TO DERRY, Explained

Welcome to Derry’s second episode is full of more creepy nightmares and unsettling moments. Lilly and Ronnie are caught up in the crosshairs of the recent theater massacre, with both girls having to face some tough choices and truths. Meanwhile, we begin to get to know young Will Hanlon as he adjusts to life in Derry. As far as the adults go, things are heating up with Leroy Hanlon, a respected military leader who finds himself in an unexpected hunt for a weapon. And that weapon at the center of Welcome to Derry and the military’s Operation Precept just so happens to be IT.

For reasons that I cannot fathom because I am not arrogant enough to conjure it in my mind, Hanlon’s superior General Shaw is leading a secret mission to harness the weapon that resides in Derry. He begins to unravel that plan after Leroy quickly deduces that the attack in his room was suspicious. Shaw sits down with Hanlon, admitting that it was a test to see if the rumors about Hanlon’s brain injury in South Korea were true. Apparently, his injury turned him into a man who does not have fear, thanks to a damaged amygdala where our “flight or fight” cues come from. And, as we all know, fear is exactly what Pennywise uses to gain the upper hand against his victims. 

Shaw explains that there was a meeting by Cuban and Soviet officials to plant nuclear warheads in the US, which could annihilate every major city. He says this weapon in Derry is the only thing that could stop it. He lays out Operation Precept, a classified Department of Defense program with a mission to win the Cold War before missiles are fired. Shaw knows the weapon was buried in Derry long ago and that there are beacons that can lead to its location.

This is obviously where Dick Hallorann comes in with his shining ability to help locate these items. And, because Hanlon has the right clearance and no fear, he’s the guy to help apprehend it. Now, how he’s supposed to do that when he is the only person with no fear is beyond me. And, the idea that humans can and have the right to find and attempt to control something so powerful is laughable. Do they not realize that the evil entity always wins?!

We will see exactly how General Shaw’s plan unfolds and if he’s perhaps a villain in Welcome to Derry as well.