I've fallen in love with It: Welcome to Derry's new Losers, so it kind of sucks that season 2 will be set 15 years before they were born

There's just one episode left of It: Welcome to Derry, and I'm already mourning the spin-off's new Losers. Not because they're definitely doomed – though I wouldn't take bets on my chances against a murderous, clown-costumed cosmic entity – but because they presumably won't be in any follow-up chapters if HBO decides to renew the horror hit. [Spoilers for It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1-7 follow]

Even before the show premiered, director Andy Muschietti had shared his plans for future instalments. They would essentially go back in time, he revealed, with season 2 being set in 1935 and season 3 taking place in 1908. Using the interludes from Stephen King's original novel as springboards for the show, each installment would center on a tragic, violent event from Derry's past: 1962's The Black Spot fire first, which we saw play out in Derry's heartbreaking episode 7, then the Bradley Gang Massacre and, finally, the Kitchener Ironworks explosion. To begin with, I was hyped by this novel approach… but that was before I met Will Hanlon, Lilly Bainbridge, Ronnie Grogan, Marge Truman, and Rich Santos.

The length of the It book often gets mocked (and I won't pretend like I haven't suggested to friends that it could've probably lost 300 pages or so), but a big part of its charm is the sheer amount of time you spend just… hanging out with Bill, Beverly, Ben, Richie, Stan, and Mike. Sure, they're often in peril; outrunning local bully Henry Bowers or desperately trying to convince themselves that they're not seeing a werewolf in a varsity jacket chasing them down the street. But there are a huge number of moments where they're just playing around, listening to rock and roll on the radio as they build a dam in the Barrens or whizzing around on Bill's super-fast bike, Silver. It's a key component of the decades-spanning story – so it's a real shame to know we could never have indulged ourselves in the same way with the new Losers, despite the longform storytelling benefits of TV.

Short-lived shortstacks

Over the last 7 weeks, I've grown so fond of the fictional fledglings as they talk about stardust with wide-eyed wonder, flirt awkwardly with one another, and decide whether they're the sorts of people who would help someone in need (a lifeboat) or not (an anchor). Poor Lilly (Clara Stack) and Ronnie (Amanda Christine) have been put through the wringer, especially, having both been present for It's violent attack on Susie, Phil, and Teddy at the Capitol cinema in episode 1. The duo not only witnessed the bloody carnage, they've been forced to deal with its harrowing consequences; Lilly being sent back to Juniper Hill Asylum and Ronnie's father being framed for the kids' deaths. Elsewhere, Marge (Matilda Lawler) almost lost both eyes after It had her thinking they were growing out on stalks, and sweet Cuban-American angel Rich (Arian S. Cartaya) lost his life saving the former during The Black Spot fire.

Watching them endure so much, it was inevitable I'd feel such empathy for them. The show has clearly been designed that way, knowing all too well that viewers' time with them would be fleeting. Unlike the movie adaptations to which it's linked, It: Welcome to Derry boasts a big ensemble of characters, too, so scenes with immediate, maximum impact were essential to us bonding with the spin-off's pint-sized heroes. All credit must go to co-showrunners Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane – who wrote five of the eight episodes between them – for penning dialogue that conveys these kids' personalities and connections so quickly and clearly.

As much as I don't want to admit it, there is an upside to It: Welcome to Derry taking the more anthological route, though. As a big fan of The Walking Dead, I've always admired horror shows that aren't afraid to off a main character without any warning; the ones that understand that if the protagonists are consistently navigating life-threatening situations, they're not all going to make it out alive every time. Maybe the knowledge that we're never going to see these guys again after the end credits roll on episode 8 will inspire the Derry team to be more ruthless in the run-up to its curtain call.

High risk, high reward

We've already seen Rich die – not at the hands of Pennywise, but Chief Bowers and his racist cronies' – proving that all bets are off as we head into the finale. In the movies (and book), Bill and his pals all make it out of their first confrontation with It alive. Might the show rug-pull us one last time and kill all of their small-screen equivalents? I don't want it to happen, obviously, but it ups the stakes substantially knowing that it's not off the table. Stranger Things, take notes.

There are certain characters that could pop up in a yet-to-be confirmed second season, which softens the blow, I suppose. Kimberly Norris-Guerrero's Rose seems likely to return, given that she's lived on Derry's outskirts since she was a child – and the people of the Shokopiwah tribe have been dealing with It since the 1500s. If season 3 gets greenlit, we already know General Shaw will feature, too, thanks to episode 3's 1908-set prologue. We can count on him not being played by James Remar, though, given it'll be set 54 years prior.

Unless Muschietti, Kane, and Fuchs are planning on introducing some seriously mind-bending time travel shenanigans going forward, then I've only got one more hour with Lilly, Will, Ronnie, and Marge. Hanging out a little while longer? I wish I could.

It: Welcome to Derry is streaming now on HBO Max. New episodes air on HBO every in the US, before broadcasting on Mondays on Sky Atlantic/NOW in the UK. For more, check out our picks of the most exciting new TV shows heading our way or our deep-dive into this year's many Stephen King adaptations.