Welcome to Derry Could Have Solved a Longstanding It Enigma
Pennywise's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who keep the community's pattern of animosity alive. The creature preys most easily on children from broken homes — children who frequently grow up to repeat the same patterns as their parents. However, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a households that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in the town, persists as the only Loser who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.
The Hanlon Family's Unique Resilience
In episode 4 of the series, Leroy at last grows more aware of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, notably the father, who was revealed to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his inability to experience terror, along with the base of his family, may be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few adults in the town who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?
The boy is a member of the group of children at his school being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends come from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The reason he is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the family feeling something is off about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who originate in the area, with relationships that have decayed internally.
Backstory Connections
Drawing from the original book, we know the young Will will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 movie, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on substances, but now that we see him in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the shy boy, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to free himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt environment affected him initially, with the hate group ultimately finishing the job it started long before. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the community, instigated by Pennywise, the creature in the end achieves the last laugh on Will.
The Father's Evolution
This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his later years, Leroy appears bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Because he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance now that we know he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they wrought upon his son. In the opening scene of It, we see the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and offers an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.
“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be in the open like us, or you can be trapped inside,” he says as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”
In hindsight, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the sickening attraction of the town.
