Welcome to Derry May Have Unraveled a Lingering Pennywise Enigma
The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's pattern of hatred alive. It finds easy targets on children from fractured homes — youngsters who frequently grow up to repeat the identical behaviors as their guardians. But, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as one of the few households that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike, even after electing to remain in Derry, remains the only Loser who never fully falls under the clown's influence.
Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience
In episode 4 of the series, Leroy at last grows more aware of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, particularly when It begins tormenting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few adults who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, notably the father, who was shown to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his failure to experience terror, along with the foundation of his household, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and a key factor Mike is one of the only adults in Derry who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?
The boy is part of the group of children at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The cause he is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the town from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the residents who come from the town, with relationships that have decayed within.
Backstory Connections
Drawing from the original book, we know the young Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will cause. In the recent film, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with his father outliving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the film is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid boy, once he grew up, turned to drink to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten environment affected him first, with the KKK ultimately finishing the task it began long before. Be it via the fear of Pennywise or through the malice of the community, seeded by It, It in the end achieves the final victory on him.
The Father's Evolution
This chain of events would explain how Leroy changes so drastically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy appears bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of It, we see the boy hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and provides an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.
“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”
In hindsight, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the sickening attraction of Derry.
