Welcome to Derry Could Have Unraveled a Lingering Pennywise Mystery
Pennywise's influence on the young residents of the Derry series molds them long into adulthood, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the community's pattern of animosity ongoing. It finds easy targets on kids from fractured households — children who frequently mature to replicate 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 electing to remain in Derry, persists as the only Loser who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.
Hanlon Household's Unique Resistance
In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan comprises a small number of adults who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Later, Leroy sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his inability to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his family, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?
The boy is a member of the collective of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The cause he is being haunted is due to the viciousness of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are fundamentally outsiders in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the family sensing something is off about the town from the onset. They also have a good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who originate in the town, with relationships that have decayed internally.
Backstory Connections
Drawing from the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a fire, with his father surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but now that we see Will in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy boy, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt town got to him first, with the KKK ultimately finishing the job it began long before. Be it via the fear of the entity or via the cruelty of the community, seeded by It, the creature eventually gets the final victory on Will.
The Father's Evolution
These occurrences would explain how Leroy changes so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy appears resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Because he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. However, his words carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at Leroy's farm. Leroy chastises him for hesitating and offers an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest situation.
“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be out here like we are, or you can be in there,” he states as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”
Looking back, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own child. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of the town.
