Welcome to Derry May Have Solved a Longstanding It Mystery
The clown's influence on the children of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, twisting them into the very adults who keep the town's pattern of animosity ongoing. It preys most easily on kids from broken households — youngsters who often mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as a rare example of a family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in Derry, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.
Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience
In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows more aware of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, especially when the entity starts haunting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few grown-ups who are aware that something is amiss with the town, especially Leroy, who was revealed to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his failure to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his household, could be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few adults in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?
The boy is a member of the collective of kids at his school being tormented by Pennywise. His classmates come from broken homes, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The cause he is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who originate in the area, with relationships that have decayed internally.
Backstory Connections
Based on the It novel, we know the young Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will save him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the recent movie, we see that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with his father outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but now that we see him in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Maybe the shy youth, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt town affected him initially, with the hate group ultimately completing the task it started long before. Be it via the fear of Pennywise or via the malice of the town, instigated by Pennywise, the creature in the end achieves the final victory on Will.
The Father's Evolution
These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy appears bitter and much harsher with his parenting. Because he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. However, his statements carry more weight since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they had on his child. In the initial sequence of It, we see the boy pause to use a stunning device on a animal at Leroy's farm. Leroy chastises him for delaying and offers an metaphor that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.
“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be out here like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to decide for you. But you will be unaware it until you experience that bolt between your eyes.”
In hindsight, this could be a bit of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of the town.
