Welcome to Derry May Have Unraveled a Lingering It Mystery

Pennywise's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the exact individuals who keep the town's cycle of animosity alive. It preys most easily on kids from fractured homes — children who often grow up to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as a rare example of a family unit that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, notably the father, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in the third episode. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, coupled with his failure to experience terror, along with the foundation of his household, could be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the collective of kids at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. All his school friends come from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause Will is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately outsiders in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the folks who come from the area, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Drawing from the It novel, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will save him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the recent film, we observe that he has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a fire, with his father outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on substances, but given our current view of him in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Maybe the timid youth, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt town affected him initially, with the hate group ultimately completing the job it began long before. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the town, seeded by Pennywise, It eventually gets the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would clarify how Leroy transforms so radically from what we witness in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy seems bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. However, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his child. In the initial sequence of It, we observe the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. Leroy chastises 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 existence. You can be out here like us, or you can be in there,” he says as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and someone is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a bit of prediction, something he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he wishes he had done something in his youth, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of Derry.