The Derry Chronicles Could Have Solved a Longstanding Pennywise Enigma

The clown's influence on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's pattern of animosity ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from broken households — youngsters who frequently mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, especially when It starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the municipality, notably the father, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Subsequently, Leroy spots one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his failure to feel fear, along with the foundation of his household, may be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining 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?

Will is a member of the group of children at his school being tormented by the clown. All his school friends come from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause he is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the residents who come from the town, with relationships that have decayed within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a fire that the town bigots of the community will cause. In the recent movie, we see that Will has a boy named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that Mike's 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, turned to alcohol to free himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten town got to him first, with the KKK eventually finishing the job it began years ago. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or via the cruelty of the town, instigated by It, It eventually achieves the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy transforms so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy appears bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Since he outlived his own son, it's understandable to see such a profound shift. However, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they had on his son. In the initial sequence of It, we see the boy pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. Leroy chastises him for delaying and offers an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be out here like us, or you can be in there,” he states as he points to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a bit of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of the town.