The Derry Chronicles Could Have Unraveled a Longstanding It Enigma

The clown's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's cycle of hatred alive. It finds easy targets on children from fractured households — children who often grow up to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon household stands apart as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the neighborhood, especially when the entity starts haunting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family comprises a small number of adults who are cognizant that things are not right with the municipality, notably the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Subsequently, he sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, coupled with his failure to feel fear, along with the base of his family, may be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike is one of the only individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the collective of children at his school being terrorized by the clown. His classmates come from broken homes, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The reason he is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the town from the onset. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the residents who come from the town, with bonds that have decayed within.

Historical Context

Based on the original book, we know the young Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will ignite. In the recent movie, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but now that we see Will in the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the shy boy, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to free himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten environment affected him first, with the hate group ultimately completing the task it began long before. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or via the malice of the community, seeded by It, the creature eventually achieves the final victory on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he seems bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. However, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the opening scene of the movie, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and provides an metaphor that results in a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be out here like we are, or you can be in there,” he says as he points to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own child. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of Derry.