Welcome to Derry Could Have Unraveled a Longstanding Pennywise Mystery
The clown's influence on the children of the Derry series shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's cycle of animosity alive. It finds easy targets on children from fractured households — children who frequently grow up to replicate the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as a rare example of a households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in the town, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.
Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience
In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities surrounding the neighborhood, especially when It starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, especially the father, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he spots one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. The ability, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the base of his family, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?
The boy is a member of the group of kids at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. All his school friends hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The reason Will is being pursued is because of the viciousness of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally outsiders in the town during 1962, which contributes towards the family sensing something is off about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the folks who come from the town, with relationships that have decayed internally.
Backstory Connections
Drawing from the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the 2017 film, we see that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the timid boy, once he became an adult, turned to drink to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt environment got to him first, with the hate group ultimately completing the job it started long before. Whether through the terror of the entity or via the malice of the town, seeded by It, the creature eventually achieves the last laugh on him.
Leroy's Transformation
These occurrences would clarify how the elder Hanlon transforms so drastically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy seems resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Because he survived his own son, it's understandable to see such a profound shift. However, his words carry more weight now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his son. In the opening scene of It, we observe Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and offers an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.
“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” he says as he points to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you feel that bolt in your head.”
Looking back, this could be a bit of prediction, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Maybe he desires he had done something in his past, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the sickening attraction of the town.
