The Derry Chronicles Could Have Unraveled a Longstanding Pennywise 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 keep the town's pattern of animosity ongoing. The creature preys most easily on kids from fractured homes — children who often mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, persists as the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of grown-ups who are aware that things are not right with the town, notably Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Later, he spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few adults in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the group of children at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. His classmates hail from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The reason Will is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately outsiders in the town during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. They also have a good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who come from the town, with relationships that have deteriorated within.

Historical Context

Based on the original book, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 film, we see that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with his father surviving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid boy, once he grew up, leaned into drink to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten town affected him first, with the KKK ultimately completing the task it began long before. Whether through the terror of the entity or via the cruelty of the community, instigated by Pennywise, It in the end gets the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy seems resentful and much harsher with his discipline. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe the boy hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. Leroy chastises him for delaying and provides an analogy that results in a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like us, or you can be in there,” he says as he gestures to the creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and someone is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Perhaps he wishes he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent allure of the town.