Welcome to Derry Could Have Solved a Lingering Pennywise Enigma

The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who keep the community's pattern of hatred alive. It finds easy targets on kids from broken households — youngsters who often mature to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. But, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as one of the few households that remains intact, which may explain why Mike, even after electing to remain in Derry, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the community, especially when the entity starts haunting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan comprises some of the few grown-ups who are cognizant that something is amiss with the municipality, notably the father, who was revealed to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Later, he spots one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. The ability, coupled with his failure to experience terror, along with the foundation of his family, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

Will is a member of the collective of kids at his school being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The reason Will is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the community, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family sensing something is off about the town from the onset. They also have a solid base that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who originate in the town, with relationships that have decayed within.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we understand the young Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 film, we see that Will has a son named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a fire, with his father outliving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of him in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid boy, once he became an adult, turned to drink to free himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the rotten town affected him first, with the KKK eventually finishing the job it began long before. Be it via the fear of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the town, seeded by Pennywise, the creature eventually achieves the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we witness in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, he appears resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Since he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his son. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe the boy hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. Leroy chastises him for hesitating and provides an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be in there,” Leroy states as he points to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of the town.