Welcome to Derry May Have Solved a Lingering Pennywise Enigma
The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's cycle of animosity alive. The creature finds easy targets on kids from broken homes — youngsters who often grow up to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as one of the few households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.
The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance
In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, especially when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family comprises a small number of adults who are aware that something is amiss with the town, notably Leroy, who was revealed to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in the third episode. Later, he spots one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. This gift, coupled with his inability to feel fear, combined with the base of his household, could be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?
Will is a member of the group of children at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. All his school friends hail from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause Will is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the family feeling something is off about the locality from the beginning. They also have a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who come from the area, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.
Backstory Connections
Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the recent movie, we see that he has a son named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with his father surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The official story in the film is that Mike's parents were on substances, but now that we see Will in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Maybe the timid youth, once he became an adult, leaned into alcohol to free himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten town got to him initially, with the hate group eventually finishing the task it began long before. Be it via the terror of the entity or through the cruelty of the town, instigated by It, It eventually gets the last laugh on him.
Leroy's Transformation
These occurrences would clarify how Leroy transforms so drastically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy seems resentful and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own son, it's understandable to observe such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words carry more weight since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his son. In the opening scene of It, we see the boy 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 kill-or-be-killed scenario.
“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy says as he points to the creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and someone is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile in your head.”
Looking back, this could represent a piece of prediction, something he wishes he had told his own child. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening attraction of Derry.