The Derry Chronicles May Have Unraveled a Lingering It Mystery
The clown's influence on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them long into adulthood, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the community's pattern of hatred ongoing. It preys most easily on children from fractured households — youngsters who often mature to repeat the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, persists as the only Loser who never fully falls under the clown's influence.
The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance
In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, especially when It begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few adults who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, notably the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his house. This gift, alongside his inability to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his household, may be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike is one of the only adults in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?
The boy is a member of the collective of children at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. His classmates hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause Will is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the town, paired with his potential sensitivity to shine, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household feeling something is off about the town from the onset. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the residents who originate in the area, with relationships that have decayed within.
Backstory Connections
Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on substances, but now that we see him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the shy boy, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten town affected him first, with the KKK ultimately finishing the task it began years ago. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or via the cruelty of the town, instigated by Pennywise, the creature in the end achieves the final victory on him.
Leroy's Transformation
This chain of events would clarify how Leroy changes so radically from what we witness in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy appears bitter and much stricter with his discipline. Because he outlived his own son, it's understandable to observe such a drastic change. 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 initial sequence of the movie, we see the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at the family property. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and offers an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.
“There are two places 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 gestures to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you feel that projectile in your head.”
Looking back, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he wishes he had done something in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of the town.
