Welcome to Derry May Have Unraveled a Longstanding It Enigma
The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the community's pattern of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from fractured homes — children 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 never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in Derry, persists as the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.
The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance
In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the community, especially when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of adults who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in the third episode. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his house. This gift, coupled with his failure to experience terror, along with the base of his household, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and a key factor Mike is among the few adults in Derry who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?
The boy is a member of the group of children at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. His classmates hail from broken homes, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause Will is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in the town during 1962, which contributes towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who come from the area, with bonds that have decayed within.
Historical Context
Based on the It novel, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the recent movie, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with his father surviving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on substances, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the shy youth, once he became an adult, turned to drink to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt environment affected him initially, with the hate group ultimately completing the task it started long before. Be it via the fear of the entity or through the malice of the town, seeded by Pennywise, It eventually achieves the last laugh on him.
Leroy's Transformation
These occurrences would explain how Leroy changes so drastically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his later years, Leroy appears bitter and much harsher with his parenting. Since he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance now that we know he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for hesitating and provides an metaphor that results in a survival-of-the-fittest situation.
“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like us, or you can be trapped inside,” he states as he points to the creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and another is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that bolt between your eyes.”
Looking back, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he wishes he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent allure of Derry.
