The Derry Chronicles Could Have Solved a Lingering Pennywise Mystery

The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the community's pattern of animosity alive. The creature finds easy targets on kids from fractured homes — children who often mature to replicate the same patterns as their parents. However, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as one of the few households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the only Loser who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, especially when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few adults who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, especially Leroy, who was revealed to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Later, he sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his inability to experience terror, combined with the base of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

Will is part of the group of children at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause he is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the community, combined with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally 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 good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who come from the area, with relationships that have decayed within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the original book, we understand the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will ignite. In the recent film, we see that he has a son named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with his father outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the film is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of Will in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Maybe the shy boy, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt town got to him initially, with the KKK ultimately finishing the task it began years ago. Whether through the terror of the entity or through the malice of the community, instigated by It, the creature eventually gets the last laugh on him.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy transforms so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy seems bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Since he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe the boy pause to use a stunning device on a animal at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and provides an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be out here 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 feel that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of Derry.