The Derry Chronicles Could Have Unraveled a Longstanding It Mystery

The clown's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who keep the town's cycle of animosity alive. The creature finds easy targets on children from broken households — youngsters who frequently grow up to replicate the identical behaviors as their guardians. However, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as a rare example of a 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 the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the paranormal entities surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan comprises some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, notably the father, who was revealed to be receptive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Later, he spots one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his house. The ability, alongside his inability to feel fear, combined with the base of his family, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the collective 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 haunted. The cause Will is being haunted is because of the cruelty of the community, paired with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household feeling something is off about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the residents who come from the area, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will ignite. In the recent film, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with his father outliving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but now that we see him in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid boy, once he became an adult, turned to drink to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the rotten town got to him initially, with the hate group ultimately finishing the task it started long before. Whether through the fear of the entity or through the malice of the community, seeded by Pennywise, the creature eventually gets the final victory on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy changes so radically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his later years, Leroy appears bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Since he survived his own son, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. However, his statements carry more weight since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe the boy hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and offers an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” he states as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and someone is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of prediction, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of Derry.