Welcome to Derry May Have Solved a Lingering It Mystery

Pennywise's impact on the children of the Derry series shapes them long into adulthood, twisting them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's cycle of animosity alive. The creature preys most easily on children from fractured households — youngsters who often grow up to replicate the same patterns as their parents. However, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself 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 sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes more aware of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, especially when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few adults who are aware that things are not right with the town, especially the father, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, alongside his failure to feel fear, combined with the base of his household, could be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few adults in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the collective of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The cause he is being haunted is because of the cruelty of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. They also have a good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who originate in the town, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Based on the original book, we know the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the 2017 film, we see that Will has a son named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a fire, with Leroy outliving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on substances, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid boy, once he grew up, leaned into drink to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt environment affected him first, with the KKK eventually finishing the task it began long before. Be it via the terror of the entity or via the malice of the town, seeded by Pennywise, the creature in the end gets the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so drastically from what we see in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, he seems bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Because he survived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the effects they had on his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather reprimands 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 existence. You can be out here like us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he points to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a bit of foreshadowing, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his past, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the sickening attraction of the town.