🔗 Share this article

The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who keep the town's cycle of animosity alive. The creature preys most easily on kids from fractured homes — youngsters who often grow up to replicate the identical behaviors as their guardians. But, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, persists as the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, especially when It begins tormenting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few adults who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, notably Leroy, who was revealed to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in the third episode. Subsequently, he sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, alongside his failure to experience terror, along with the base of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few adults in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the collective of children at his school being tormented by Pennywise. All his school friends come from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being haunted is due to the viciousness of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the town from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that remains unbroken, in contrast to the folks who come from the town, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.

Historical Context

Drawing from the It novel, we know the young Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the 2017 film, we see that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the shy youth, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten town got to him first, with the KKK eventually completing the task it started long before. Whether through the terror of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the community, seeded by It, It eventually achieves the last laugh on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so drastically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy seems resentful and much stricter with his parenting. Since he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the opening scene of It, we observe the boy pause to use a stunning device on a animal at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and provides an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be in the open like us, or you can be trapped inside,” he says as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and someone is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you experience that bolt between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Maybe he wishes he had done something in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of Derry.