🔗 Share this article

Pennywise's influence on the children of the Derry series molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the exact individuals who keep the town's pattern of hatred alive. It finds easy targets on kids from fractured households — youngsters who frequently mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon household 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 doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, especially when It starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his household, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the collective of kids at his school being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who don't believe they're being haunted. The reason Will is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately strangers in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who originate in the area, with bonds that have deteriorated internally.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we understand the young Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of Derry will cause. In the 2017 movie, we observe that Will has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with his father outliving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the film is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the timid boy, once he grew up, leaned into drink to free himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten town affected him initially, with the hate group eventually completing the task it started long before. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or through the malice of the town, instigated by Pennywise, It eventually gets the last laugh on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy seems bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own son, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance now that we know he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe the boy pause to use a bolt gun on a animal at the family property. Leroy chastises him for delaying and provides an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be out here like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to make that choice. But you won't know it until you experience that bolt between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could be a bit of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own son. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent allure of the town.