🔗 Share this article

The clown's impact on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the community's pattern of animosity alive. The creature preys most easily on children from broken homes — youngsters who often mature to replicate the same patterns as their guardians. But, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that remains intact, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, persists as the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when It begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few grown-ups who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, especially the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he spots one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, alongside his inability to experience terror, along with the base of his household, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is a member of the collective of children at his school being tormented by the clown. All his school friends come from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The reason Will is being haunted is due to the cruelty of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately strangers in the town during 1962, which lends itself towards the household feeling something is off about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that remains unbroken, unlike the residents who come from the town, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Based on the original book, we know the young Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will ignite. In the 2017 film, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with his father surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that the parents were on substances, but now that we see him in the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the shy boy, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten town got to him initially, with the KKK eventually completing the job it began long before. Whether through the fear of the entity or via the malice of the community, instigated by It, the creature eventually achieves the final victory on him.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon transforms so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, he seems resentful and much harsher with his discipline. Because he survived his own son, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. However, his words carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his son. In the opening scene of the movie, we see the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and provides an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be out here like we are, or you can be in there,” he says as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to decide for you. Except you won't know it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a bit of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he desires he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the sickening attraction of the town.