🔗 Share this article

The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, transforming them into the very adults who keep the community's cycle of animosity alive. The creature preys most easily on children from broken homes — children who frequently mature to replicate the same patterns as their parents. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the sole member who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when It begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few adults who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, notably the father, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, coupled with his inability to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his family, could be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is a member of the collective of kids at his school being tormented by the clown. His classmates hail from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The cause he is being haunted is due to the cruelty of the community, paired with his potential sensitivity to shine, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately outsiders in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the residents who come from the town, with bonds that have decayed within.

Historical Context

Based on the original book, we understand the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will cause. In the 2017 movie, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy surviving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the film is that the parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Maybe the shy youth, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to free himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten environment affected him initially, with the KKK eventually completing the task it started years ago. Whether through the terror of the entity or via the malice of the town, seeded by Pennywise, It eventually achieves the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how Leroy changes so drastically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy appears bitter and much harsher with his parenting. Because he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we see Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and offers an metaphor 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 us, or you can be in there,” Leroy says as he points to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and someone is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you feel that bolt between your eyes.”

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