🔗 Share this article

Pennywise's impact on the children of the Derry series shapes them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's pattern of hatred alive. It finds easy targets on kids from broken households — youngsters who frequently mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as a rare example of a households that remains intact, which may explain why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, particularly when It begins tormenting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few adults who are aware that something is amiss with the town, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's use of it in the third episode. Later, Leroy spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, alongside his failure to experience terror, along with the base of his family, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and a key factor Mike is one of the only adults in the town who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

Will is a member of the collective of children at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. His classmates hail from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The cause he is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in Derry during 1962, which contributes 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 relationships that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Drawing from the It novel, we understand the young Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the recent movie, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a fire, with his father surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that the parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the timid boy, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt town got to him first, with the hate group eventually finishing the task it started years ago. Be it via the fear of the entity or via the cruelty of the community, instigated by It, It in the end achieves the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so drastically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, he appears bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe the boy pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. Leroy chastises him for hesitating and provides an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“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 states as he points to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a piece of prediction, something he wishes he had told his own son. Maybe he desires he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of Derry.