🔗 Share this article

The clown's influence on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who keep the community's pattern of animosity alive. It preys most easily on children from fractured households — children who often grow up to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in Derry, persists as the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few adults who are aware that things are not right with the town, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Later, he sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his house. The ability, alongside his inability to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his family, could be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is a member of the group of kids at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. All his school friends come from broken homes, with caregivers who don't believe they're being haunted. The reason Will is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the community, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household feeling something is off about the town from the onset. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the town, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the original book, we understand the young Will will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the 2017 film, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with his father surviving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on substances, but given our current view of Will in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the shy boy, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt environment affected him first, with the KKK eventually finishing the task it started long before. Whether through the fear of the entity or through the cruelty of the community, seeded by It, the creature eventually gets the last laugh on him.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy appears resentful and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they had on his child. In the initial sequence of It, we see Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and provides an metaphor that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” he says as he points to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a bit of prediction, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Maybe he desires he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of Derry.