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The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the town's cycle of animosity ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from broken homes — children who often mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their guardians. But, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few family unit that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in Derry, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the supernatural forces enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when It begins tormenting his son, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few adults who are aware that things are not right with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Later, Leroy sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. This gift, alongside his inability to feel fear, along with the foundation of his household, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is part of the group of children at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. All his school friends come from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during 1962, which lends itself towards the family sensing something is off about the locality from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that remains unbroken, in contrast to the folks who originate in the town, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the original book, we understand the young Will Hanlon will end up at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 movie, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a configration, with his father surviving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the timid youth, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten environment got to him first, with the KKK ultimately completing the job it began long before. Be it via the fear of the entity or through the cruelty of the community, instigated by It, It eventually gets the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy transforms so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he appears resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his child. In the opening scene of It, we observe Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a animal at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for delaying and offers 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 us, or you can be in there,” Leroy states as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and someone is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he wishes he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of Derry.