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The clown's impact on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them long into adulthood, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the community's pattern of hatred alive. It finds easy targets on children from fractured households — youngsters who often mature to replicate the same patterns as their guardians. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as a rare example of a households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in Derry, remains the only Loser who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, particularly when It begins tormenting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he spots one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. This gift, coupled with his failure to experience terror, combined with the base of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is one of the only individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is part of the collective of kids at his school being tormented by the clown. His classmates hail from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The reason he is being haunted is due to the viciousness of the community, paired with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are fundamentally strangers in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. They also have a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who come from the town, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we know the young Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will cause. In the 2017 film, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the film is that the parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid boy, once he grew up, leaned into drink to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten town got to him first, with the hate group ultimately completing the job it started long before. Whether through the fear of the entity or through the cruelty of the town, instigated by Pennywise, the creature in the end achieves the final victory on him.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy seems bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Since he outlived his own son, it's understandable to observe such a profound shift. However, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they wrought upon his child. In the opening scene of the movie, we observe the boy hesitate to use a stunning device on a animal at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for hesitating and offers an analogy that results in a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be out here like we are, or you can be in there,” Leroy says as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and another is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

In hindsight, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he desires he had done something in his youth, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of Derry.