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The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's cycle of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from fractured households — youngsters who often grow up to replicate the same patterns as their parents. However, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few households that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in Derry, remains the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, especially when It begins tormenting his son, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family comprises a small number of grown-ups who are aware that things are not right with the town, especially the father, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann'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 inability to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his family, may be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few adults in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is part of the collective of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with parents who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The reason he is being haunted is due to the viciousness of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are ultimately outsiders in the town during 1962, which lends itself towards the family sensing something is off about the locality from the onset. They also have a solid base that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the town, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Drawing from the original book, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the town bigots of the community will cause. In the recent film, we see that he has a son named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a configration, with his father outliving his own son and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture 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 boy, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt environment affected him initially, with the KKK ultimately finishing the task it started long before. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or via the malice of the town, seeded by It, It in the end gets the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so radically from what we witness in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he appears resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Since he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a profound shift. However, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they had on his son. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe the boy pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and offers an metaphor that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“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,” Leroy says as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that bolt between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could be a bit of prediction, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he wishes he had acted differently in his youth, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of the town.