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Pennywise's impact on the children of the Derry series molds them long into adulthood, twisting them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's pattern of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on kids from fractured households — youngsters who often grow up to replicate the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a households that remains intact, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the only Loser who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the community, especially when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few grown-ups who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's use of it in episode 3. Later, Leroy spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, alongside his inability to feel fear, along with the base of his family, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is one of the only adults in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the group of children at his school being tormented by Pennywise. His classmates hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The reason he is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the community, combined with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are ultimately outsiders in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household feeling something is off about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who originate in the town, with relationships that have decayed within.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the It novel, we know the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but now that we see him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy boy, once he became an adult, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten town affected him initially, with the KKK ultimately completing the task it began long before. Whether through the terror of the entity or through the cruelty of the town, instigated by Pennywise, It in the end gets the final victory on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy seems resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Since he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the effects they had on his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and provides an analogy that results in a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and someone is going to make that choice. But you won't know it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

In hindsight, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own son. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the sickening attraction of the town.