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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's pattern of hatred alive. It finds easy targets on children from broken homes — youngsters who frequently grow up to replicate the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that remains intact, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in Derry, remains the sole member who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy at last grows more aware of the supernatural forces enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when It starts haunting his child, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few grown-ups who are aware that things are not right with the town, notably the father, who was revealed to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Later, Leroy spots one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his family, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is part of the group of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The cause he is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the community, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the household sensing something is off about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the folks who originate in the area, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the original book, we understand the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. 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 taking his grandson in. The official story in the film is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but now that we see him in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the shy boy, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt environment affected him first, with the KKK ultimately finishing the job it began years ago. Whether through the terror of Pennywise or via the malice of the town, instigated by It, It in the end gets the final victory on him.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would explain how Leroy changes so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his later years, Leroy seems resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Since he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we see the boy pause to use a bolt gun 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 world. You can be out here like us, or you can be in there,” he says as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and someone is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the repellent allure of the town.