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The clown's impact on the children of the Derry series shapes them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's pattern of animosity ongoing. It finds easy targets on kids from broken homes — youngsters who often mature to replicate the same patterns as their parents. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself 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 sole member who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the neighborhood, especially when the entity starts haunting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of adults who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, notably Leroy, who was revealed to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in episode 3. Later, Leroy spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his house. The ability, alongside his inability to experience terror, along with the foundation of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is part of the collective of children at his school 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, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the family feeling something is off about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who come from the area, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Based on the original book, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will ignite. In the 2017 film, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with his father surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of Will in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy boy, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt environment got to him initially, with the hate group eventually finishing the job it began years ago. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the community, seeded by Pennywise, the creature eventually achieves the final victory on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his older age, he appears bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Since he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. However, his statements hold greater significance now that we know he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they had on his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a animal at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for hesitating and offers an analogy 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,” he says as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the sickening allure of the town.