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The clown's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who keep the town's pattern of animosity ongoing. It preys most easily on children from broken households — youngsters who often mature to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon family stands apart as a rare example of a households that remains intact, 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 Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, especially when the entity begins tormenting 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 shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Later, he sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the base of his household, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is part of the collective of kids at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. All his school friends come from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause Will is being haunted is due to the cruelty of the town, paired with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. They also have a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who originate in the area, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Based on the original book, we understand the young Will Hanlon will end up at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 film, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with his father surviving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the film is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid youth, once he became an adult, leaned into alcohol to free himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten town got to him first, with the KKK ultimately completing the task it began years ago. Be it via the fear of Pennywise or via the cruelty of the community, instigated by Pennywise, It eventually gets the final victory on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would explain how Leroy transforms so radically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his later years, he seems resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Since he survived his own son, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. However, his statements carry more weight since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and offers an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like us, or you can be in there,” he states as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you feel that projectile between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could represent a piece of prediction, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the sickening attraction of the town.