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The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's pattern of animosity alive. It preys most easily on children from fractured homes — youngsters who frequently mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few households that remains intact, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in Derry, remains the only Loser who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when It begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few adults who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Later, Leroy spots one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his house. The ability, coupled with his inability to feel fear, along with the foundation of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in the town who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the collective of children at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends hail from broken homes, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The reason Will is being haunted is due to the cruelty of the community, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately strangers in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the family feeling anomalies exist 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 relationships that have decayed within.

Historical Context

Drawing from the It novel, we know the young Will Hanlon will end up at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 film, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy surviving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the film is that the parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the shy youth, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to free himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten town affected him first, with the hate group ultimately finishing the job it began years ago. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or through the malice of the town, instigated by Pennywise, It in the end achieves the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon transforms so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his later years, Leroy appears bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. However, his words carry more weight since we are aware he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of It, we see the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and offers an metaphor that results in a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be out here like us, or you can be in there,” Leroy states as he points to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could represent a bit of prediction, a lesson he wishes he had told his own son. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of the town.