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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them long into adulthood, twisting them into the exact individuals who keep the town's pattern of animosity alive. It finds easy targets on children from broken homes — youngsters who often mature to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few family unit that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the only Loser who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the community, particularly 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 aware that something is amiss with the town, notably Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Later, he spots one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his failure to experience terror, along with the base of his household, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

Will is a member of the collective of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who don't believe they're being haunted. The reason Will is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally outsiders in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the family feeling something is off about the locality from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that remains unbroken, in contrast to the residents who originate in the town, with bonds that have decayed within.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the 2017 film, we observe that he has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with his father surviving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on substances, but given our current view of Will in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid youth, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten town affected him first, with the hate group ultimately completing the job it started long before. Whether through the terror of Pennywise or via the cruelty of the town, seeded by Pennywise, the creature eventually achieves the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how Leroy changes so radically from what we witness 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 son, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. However, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they had on his son. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a animal at the family property. Leroy chastises him for delaying and offers an metaphor that results in a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be out here like us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he points to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and someone is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you experience that bolt between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could be a bit of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own son. Maybe he wishes he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening attraction of Derry.