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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the town's pattern of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on kids from broken homes — children who frequently mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their guardians. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in the town, persists as the only Loser who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes more aware of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, especially when It starts haunting his son, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan comprises some of the few grown-ups who are cognizant that something is amiss with the municipality, especially the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in episode 3. Later, Leroy spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, alongside his failure to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his household, may be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike is one of the only individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

Will is a member of the collective of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The reason he is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the community, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are fundamentally 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 good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the residents who originate in the area, with relationships that have deteriorated within.

Historical Context

Drawing from the It novel, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will ignite. In the 2017 film, we see that Will has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the timid boy, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt town affected him first, with the KKK ultimately finishing the job it started long before. Be it via the fear of the entity or via the malice of the community, instigated by Pennywise, It in the end achieves the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy seems resentful and much harsher with his discipline. Because he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his words carry more weight now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and offers an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be in there,” he says as he points to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. But you won't know it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

Looking back, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own son. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his youth, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the sickening attraction of Derry.