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The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the community's pattern of hatred alive. The creature finds easy targets on kids from fractured households — youngsters who frequently mature to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few family unit that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, especially when It starts haunting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of adults who are aware that things are not right with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in the third episode. Subsequently, Leroy spots one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. This gift, alongside his failure to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is generational, and one of the reasons Mike is one of the only adults in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the collective of kids at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept 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 renders him vulnerable. This family are fundamentally outsiders in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the town from the onset. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who originate in the area, with bonds that have deteriorated internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the It novel, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 movie, we see that Will has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a fire, with his father outliving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the film is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the timid youth, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to free himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt environment got to him first, with the hate group eventually completing the task it started years ago. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or through the malice of the community, seeded by It, It in the end gets the last laugh on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he seems resentful and much harsher with his discipline. Because he survived his own offspring, it's understandable to see 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 It, we observe Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather reprimands him for delaying and provides an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy says as he points to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could represent a bit of prediction, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening attraction of Derry.