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Pennywise's influence on the young residents of the Derry series molds them long into adulthood, twisting them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the community's pattern of animosity ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from broken households — youngsters who often mature to replicate the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household stands apart as one of the few family unit that remains intact, which may explain why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the only Loser who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few grown-ups who are aware that things are not right with the town, notably Leroy, who was revealed to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in the third episode. Subsequently, he sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, alongside his failure to feel fear, combined with the base of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is a member of the group of kids at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The reason Will is being haunted is because of the cruelty of the community, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are ultimately outsiders in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who originate in the town, with relationships that have deteriorated within.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we understand the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the recent film, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a configration, with his father surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on substances, but now that we see him in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Maybe the shy youth, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to free himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt environment affected him initially, with the KKK eventually completing the task it started years ago. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or via the malice of the town, instigated by It, It eventually gets the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so radically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy seems resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. However, his statements carry more weight since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his child. In the opening scene of It, we see the boy hesitate to use a stunning device on a animal at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and provides an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be in the open like us, or you can be trapped inside,” he states as he gestures to the creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you experience that projectile in your head.”

Looking back, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he wishes he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of Derry.