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The clown's impact on the children of the Derry series shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who keep the town's cycle of hatred alive. It preys most easily on children from fractured homes — youngsters who frequently grow up to repeat the identical behaviors as their guardians. But, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in Derry, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Later, he sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, alongside his failure to feel fear, combined with the base of his family, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike is one of the only adults in Derry who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the collective of kids at his school being tormented by Pennywise. All his school friends come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause he is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately outsiders in the town during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household feeling something is off about the locality from the beginning. They also have a solid base that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the area, with relationships that have deteriorated within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we understand the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the recent movie, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the film 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 corrupt town got to him first, with the hate group ultimately finishing the task it began years ago. Be it via the fear of Pennywise or via the cruelty of the community, seeded by It, It in the end achieves the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his older age, he seems bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements carry more weight since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of It, we see Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for delaying and offers an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be in there,” he states as he points to the creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that bolt between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could represent a piece of prediction, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Perhaps he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of the town.