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The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, transforming them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the town's pattern of animosity alive. The creature preys most easily on kids from broken households — youngsters who often grow up to replicate the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few family unit that remains intact, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in the town, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, especially when It begins tormenting his son, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few adults who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was revealed to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, alongside his inability to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his family, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the collective of kids at his school being tormented by the clown. All his school friends hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The reason Will is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the community, paired with his potential sensitivity to shine, which renders him vulnerable. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during 1962, which lends itself towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who originate in the town, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the original book, we understand the young Will will find himself at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that Will has a son named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the film is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid youth, once he became an adult, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the corrupt environment got to him first, with the hate group ultimately completing the job it began long before. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or via the malice of the town, instigated by Pennywise, It in the end achieves the final victory on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy transforms so drastically from what we witness in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he appears bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Since he survived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they had on his child. In the opening scene of the movie, we see Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for delaying and provides an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be out here like we are, or you can be in there,” he says as he points to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to make that choice. But you won't know it until you feel that projectile between your eyes.”

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