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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 exact individuals who keep the town's cycle of animosity alive. It finds easy targets on kids from fractured homes — youngsters who often grow up to replicate the same patterns as their parents. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few households that remains intact, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, especially when the entity starts haunting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of grown-ups who are aware that things are not right with the town, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Later, he sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. This gift, alongside his inability to experience terror, along with the base of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike is one of the only individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the group of children at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause Will is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally outsiders in the town during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who originate in the area, with relationships that have decayed within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the recent movie, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a fire, with his father outliving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy boy, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt town got to him first, with the hate group eventually finishing the job it began long before. Whether through the terror of Pennywise or via the malice of the town, instigated by It, the creature eventually gets the last laugh on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his later years, Leroy seems bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. However, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they had on his child. In the opening scene of the movie, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and provides an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be out here like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” he states as he points to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and someone is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a piece of prediction, something he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of Derry.