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The clown's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, twisting them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the town's pattern of animosity ongoing. It finds easy targets on kids from broken households — youngsters who frequently grow up to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as a rare example of a family unit that remains intact, which may explain why Mike, even after electing to remain 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 Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the community, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the municipality, notably the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Later, he sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his residence. This gift, alongside his failure to feel fear, along with the foundation of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and a key factor Mike is one of the only adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the group of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by Pennywise. All his school friends hail from broken homes, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The cause Will is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family sensing something is off about the town from the onset. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the residents who originate in the area, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we know the juvenile Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of the community will cause. In the 2017 movie, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a fire, with Leroy surviving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on substances, but now that we see Will in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid youth, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt environment got to him initially, with the KKK eventually finishing the task it started years ago. Whether through the fear of the entity or via the malice of the town, seeded by Pennywise, It in the end gets the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy appears bitter and much stricter with his discipline. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they had on his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a animal at Leroy's farm. His grandfather reprimands him for delaying and provides an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be out here like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy says as he points to the sheep. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you will be unaware it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

Looking back, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he wishes he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the sickening allure of the town.