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Pennywise's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the community's pattern of hatred ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on children from broken households — children who frequently mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. But, 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 Derry, persists as the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of adults who are cognizant that things are not right with the municipality, especially the father, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his failure to experience terror, along with the base of his family, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

The boy is a member of the group of children at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. His classmates come from broken homes, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the town from the onset. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the area, with bonds that have deteriorated internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will cause. In the recent film, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the film is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the shy youth, once he grew up, turned to drink to free himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten environment affected him first, with the KKK eventually completing the task it began long before. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or via the malice of the community, seeded by It, the creature in the end 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 the first film and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy appears bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Because he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a profound shift. However, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of It, we see the boy pause to use a bolt gun on a animal at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and provides an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be out here like us, or you can be in there,” he states as he points to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. Except you won't know it until you experience that projectile in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own child. Maybe he wishes he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent allure of the town.