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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of the Derry series molds them long into adulthood, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's pattern of animosity alive. The creature finds easy targets on children from broken households — children who frequently mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when It starts haunting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few grown-ups who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's employment of it in the third episode. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his house. The ability, coupled with his failure to feel fear, along with the foundation of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike is among the few adults in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the collective of children at his school being tormented by the clown. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The cause he is being haunted is due to the cruelty of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately strangers in the town during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household feeling something is off about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who originate in the area, with relationships that have deteriorated within.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the 2017 film, we observe that he has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a fire, with Leroy surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid youth, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to free himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt town got to him first, with the KKK eventually completing the job it started years ago. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or through the malice of the community, seeded by Pennywise, the creature in the end gets the last laugh on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would explain how Leroy changes so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his later years, Leroy seems resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Because he survived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a drastic change. However, his words carry more weight since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they had on his child. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for hesitating and provides an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“There are two places 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 bolt between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he desires he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the sickening allure of Derry.