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Pennywise's influence on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who keep the town's cycle of hatred ongoing. The creature preys most easily on children from broken households — children who frequently grow up to replicate the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in Derry, remains the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, especially when It starts haunting his son, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family comprises a small number of adults who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's use of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, alongside his inability to feel fear, combined with the base of his household, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider 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 part of the collective of children at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The reason he is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. This family 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. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who come from the town, with bonds that have decayed within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will Hanlon will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of Derry will cause. In the recent film, we observe that he has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but given our current view of Will in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the shy youth, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to free himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten environment affected him initially, with the hate group ultimately finishing the job it started years ago. Whether through the terror of the entity or via the cruelty of the town, instigated by It, the creature in the end achieves the last laugh on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we see in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy appears resentful and much stricter with his parenting. Since he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. However, his words carry more weight since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they had on his son. In the opening scene of the movie, we observe Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. Leroy reprimands him for hesitating and offers an metaphor 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 us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and someone is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile between your eyes.”

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