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The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, transforming them into the very adults who keep the community's cycle of animosity alive. It preys most easily on kids from fractured homes — children who frequently mature to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as a rare example of a households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in Derry, remains the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the community, particularly when the entity starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, especially Leroy, who was revealed to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in the third episode. Subsequently, he sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his house. The ability, alongside his inability to experience terror, along with the foundation of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is part of the group of kids at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. All his school friends hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The reason Will is being haunted is due to the cruelty of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally outsiders in the town during 1962, which lends itself towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who originate in the area, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we know the young Will will end up at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the recent film, we see that Will has a son named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a fire, with his father outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of Will in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy boy, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the corrupt town affected him first, with the hate group ultimately finishing the task it began years ago. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or via the cruelty of the town, instigated by Pennywise, It eventually gets the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would clarify how Leroy transforms so radically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he seems 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 hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they had on his son. In the opening scene of the movie, we see Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and offers an metaphor that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be in there,” he states as he points to the sheep. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could be a bit of prediction, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he wishes he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent allure of the town.