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The clown's impact on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them long into adulthood, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the community's cycle of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from fractured households — children who often grow up to repeat the same patterns as their parents. However, the Hanlon household stands apart as one of the few households that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in Derry, persists as the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, especially the father, who was revealed to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in the third episode. 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 household, could be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

Will is part of the collective of kids at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates hail from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally outsiders in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the folks who come from the area, with bonds that have deteriorated internally.

Historical Context

Drawing from the It novel, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the recent film, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a fire, with his father outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the timid youth, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt town affected him first, with the KKK eventually completing the task it began years ago. Be it via the terror of the entity or via the malice of the town, instigated by Pennywise, the creature in the end achieves the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would clarify how Leroy changes so drastically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his later years, he seems bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words carry more weight now that we know he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they had on his child. In the initial sequence of It, we see the boy pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. Leroy chastises him for delaying and offers an metaphor that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be out here like us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to decide for you. But you will be unaware it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

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