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The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, twisting them into the exact individuals who keep the town's cycle of animosity alive. It preys most easily on children from broken households — children who often grow up to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as a rare example of a households that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in the town, 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 finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, particularly when the entity starts haunting his child, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few adults who are cognizant that things are not right with the municipality, notably the father, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's use of it in the third episode. Subsequently, he sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, alongside his inability to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his family, could be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is a member of the group of children at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates hail from broken homes, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause Will is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the community, paired with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally strangers in the town during the early sixties, which contributes towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that remains unbroken, unlike the residents who originate in the area, with bonds that have deteriorated within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the original book, we understand the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 movie, we observe that he has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a fire, with his father outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on substances, but given our current view of him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the timid youth, once he became an adult, leaned into alcohol to free himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the rotten environment affected him first, with the hate group eventually finishing the job it started long before. Be it via the fear of the entity or through the malice of the town, instigated by It, the creature eventually achieves the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would clarify how Leroy transforms so drastically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, he appears resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and provides an metaphor that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like us, or you can be trapped inside,” he says as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and another is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of prediction, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his youth, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the repellent allure of the town.