The clown's impact on the children of the Derry series molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the exact individuals who keep the town's cycle of hatred alive. It finds easy targets on children from broken households — children who often grow up to replicate the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few 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.
Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience
In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy at last grows more aware of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, particularly when the entity starts haunting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few grown-ups who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in episode 3. Later, Leroy spots one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. The ability, coupled with his failure to experience terror, along with the base of his family, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and a key factor Mike is among the few individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?
Will is a member of the group of kids at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The reason he is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the town, paired with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are fundamentally outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the folks who come from the area, with bonds that have decayed within.
Historical Context
Based on the original book, we know the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of the community will ignite. In the recent film, we see that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy surviving 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 him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the timid boy, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt town got to him first, with the hate group eventually completing the task it started years ago. Be it via the fear of the entity or via the cruelty of the town, instigated by Pennywise, It eventually gets the last laugh on Will.
The Father's Evolution
This chain of events would clarify how Leroy transforms so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, he appears resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Since he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the effects they had on his child. In the opening scene of the movie, we see Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a animal at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and offers an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed scenario.
“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like us, or you can be in there,” he says 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.”
In hindsight, this could represent a piece of prediction, a lesson he wishes he had told his own son. Perhaps he wishes he had acted differently in his youth, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of Derry.