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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of the Derry series molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the town's pattern of animosity alive. It preys most easily on children from fractured homes — children who often mature to repeat 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, persists as the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the supernatural forces surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when It begins tormenting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of adults who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, especially Leroy, who was revealed to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in the third episode. Later, he spots one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his house. This gift, alongside his inability to experience terror, combined with the base of his family, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that shining is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the collective of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by Pennywise. All his school friends hail from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause Will is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the community, paired with his potential sensitivity to shine, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the town from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who originate in the town, with bonds that have deteriorated internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the It novel, we know the young Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the shy youth, once he grew up, leaned into drink to free himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt environment affected him initially, with the KKK ultimately finishing the job it started long before. Be it via the terror of the entity or via the malice of the town, seeded by It, the creature in the end achieves the final victory on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy appears resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. However, his words carry more weight since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of the movie, we see the boy hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. Leroy chastises him for delaying and provides an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy says as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a bit of prediction, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of Derry.