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The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the town's cycle of animosity alive. It finds easy targets on children from fractured homes — youngsters who frequently mature to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. But, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the only Loser who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the community, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family comprises a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, especially the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in the third episode. Later, he spots one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his inability to feel fear, along with the foundation of his family, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is among the few adults in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the collective of children at his educational institution being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents 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 renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who come from the area, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will save him from a fire that the local KKK members 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 configration, with his father outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of him in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid boy, once he became an adult, turned to drink to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt environment got to him initially, with the KKK eventually finishing the task it began long before. Whether through the terror of the entity or through the cruelty of the community, seeded by It, It in the end gets the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he seems resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Because he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. However, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. Leroy reprimands him for hesitating and offers an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be out here like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy says as he points to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and someone is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a bit of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own son. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of the town.