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The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the community's cycle of hatred ongoing. It preys most easily on children from fractured households — children who often mature to replicate the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a 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.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, especially when It starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few grown-ups who are cognizant that things are not right with the municipality, notably the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. The ability, coupled with his failure to feel fear, along with the foundation of his household, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

Will is part of the group of children at his school being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends hail from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause Will is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the residents who originate in the town, with bonds that have deteriorated within.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the 2017 film, we observe that Will has a son named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a fire, with Leroy outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the film is that Mike's parents were on substances, but now that we see Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy boy, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten town affected him initially, with the KKK ultimately finishing the job it began years ago. Be it via the terror of the entity or via the cruelty of the community, seeded by It, It eventually gets the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon transforms so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his later years, he appears resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Since he survived his own son, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. 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 opening scene of It, we see Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and provides an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be out here like us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he points to the creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and someone is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

In hindsight, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he desires he had done something in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of the town.