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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them long into adulthood, transforming them into the very adults who keep the town's cycle of hatred alive. It preys most easily on children from broken households — children who often grow up to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon household stands apart as one of the few households that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in Derry, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy Hanlon at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when It begins tormenting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few grown-ups who are aware that something is amiss with the town, especially the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in the third episode. Later, he sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. This gift, coupled with his failure to experience terror, along with the base of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

Will is part of the collective of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. His classmates hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The reason Will is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the town, paired with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the family feeling something is off about the locality from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the residents who originate in the town, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Drawing from the original book, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the recent movie, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on substances, but given our current view of him in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid youth, once he became an adult, turned to drink to free himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten town got to him initially, with the KKK ultimately finishing the job it started long before. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or via the cruelty of the community, instigated by It, the creature in the end gets the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy transforms so drastically from what we see in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, he appears resentful and much harsher with his discipline. Since he survived his own son, it's understandable to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they had on his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and offers an metaphor that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be out here like us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a bit of prediction, something he wishes he had told his own son. Maybe he wishes he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of Derry.