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Pennywise's influence on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's cycle of animosity alive. The creature preys most easily on kids from broken households — youngsters who frequently grow up to replicate the same patterns as their guardians. But, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as a rare example of a households that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, persists as the only Loser who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when It starts haunting his son, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, notably the father, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Subsequently, Leroy spots one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. This gift, alongside his failure to experience terror, along with the foundation of his household, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the collective of children at his educational institution being terrorized by Pennywise. All his school friends hail from broken homes, with caregivers who don't believe they're being haunted. The reason he is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally strangers in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the town from the onset. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the town, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will Hanlon will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the town bigots of the community will cause. In the recent film, we observe that Will has a son named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with his father outliving his own son and adopting his grandchild. 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. Maybe the shy boy, once he grew up, turned to drink to free himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt environment got to him first, with the hate group eventually finishing the job it began long before. Be it via the fear of the entity or via the malice of the town, instigated by It, It in the end achieves the final victory on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would explain how Leroy changes so drastically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, he seems resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Because he outlived his own son, it's understandable to observe such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they had on his child. In the opening scene of It, we observe the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and offers an metaphor that results in a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be out here like us, or you can be in there,” he states as he points to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, a lesson he wishes he had told his own son. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of Derry.