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The clown's impact on the children of the Derry series shapes them long into adulthood, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the community's cycle of animosity alive. The creature preys most easily on kids from fractured households — youngsters who often mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as a rare example of a family unit that remains intact, which may explain why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the sole member who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the municipality, especially the father, who was shown to be sensitive 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, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the base of his household, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few adults in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is a member of the collective of children at his school being tormented by the clown. All his school friends come from dysfunctional families, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The cause he is being haunted is due to the cruelty of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately outsiders in the town during the early sixties, which contributes towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who originate in the area, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the original book, we know the young Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the 2017 movie, we observe that he has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on substances, but now that we see him in the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the timid youth, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt environment got to him first, with the KKK eventually completing the job it started long before. Whether through the fear of the entity or through the malice of the town, seeded by Pennywise, the creature eventually achieves the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would explain how Leroy changes so drastically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he seems resentful and much stricter with his parenting. Since he survived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. However, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they had on his son. In the opening scene of the movie, we observe the boy pause to use a stunning device on a animal at the family property. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and offers an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be in there,” he states as he points to the creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you experience that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a bit of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own son. Perhaps he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of Derry.