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Pennywise's influence on the children of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's cycle of animosity ongoing. It preys most easily on children from broken homes — children who often grow up to repeat the same patterns as their parents. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in Derry, remains the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, notably Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. The ability, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his household, may be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the group of children at his educational institution being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates hail from broken homes, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The cause he is being pursued is because of the viciousness of the community, combined with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately outsiders in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household feeling something is off about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the residents who originate in the town, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the It novel, we know the young Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will save him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the 2017 film, we see that he has a son named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with his father surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy boy, once he grew up, leaned into drink to free himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten town got to him first, with the KKK eventually finishing the job it began long before. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or via the malice of the town, instigated by It, the creature eventually achieves the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, he seems resentful and much harsher with his discipline. Since he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words 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 It, we see Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at Leroy's farm. Leroy chastises him for hesitating and provides an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be out here like us, or you can be in there,” Leroy says as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, 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 represent a bit of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own son. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of Derry.