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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's cycle of hatred alive. It preys most easily on children from broken homes — youngsters who often grow up to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in Derry, persists as the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when It begins tormenting his son, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of adults who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was revealed to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in the third episode. Subsequently, Leroy spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his failure to feel fear, along with the base of his family, may be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few individuals in the town who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the collective of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends hail from broken homes, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The cause he is being pursued is because of the viciousness of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately outsiders in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who come from the area, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 film, we see that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with his father surviving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the film is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid boy, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the corrupt environment got to him first, with the KKK ultimately completing the task it started long before. Whether through the fear of the entity or via the malice of the town, instigated by It, It eventually gets the last laugh on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would explain how Leroy transforms so radically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, he seems bitter and much harsher with his parenting. Because he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. However, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts 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 the family property. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and offers an analogy 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,” Leroy says as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you will be unaware it until you feel that bolt between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own child. Maybe he desires he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the repellent allure of Derry.