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Pennywise's influence on the young residents of the Derry series molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the community's cycle of hatred alive. The creature finds easy targets on children from broken homes — children who often grow up to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as one of the few family unit that remains intact, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in Derry, remains the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resilience

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few grown-ups who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, notably the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, alongside his failure to experience terror, along with the base of his family, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike is one of the only individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the collective of children at his school being tormented by the clown. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause Will is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the town, paired with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately outsiders in the town during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household sensing something is off 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 decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the original book, we understand the juvenile Will will end up at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the recent movie, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the film is that Mike's parents were on substances, but given our current view of him in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the shy youth, once he became an adult, turned to drink to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt environment affected him initially, with the KKK eventually finishing the job it started years ago. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or via the cruelty of the town, seeded by It, It in the end gets the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy transforms so radically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy seems bitter and much harsher with his parenting. Because he survived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the opening scene of the movie, we see the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at the family property. Leroy chastises him for hesitating and provides an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed 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 sheep. “You dawdle indecisive, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you experience that bolt between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening attraction of Derry.