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The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, twisting them into the exact individuals who keep the community's pattern of animosity alive. The creature finds easy targets on kids from broken homes — children who frequently grow up to repeat the identical behaviors as their guardians. But, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as a rare example of a households that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike, even after electing to remain in Derry, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, especially when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few grown-ups who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, notably the father, who was revealed to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Later, he sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his residence. This gift, alongside his failure to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his household, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

Will is part of the group of kids at his school being terrorized by the clown. His classmates hail from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The cause Will is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally outsiders in the town during 1962, which contributes towards the household sensing something is off about the town from the onset. They also have a good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who come from the town, with bonds that have deteriorated within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the 2017 film, we observe that Will has a son named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a fire, with his father outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid youth, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the rotten environment affected him initially, with the hate group ultimately finishing the job it began long before. Be it via the fear of the entity or through the malice of the community, instigated by Pennywise, the creature in the end achieves the last laugh on him.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would clarify how the elder Hanlon transforms so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy seems resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Since he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the opening scene of It, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and provides an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be out here like us, or you can be in there,” he says as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle indecisive, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a bit of prediction, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent allure of Derry.