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The clown's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the town's cycle of hatred alive. It preys most easily on children from fractured homes — children who often grow up to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as a rare example of a family unit that remains intact, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in Derry, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, especially when the entity starts haunting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan comprises some of the few grown-ups who are aware that something is amiss with the town, notably the father, who was shown to be sensitive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Later, he sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his failure to experience terror, along with the foundation of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few adults in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the collective of children at his school being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends come from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause he is being pursued is because of the viciousness of the community, paired with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during 1962, which contributes towards the family sensing something is off about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the folks who come from the town, with bonds that have deteriorated within.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the It novel, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of Derry will cause. In the 2017 movie, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that the parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Maybe the timid boy, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten town affected him initially, with the KKK ultimately finishing the task it began long before. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the community, seeded by Pennywise, It eventually achieves the final victory on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his later years, he seems resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Because he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his words carry more weight since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the effects they had on his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we see the boy hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and provides an metaphor that results in a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be out here like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he points to the creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. But you won't know it until you feel that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could represent a bit of prediction, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of the town.