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The clown's influence on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's pattern of hatred alive. The creature preys most easily on children from fractured households — youngsters who often mature to replicate the same patterns as their guardians. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as a rare example of a households that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in the town, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his child, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan comprises a small number of adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the municipality, especially the father, who was revealed to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in the third episode. Later, he sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his house. The ability, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his family, could 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 one of the only individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

The boy is a member of the collective of children at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates hail from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause he is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which renders him vulnerable. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during 1962, which contributes towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the town from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the folks who originate in the town, with relationships that have deteriorated within.

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 blaze that the town bigots of the community will cause. 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 son and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but now that we see him in the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the timid youth, once he grew up, leaned into drink to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt environment affected him first, with the hate group ultimately completing the task it started years ago. Be it via the fear of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the community, instigated by It, the creature in the end gets the final victory on him.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would explain how Leroy changes so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, he appears bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we see Mike hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and offers an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be in the open like us, or you can be in there,” he says as he points to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to decide for you. But you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could represent a piece of prediction, something he wishes he had told his own son. Maybe he wishes he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent allure of Derry.