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The clown's impact 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 pattern of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on kids from fractured homes — children who frequently mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their guardians. But, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few households that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in the third episode. Later, he spots one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his house. The ability, coupled with his inability to feel fear, along with the base of his household, could be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is generational, and one of the reasons Mike is one of the only individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

Will is a member of the collective of children at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during 1962, which lends itself towards the household feeling something is off about the town from the onset. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the area, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the original book, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that the father 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 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, leaned into alcohol to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten town got to him initially, with the KKK ultimately finishing the job it started long before. Whether through the terror of Pennywise or through the malice of the town, seeded by Pennywise, It eventually achieves the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events 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. Since he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance now that we know he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they had on his son. In the opening scene of It, we observe the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for delaying and offers an metaphor that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be out here like we are, or you can be in there,” he says as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he desires he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the sickening attraction of Derry.