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Pennywise's influence on the children of the Derry series shapes them long into adulthood, transforming them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the community's pattern of hatred ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on kids from fractured homes — children who frequently mature to repeat the same patterns as their parents. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few households that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, persists as the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, especially when It starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few adults who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, especially Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in the third episode. Subsequently, he spots one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his inability to feel fear, along with the base of his family, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the collective of children at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. All his school friends hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The reason he is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that remains unbroken, in contrast to the folks who originate in the town, with relationships that have deteriorated within.

Historical Context

Drawing from the It novel, we know the young Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the 2017 film, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a fire, with his father surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but now that we see him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the shy boy, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to free himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt town got to him initially, with the hate group eventually finishing the job it started years ago. Whether through the terror of the entity or through the malice of the community, seeded by It, the creature eventually achieves the final victory on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he seems bitter and much stricter with his discipline. Since he survived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his son. In the opening scene of the movie, we observe the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and provides an metaphor that results in a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be in there,” he says as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

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