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The clown's impact on the children of the Derry series molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the community's pattern of animosity alive. It finds easy targets on children from broken homes — children who frequently grow up to replicate the same patterns as their guardians. But, the Hanlon family stands apart 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 sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, particularly when It starts haunting his child, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of grown-ups who are aware that something is amiss with the town, especially Leroy, who was revealed to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's employment of it in episode 3. Later, Leroy sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his inability to feel fear, combined with the base of his household, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the group of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. His classmates hail from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause he is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the community, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately strangers in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the area, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the original book, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of the community will cause. In the recent movie, we observe that he 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 film is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid youth, once he became an adult, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten environment affected him first, with the hate group ultimately finishing the task it started years ago. Be it via the fear of Pennywise or via the malice of the community, seeded by Pennywise, the creature in the end gets the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would explain how Leroy changes so radically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy seems bitter and much harsher with his parenting. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. However, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they had on his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we see the boy pause to use a bolt gun on a animal at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and offers an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“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 gestures to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could represent a piece of prediction, 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 couldn't resist the repellent allure of the town.