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The clown's influence on the children of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, twisting them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the community's cycle of animosity ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on children from broken homes — youngsters who frequently grow up to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, especially when It begins tormenting his son, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of grown-ups who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was revealed to be sensitive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Later, Leroy sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the base of his household, may be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the group of kids at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The cause he is being haunted is because of the cruelty of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who come from the area, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy boy, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the corrupt town got to him initially, with the hate group eventually completing the task it started long before. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or through the malice of the town, instigated by It, It in the end achieves the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so radically from what we see in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy seems bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his statements carry more weight since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of It, we observe the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at Leroy's farm. 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 existence. You can be out here like we are, 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 make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Maybe he wishes he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of the town.