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The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who keep the community's cycle of animosity ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from fractured homes — children who often mature to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as a rare example of a households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in Derry, persists as the only Loser who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows more aware of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, notably the father, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Later, he sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, alongside his inability to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his household, 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 one of the only individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

Will is part of the collective of children at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends hail from broken homes, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The reason he is being pursued is because of the viciousness of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. They also have a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who originate in the town, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Drawing from the original book, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the 2017 movie, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a fire, with his father outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the film is that Mike's parents were on substances, but now that we see him in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy youth, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the corrupt environment got to him first, with the hate group ultimately completing the task it started long before. Whether through the fear of the entity or through the cruelty of the town, instigated by Pennywise, It in the end achieves the final victory on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we see in the first film and the prequel. In his later years, he seems bitter and much harsher with his parenting. Because he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. However, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his son. In the opening scene of It, we see the boy pause to use a stunning device on a animal at the family property. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and provides an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be out here like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” he says as he points to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you feel that projectile between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could be a bit of prediction, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own child. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of Derry.