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Pennywise's influence on the children of the Derry series molds them long into adulthood, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's cycle of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on kids from fractured homes — children who often mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon family stands apart as a rare example of a households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in Derry, persists as the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when It starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan comprises some of the few adults who are aware that something is amiss with the town, notably the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in episode 3. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike is among the few individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

Will is a member of the collective of children at his school being tormented by Pennywise. All his school friends hail from broken homes, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The cause Will is being haunted is due to the viciousness of the town, paired with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately strangers in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family feeling something is off about the locality from the onset. They also have a good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the residents who come from the area, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of the community will ignite. In the recent film, we see that Will has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the film is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of Will in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy youth, once he grew up, leaned into drink to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten environment got to him first, with the KKK eventually finishing the task it began long before. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the community, seeded by It, It in the end achieves the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy seems resentful and much stricter with his parenting. Because he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a animal at the family property. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and provides an analogy 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 us, or you can be in there,” he states as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you feel that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of Derry.