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The clown's influence on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, transforming them into the very adults who keep the town's cycle of hatred ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on kids from fractured households — children who often mature to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as a rare example of a family unit that remains intact, 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.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, particularly when the entity starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family comprises a small number of adults who are cognizant that things are not right with the municipality, especially Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's use of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his failure to feel fear, along with the foundation of his family, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is one of the only individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the group of children at his school being tormented by Pennywise. All his school friends come from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which renders him vulnerable. 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. They also have a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who originate in the town, with bonds that have decayed within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that he has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy youth, once he became an adult, turned to drink to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt environment got to him initially, with the KKK eventually completing the job it started long before. Whether through the terror of the entity or via the malice of the town, seeded by It, It in the end gets the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy transforms so radically from what we witness in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy seems resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they had on his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and provides an metaphor 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 us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and someone is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you experience that bolt between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he wishes he had told his own son. Perhaps he wishes he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of Derry.