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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, transforming them into the exact individuals who keep the town's cycle of animosity ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on children from fractured households — youngsters who frequently mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, especially when It starts haunting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few grown-ups who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, especially Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Later, he spots one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his residence. This gift, alongside his failure to feel fear, along with the foundation of his household, could be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

Will is part of the collective of kids at his school being tormented by Pennywise. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The cause Will is being haunted is because of the viciousness of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally strangers in the town during 1962, which lends itself towards the family feeling something is off about the town from the onset. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the area, with relationships that have deteriorated within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we understand the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of the community will cause. In the 2017 movie, we observe that he has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a fire, with his father outliving his own son and taking his grandson in. The official story in the film is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid boy, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to free himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt town affected him first, with the KKK ultimately completing the task it began long before. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the town, seeded by Pennywise, the creature eventually gets the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon transforms so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy seems bitter and much stricter with his discipline. Since he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a profound shift. However, his words carry more weight now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather reprimands him for delaying and provides an metaphor that results in a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy says as he points to the sheep. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he wishes he had done something in his youth, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of Derry.