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Pennywise's impact on the children of the Derry series molds them long into adulthood, twisting them into the very adults who keep the community's cycle of hatred alive. It finds easy targets on children from broken homes — youngsters who frequently mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their guardians. However, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, 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 clan comprises a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, notably the father, who was shown to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Later, he spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, alongside his failure to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is part of the group of children at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. His classmates hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately outsiders in the town during 1962, which contributes towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the town from the onset. They also have a solid base that remains unbroken, unlike the residents who originate in the area, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Based on the original book, we know the juvenile Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a fire that the town bigots of the community will ignite. In the 2017 film, we see that Will has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy outliving his own son and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but now that we see him in the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the shy boy, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt town affected him first, with the KKK ultimately completing the job it started years ago. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or through the malice of the community, seeded by It, It in the end gets the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how Leroy transforms so drastically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he seems bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words carry more weight since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe the boy pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. Leroy chastises him for delaying and provides an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be out here like us, or you can be in there,” Leroy states as he gestures to the sheep. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. But you won't know it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

Looking back, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he desires he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the sickening attraction of the town.