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Pennywise's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's pattern of animosity ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on children from broken homes — youngsters who often grow up to repeat the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few family unit that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in the town, persists as the only Loser who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few adults who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in episode 3. Later, he sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his failure to feel fear, along with the base of his family, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike is among the few adults in the town who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is a member of the collective of children at his school being tormented by the clown. All his school friends come from broken homes, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The reason he is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the community, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household sensing something is off about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the residents who come from the town, with bonds that have deteriorated internally.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the recent film, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own son 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 the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the timid boy, once he grew up, turned to drink to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten environment got to him initially, with the KKK ultimately completing the job it started long before. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or through the malice of the community, seeded by Pennywise, It in the end achieves the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon transforms so radically from what we see in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, he seems bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Since he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his son. In the opening scene of It, we see the boy pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather reprimands him for delaying and provides an metaphor that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“There are two places 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 creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and someone is going to decide for you. Except you won't know it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own son. Maybe he desires he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of the town.