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The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's cycle of hatred alive. It finds easy targets on kids from fractured households — children who often grow up to replicate the identical behaviors as their guardians. But, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a households 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 the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, especially when the entity starts haunting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan comprises some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the municipality, notably the father, who was revealed to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, alongside his inability to feel fear, combined with the base of his family, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

Will is part of the group of children at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. His classmates come from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The reason Will is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately strangers in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the residents who originate in the area, with relationships that have decayed within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the original book, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the 2017 film, we observe that Will has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with his father surviving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but given our current view of him in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the shy boy, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten town got to him initially, with the KKK ultimately finishing the job it started long before. Be it via the fear of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the community, instigated by It, It eventually achieves the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how Leroy changes so radically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy seems bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Since he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a profound shift. However, his words carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they had on his child. In the opening scene of It, we observe Mike hesitate to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. Leroy reprimands him for hesitating and provides an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be out here like we are, or you can be in there,” he states as he gestures to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and someone is going to decide for you. Except you won't know it until you experience that bolt between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of prediction, something he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of the town.