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The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the exact individuals who keep the community's pattern of animosity alive. The creature preys most easily on children from broken households — youngsters who frequently mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their guardians. However, the Hanlon family stands apart as a rare example of a 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.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan comprises a small number of adults who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his residence. The ability, alongside his inability to feel fear, combined with the base of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in the town who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the collective of children at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause Will is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family feeling something is off about the locality from the beginning. They also have a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who originate in the area, with bonds that have decayed within.

Historical Context

Drawing from the original book, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a fire that the town bigots of the community will cause. In the recent movie, we see that Will has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own son 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 him in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the timid youth, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to free himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the rotten town got to him first, with the KKK ultimately finishing the task it began years ago. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the town, seeded by It, It eventually achieves the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would clarify how Leroy transforms so radically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, he seems resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a drastic change. However, his statements hold greater significance now that we know he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they wrought upon his son. In the opening scene of It, we observe Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and offers an analogy that results in 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 in there,” he says as he points to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent allure of the town.