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The clown's influence on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, twisting them into the very adults who keep the community's cycle of animosity ongoing. It preys most easily on children from fractured homes — youngsters who frequently mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few family unit that remains intact, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, persists as the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, especially when the entity starts haunting his child, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few adults who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, especially Leroy, 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. Later, he spots one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. This gift, alongside his failure to experience terror, 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 Derry who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

Will is part of the group of children at his educational institution being terrorized by Pennywise. All his school friends hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The reason he is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the community, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family sensing something is off about the locality from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who originate in the area, with relationships that have deteriorated within.

Backstory Connections

Based on the original book, we know the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will cause. In the 2017 film, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. 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 boy, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt town affected him first, with the hate group eventually finishing the job it started years ago. Be it via the terror of the entity or through the malice of the community, instigated by It, It eventually gets the final victory on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy appears resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance now that we know he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they had on his child. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and offers an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” he says as he points to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a piece of prediction, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his youth, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the sickening allure of the town.