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Pennywise's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, twisting them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's cycle of animosity ongoing. It preys most easily on children from fractured households — children who often grow up to replicate the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few households that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, persists as the only Loser who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resilience

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, especially when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of grown-ups who are aware that things are not right with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in the third episode. Later, he sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, alongside his failure to experience terror, combined with the base of his household, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

Will is a member of the collective of children at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. All his school friends come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The reason Will is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the residents who come from the town, with bonds that have deteriorated within.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the original book, we understand the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where Hallorann will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the recent film, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with his father outliving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the film is that Mike's parents were on substances, but given our current view of him in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid boy, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to free himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten environment affected him initially, with the KKK ultimately finishing the task it started long before. Be it via the fear of the entity or via the malice of the town, instigated by It, the creature eventually gets the final victory on him.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would clarify how Leroy transforms so drastically from what we witness in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he seems bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Because he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see 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 wrought upon his son. In the opening scene of the movie, we see the boy pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. Leroy reprimands him for hesitating and offers an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be out here like us, or you can be trapped inside,” he says as he points to the creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. But you won't know it until you experience that projectile in your head.”

Looking back, this could represent a piece of prediction, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of Derry.