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The clown's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who keep the community's pattern of animosity ongoing. It preys most easily on children from fractured households — children who often mature to replicate the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as one of the few households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his son, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the municipality, especially the father, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in episode 3. Later, he spots one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his house. The ability, alongside his inability to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his household, 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 adults in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the collective of children at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends hail from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause Will is being pursued is because of the cruelty of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately outsiders in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who come from the area, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.

Historical Context

Drawing from the original book, we know the juvenile Will will find himself at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 movie, we see that Will has a son named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the timid boy, once he grew up, leaned into drink to free himself of the torments, or maybe the rotten town got to him initially, with the KKK ultimately finishing the job it began years ago. Be it via the fear of the entity or through the malice of the community, instigated by Pennywise, It in the end gets the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how Leroy changes so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his older age, he seems bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Since he survived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a profound shift. 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 opening scene of It, we see the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and offers an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be in the open like us, or you can be trapped inside,” he states as he points to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you feel that bolt between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own child. Maybe he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of Derry.