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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 exact individuals who perpetuate the community's pattern of hatred alive. The creature finds easy targets on children from fractured households — youngsters who frequently grow up to repeat the same patterns as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household stands apart as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the only Loser who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resilience

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy Hanlon at last grows more aware of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, particularly when It begins tormenting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of 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 psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in the third episode. Later, he sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. This gift, alongside his inability to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his household, may be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the collective of kids at his school being terrorized by the clown. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being haunted is because of the cruelty of the town, paired with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the household feeling something is off about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the area, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we know the young Will will find himself at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will save him from a fire that the local KKK members of the community will cause. In the 2017 film, we see that Will has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with his father surviving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but now that we see him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the timid boy, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten town affected him first, with the hate group eventually finishing the task it began years ago. Be it via the fear of Pennywise or via the cruelty of the community, seeded by It, the creature eventually achieves the last laugh on him.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy seems resentful and much harsher with his discipline. Because he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they had on his son. In the opening scene of the movie, we see Mike pause to use a stunning device on a animal at Leroy's farm. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating 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 states as he gestures to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could represent a piece of prediction, a lesson he wishes he had told his own son. Maybe he desires he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the sickening attraction of the town.