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The clown's impact on the young residents of the Derry series molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who keep the town's cycle of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from fractured households — children who frequently mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike, even after electing to remain in Derry, persists as the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resistance

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, especially when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family comprises a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that things are not right with the municipality, especially the father, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's use of it in the third episode. Later, he spots one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. The ability, coupled with his inability to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity 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?

The boy is a member of the collective of kids at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The cause he is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are fundamentally outsiders in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the household sensing something is off about the locality from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who come from the area, with bonds that have deteriorated within.

Historical Context

Drawing from the It novel, we know the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will ignite. In the 2017 film, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with his father surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but now that we see Will in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid youth, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten environment got to him initially, with the hate group ultimately finishing the task it started years ago. Be it via the terror of the entity or through the malice of the community, instigated by Pennywise, the creature eventually gets the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon transforms so radically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy seems resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Since he outlived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. However, his statements carry more weight since we are aware he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they had on his son. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe the boy pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. Leroy chastises him for delaying and provides an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be out here like us, or you can be in there,” he says as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and someone is going to decide for you. But you will be unaware it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Perhaps he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening attraction of Derry.