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Pennywise's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry shapes 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 broken households — children who frequently mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon household stands apart as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in Derry, persists as the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few adults who are aware that things are not right with the town, notably Leroy, who was revealed to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in episode 3. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his residence. This gift, alongside his inability to experience terror, along with the base of his family, could be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is one of the only adults in the town who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

Will is a member of the group of children at his school being tormented by Pennywise. All his school friends come from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause Will is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the community, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are fundamentally outsiders in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the town from the onset. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the town, with bonds that have deteriorated internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we know the young Will Hanlon will end up at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will save him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the recent movie, we see that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a fire, 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 him in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid boy, once he grew up, turned to drink to free himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the rotten town affected him first, with the hate group ultimately finishing the job it started long before. Whether through the terror of Pennywise or through the malice of the town, instigated by Pennywise, the creature eventually gets the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy changes so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he seems resentful and much harsher with his parenting. Since he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to observe such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his words carry more weight since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we see Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a animal at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and offers an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be in there,” Leroy states as he points to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

In hindsight, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he wishes he had told his own son. Maybe he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of the town.