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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's cycle of hatred ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on kids from fractured homes — youngsters who frequently mature to replicate the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as a rare example of a family unit that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike, even after electing to remain in Derry, persists as the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resilience

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the neighborhood, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan 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 the Shining when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his house. This gift, alongside his inability to experience terror, combined with the base of his household, could be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is generational, and one of the reasons Mike is one of the only individuals in the town who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

The boy is part of the group of kids at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. All his school friends hail from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The cause Will is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally outsiders in Derry during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family sensing something is off about the locality from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the area, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we understand the juvenile Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the 2017 film, we see that he has a son named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a fire, with Leroy surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the shy youth, once he became an adult, turned to drink to free himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten environment affected him first, with the hate group ultimately completing the job it started long before. Whether through the fear of the entity or through the malice of the town, instigated by It, the creature in the end gets the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would explain how Leroy transforms so drastically from what we see in the first film and the prequel. In his later years, he appears bitter and much stricter with his discipline. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his words carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. Leroy chastises him for delaying and offers an metaphor 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 in there,” Leroy says as he points to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. Except you won't know it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

In hindsight, this could represent a piece of prediction, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the sickening allure of the town.