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The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the community's cycle of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from broken households — children who frequently grow up to replicate the identical behaviors as their guardians. However, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, especially when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will Hanlon, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan comprises a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Later, he sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his failure to feel fear, combined with the foundation of his family, could be why he's able to see Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the collective of children at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. His classmates come from broken homes, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The reason Will is being pursued is due to the cruelty of the community, paired with his potential sensitivity to shine, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which contributes towards the family feeling something is off about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the folks who originate in the town, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Drawing from the original book, we understand the young Will will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the town bigots of the community will ignite. In the 2017 film, we see that Will has a son named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a fire, with his father outliving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the motion picture is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid youth, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to free himself of the hauntings, or maybe the corrupt environment affected him initially, with the hate group ultimately finishing the task it began long before. Whether through the fear of the entity or through the cruelty of the town, instigated by Pennywise, It in the end gets the last laugh on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how Leroy transforms so drastically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, he seems bitter and much harsher with his parenting. Because he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. However, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's seen Pennywise's hauntings and the impacts they had on his child. In the initial sequence of It, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and provides an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“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 gestures to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you feel that bolt between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he wishes he had told his own son. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent allure of the town.