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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of the Derry series shapes them long into adulthood, twisting them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the town's cycle of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from broken homes — children who often mature to replicate the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of adults who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, 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 episode 3. Subsequently, he spots one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his failure to experience terror, along with the base of his family, could be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike is one of the only individuals in the town who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

Will is part of the collective of children at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends come from dysfunctional families, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The reason Will is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to psychic abilities, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in the town during 1962, which lends itself towards the family sensing something is off about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that remains unbroken, in contrast to the folks who come from the town, with bonds that have deteriorated within.

Historical Context

Drawing from the original book, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will cause. In the recent film, we see that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own son and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the film is that the parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will 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 torments, or maybe the rotten environment got to him initially, with the hate group ultimately finishing the task it started years ago. Whether through the terror of Pennywise or through the malice of the community, seeded by It, It eventually achieves the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy changes so radically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy seems bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Since he survived his own son, it's understandable to observe such a profound shift. However, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his son. In the opening scene of the movie, we observe Mike pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. His grandfather reprimands him for hesitating and offers an metaphor that leads to a kill-or-be-killed situation.

“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be out here like we are, or you can be in there,” he states as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a bit of prediction, a lesson he wishes he had told his own son. Maybe he wishes he had done something in his youth, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent allure of the town.