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Pennywise's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, twisting them into the exact individuals who keep the community's cycle of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from broken households — youngsters who often mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, 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 Unique Resilience

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the community, especially when It starts haunting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few grown-ups who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, especially Leroy, who was revealed to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. This gift, coupled with 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 shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the group of children at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. All his school friends come from dysfunctional families, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause he is being haunted is due to the cruelty of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the residents who come from the area, with relationships that have decayed within.

Historical Context

Based on the original book, we know the juvenile Will will end up at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will save him from a fire that the town bigots of the community will ignite. In the recent movie, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a configration, with his father outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but given our current view of him in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid boy, once he became an adult, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or maybe the corrupt environment got to him first, with the hate group eventually completing the task it began years ago. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or through the cruelty of the community, seeded by Pennywise, It in the end gets the last laugh on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would explain how Leroy changes so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy seems resentful and much stricter with his parenting. Since he outlived his own son, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his words carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his child. In the opening scene of the movie, we see Mike hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at the family property. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and provides an analogy that results in a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy says as he points to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to make that choice. But you won't know it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

Looking back, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, something he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of Derry.