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The clown's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, twisting them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the town's pattern of animosity alive. It finds easy targets on kids from broken homes — children who often grow up to replicate the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few households that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike, even after electing to remain in Derry, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resilience

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the neighborhood, especially when It starts haunting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of adults who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, especially the father, who was shown to be sensitive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing Dick Hallorann's employment of it in the third episode. Later, he spots one of the clown's trademark 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 Hanlon is among the few adults in the town who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the group of children at his school being tormented by the clown. His classmates come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The reason he is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the community, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. The Hanlons are ultimately strangers in the town during 1962, which lends itself towards the household feeling something is off about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the residents who come from the town, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we understand the young Will Hanlon will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the 2017 film, we observe that Will has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy outliving his own son and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that the parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid boy, once he grew up, leaned into drink to rid himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt environment affected him initially, with the KKK ultimately completing the task it started long before. Be it via the fear of the entity or through the malice of the community, instigated by It, the creature in the end gets the last laugh on Will.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would clarify how the elder Hanlon transforms so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy appears bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. However, his statements carry more weight since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his son. In the opening scene of the movie, we observe Mike hesitate to use a stunning device on a animal at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and offers an metaphor that results in a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

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

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