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The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's cycle of hatred ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on kids from fractured homes — children who often mature to repeat the identical behaviors as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few households that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike, even after choosing to stay in Derry, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the neighborhood, especially when It begins tormenting his child, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few grown-ups who are cognizant that things are not right with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his inability to experience terror, along with the foundation of his family, could be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is hereditary, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is a member of the collective of children at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates hail from broken homes, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being pursued is because of the viciousness of the town, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately strangers in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the town from the onset. They also have a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the residents who come from the area, with bonds that have deteriorated internally.

Backstory Connections

Drawing from the original book, we know 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 cause. In the recent movie, we observe that Will has a boy 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 Mike's parents were on substances, but now that we see him in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the shy boy, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the rotten town affected him initially, with the hate group ultimately finishing the task it started years ago. Be it via the fear of the entity or via the malice of the community, instigated by It, It eventually achieves the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, he appears bitter and much stricter with his discipline. Since he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. However, his words carry more weight now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the effects they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we see Mike hesitate to use a bolt gun 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 scenario.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be in there,” he says as he points to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to make that choice. But you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he wishes he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the repellent allure of the town.