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The clown's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, transforming them into the very adults who keep the town's pattern of animosity ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on kids from broken homes — youngsters who frequently grow up to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as a rare example of a households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, persists as the only Loser who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resistance

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the neighborhood, particularly when the entity starts haunting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of grown-ups who are cognizant that something is amiss with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's employment of it in the third episode. Subsequently, he sees one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his house. This gift, coupled with his failure to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his household, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and a key factor Mike is among the few individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

Will is part of the group of children at his school being tormented by the clown. All his school friends hail from broken homes, with parents who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The cause Will is being pursued is due to the viciousness of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately strangers in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the family sensing something is off about the locality from the onset. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who originate in the area, with relationships that have decayed internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the original book, we understand the juvenile Will will end up at the Black Spot, where Hallorann will rescue him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that Will has a boy named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The official story in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in the series, that's hard to believe. Perhaps the timid youth, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to free himself of the hauntings, or maybe the rotten environment got to him first, with the KKK ultimately completing the task it started years ago. Whether through the terror of the entity or via the malice of the town, seeded by Pennywise, It eventually gets the final victory on him.

Leroy's Transformation

These occurrences would clarify how Leroy changes so radically from what we witness in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he seems resentful and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own son, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance now that we know he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his son. In the initial sequence of It, we observe the boy hesitate to use a stunning device on a animal at the family property. Leroy reprimands him for hesitating and offers an analogy that results in a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” he states as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and someone is going to decide for you. But you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile between your eyes.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the sickening allure of the town.