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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 pattern of hatred alive. The creature preys most easily on kids from broken households — youngsters who often grow up to repeat the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the sole member who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resilience

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the neighborhood, especially when the entity starts haunting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few grown-ups who are aware that something is amiss with the town, especially the father, who was shown to be sensitive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's employment of it in the third episode. Later, Leroy sees one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. This gift, coupled with his inability to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is a member of the collective of kids at his school being terrorized by the clown. His classmates hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The reason Will is being haunted is because of the cruelty of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. This family are ultimately strangers in Derry during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the residents who come from the town, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.

Backstory Connections

Based on the It novel, we understand the young Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of the community will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that he has a boy named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with his father surviving his own son 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 Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy boy, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the corrupt environment got to him first, with the KKK eventually finishing the task it started long before. Whether through the fear of Pennywise or via the malice of the community, seeded by Pennywise, the creature in the end gets the final victory on Will.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his later years, he seems resentful and much stricter with his parenting. Because he survived his own offspring, it's understandable to observe such a profound shift. However, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed the clown's activities and the impacts they had on his son. In the opening scene of the movie, we see the boy hesitate to use a stunning device on a sheep at Leroy's farm. Leroy chastises him for hesitating and provides an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be in the open like us, or you can be in there,” Leroy states as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. Except you won't know it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he desires he had acted differently in his youth, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the sickening attraction of the town.