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The clown's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, twisting them into the exact individuals who perpetuate the town's cycle of animosity ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on kids from fractured households — children who frequently grow up to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. However, the Hanlon family stands apart as one of the few households that remains intact, which may explain why Mike, even after choosing to stay in Derry, persists as the only Loser who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of the series, Leroy at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, particularly when the entity starts haunting his son, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan consists of some of the few adults who are aware that things are not right with the municipality, especially the father, who was shown to be receptive to the Shining when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, he sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his house. The ability, alongside his inability to feel fear, along with the base of his family, could be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike is one of the only adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to its cruelty?

The boy is part of the group of kids at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates hail from dysfunctional families, with parents who refuse to accept they're being targeted. The reason he is being haunted is due to the viciousness of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are fundamentally outsiders in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the household sensing something is off about the locality from the beginning. They also have a good foundation that remains unbroken, unlike the folks who come from the area, with relationships that have deteriorated internally.

Historical Context

Drawing from the It novel, we know the young Will Hanlon will find himself at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the town bigots of Derry will ignite. In the 2017 movie, we see that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own son 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 Welcome to Derry, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid boy, once he became an adult, leaned into drink to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten environment got to him initially, with the KKK eventually completing the task it started years ago. Whether through the fear of the entity or via the cruelty of the community, instigated by It, the creature in the end gets the last laugh on him.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, he appears bitter and much stricter with his discipline. Since he survived his own son, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. However, his words carry more weight since we are aware he's seen Pennywise's hauntings 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 sheep at Leroy's farm. Leroy reprimands him for delaying and provides 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 we are, or you can be in there,” he says as he gestures to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to make that choice. Except you won't know it until you feel that projectile between your eyes.”

Looking back, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own child. Perhaps he desires he had done something in his past, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the repellent attraction of Derry.