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The clown's impact on the young residents of the Derry series molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the exact individuals who keep the town's pattern of hatred ongoing. It finds easy targets on kids from fractured homes — youngsters who frequently mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their guardians. However, the Hanlon household stands apart as a rare example of a family unit that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under the clown's influence.

Hanlon Household's Unique Resistance

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy Hanlon at last grows increasingly conscious of the supernatural forces enveloping the community, particularly when the entity starts haunting his son, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of some of the few grown-ups who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, especially the father, who was revealed to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, Leroy spots one of the clown's trademark balloons outside his residence. The ability, alongside his failure to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. However, consider if that shining is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

Will is part of the group of children at his educational institution being tormented by Pennywise. All his school friends come from dysfunctional families, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The reason Will is being pursued is because of the viciousness of the community, paired with his likely receptiveness to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately outsiders in Derry during 1962, which lends itself towards the family sensing anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who originate in the area, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the town bigots of the community will ignite. In the recent movie, we see that he has a boy named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a configration, with his father surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The official story in the film is that Mike's parents were on substances, but now that we see him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Perhaps the timid youth, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to free himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten town got to him initially, with the hate group eventually finishing the task it started years ago. Be it via the fear of the entity or via the malice of the town, instigated by It, It in the end achieves the last laugh on him.

The Father's Evolution

These occurrences would clarify how the elder Hanlon transforms so drastically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, he appears bitter and much stricter with his discipline. Since he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to observe such a profound shift. However, his statements carry more weight now that we know he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they had on his son. In the initial sequence of It, we see Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. Leroy reprimands him for hesitating and provides an metaphor 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 trapped inside,” he says as he gestures to the creature. “You dawdle hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that projectile in your head.”

Looking back, this could represent a bit of prediction, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he couldn't resist the sickening allure of Derry.