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Pennywise's influence on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who keep the community's pattern of animosity ongoing. It finds easy targets on children from broken households — youngsters who frequently mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their guardians. But, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as a rare example of a households that never splinters, which may explain why Mike, even after electing to remain in Derry, remains the only Loser who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, particularly when It begins tormenting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon clan consists of a small number of adults who are aware that something is amiss with the town, especially Leroy, who was shown to be sensitive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Later, Leroy spots one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, coupled with his inability to experience terror, combined with the base of his family, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is generational, and a key factor Mike Hanlon is one of the only adults in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is part of the group of kids at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. All his school friends hail from broken homes, with caregivers who refuse to accept they're being haunted. The reason Will is being haunted is due to the viciousness of the town, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately outsiders in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family sensing something is off about the locality from the onset. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the folks who come from the town, with bonds that have decayed internally.

Historical Context

Based on the It novel, we know the juvenile Will will end up at the Black Spot, where the psychic will rescue him from a fire that the local KKK members of Derry will ignite. In the 2017 film, we observe that he has a son named Mike and that the father eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that the parents were on drugs, but now that we see him in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Maybe the shy youth, once he grew up, leaned into alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt town got to him initially, with the hate group eventually completing the job it started years ago. Whether through the terror of the entity or through the malice of the community, instigated by Pennywise, the creature in the end gets the last laugh on him.

Leroy's Transformation

This chain of events would explain how Leroy changes so drastically from what we witness in the first film and the prequel. In his older age, Leroy appears resentful and much stricter with his discipline. Because he survived his own son, it's comprehensible to observe such a profound shift. However, his words carry more weight since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the opening scene of It, we see Mike pause to use a stunning device on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather reprimands him for delaying and offers an metaphor that results in a survival-of-the-fittest situation.

“There are two places you can be in this world. You can be out here like we are, or you can be in there,” Leroy says as he gestures to the creature. “You waste time indecisive, and someone is going to decide for you. But you won't know it until you feel that bolt in your head.”

In hindsight, this could be a piece of foreshadowing, a lesson he wishes he had told his own child. Perhaps he desires he had acted differently in his past, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the repellent attraction of Derry.