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Pennywise's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry molds them throughout their adult lives, twisting them into the very adults who perpetuate the town's cycle of animosity ongoing. The creature finds easy targets on children from broken households — children who often mature to repeat the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon household distinguishes itself as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike, even after choosing to stay in Derry, persists as the sole member who never fully falls under the clown's influence.

The Hanlon Family's Unique Resilience

In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes more aware of the supernatural forces surrounding the neighborhood, especially when the entity begins tormenting his son, Will Hanlon, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon clan 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 sensitive to psychic abilities when he was capable of sensing a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Subsequently, Leroy sees one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his house. The ability, alongside his inability to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving Pennywise's hauntings. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is one of the only individuals in Derry who didn't lose themselves to its cruelty?

The boy is a member of the collective of children at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. His classmates come from broken homes, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being haunted is due to the cruelty of the community, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. The Hanlons are fundamentally strangers in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. They also have a good foundation that isn't fractured, unlike the folks who come from 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 the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the town bigots of Derry will cause. In the 2017 movie, we see that Will has a son named Mike and that Will eventually perishes in a configration, with Leroy surviving his own son and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that the parents were on substances, but now that we see him in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the timid boy, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the torments, or perhaps the rotten town affected him initially, with the KKK eventually completing the job it started long before. Be it via the terror of Pennywise or via the malice of the community, instigated by Pennywise, the creature eventually achieves the final victory on him.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy seems bitter and much harsher with his discipline. Since he outlived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a profound shift. Nonetheless, his statements hold greater significance since we are aware he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they had on his child. In the opening scene of It, we observe Mike hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for hesitating and provides an analogy that leads to a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be out here like us, or you can be trapped inside,” he states as he points to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and someone is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that bolt in your head.”

In hindsight, this could represent a bit of foreshadowing, something 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 sickening attraction of Derry.