Pennywise's impact on the children of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, twisting them into the very adults who keep the town's pattern of hatred alive. The creature finds easy targets on kids from broken households — children who often grow up to replicate the same patterns as their parents. But, the Hanlon household stands apart 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 the clown's influence.
The Hanlon Family's Unique Resistance
In episode 4 of Welcome to Derry, Leroy finally becomes more aware of the supernatural forces surrounding the community, especially when It starts haunting his child, Will, during their angling excursion. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few adults who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, especially the father, who was revealed to be sensitive to the Shining when he was able to detect Dick Hallorann's employment of it in the third episode. Subsequently, he spots one of Pennywise's signature balloons outside his residence. This gift, alongside his failure to experience terror, along with the base of his family, may be why he's capable of perceiving the entity's manifestations. But what if that shining is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few adults in Derry who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?
Will is a member of the group of kids at his school being terrorized by Pennywise. His classmates hail from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause Will is being haunted is because of the cruelty of the town, combined with his potential sensitivity to shine, which makes him susceptible. This family are ultimately outsiders in Derry during 1962, which contributes towards the household feeling anomalies exist about the locality from the beginning. They also have a solid base that isn't fractured, unlike the residents who originate in the area, with bonds that have deteriorated internally.
Historical Context
Based on the It novel, we understand the young Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will save him from a blaze that the local KKK members of Derry will cause. In the recent movie, we observe that Will has a son named Mike and that the father ultimately dies in a fire, with his father outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the film is that the parents were on drugs, but now that we see Will in the series, that's difficult to accept. Maybe the shy youth, once he became an adult, turned to alcohol to free himself of the torments, or maybe the corrupt town got to him initially, with the hate group ultimately completing the task it started years ago. Be it via the terror of the entity or through the malice of the community, seeded by It, the creature eventually gets the last laugh on Will.
The Father's Evolution
These occurrences would clarify how Leroy changes so radically from what we see in It: Chapter 1 and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy seems resentful and much stricter with his parenting. Because he outlived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a profound shift. However, his statements 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 Mike pause to use a bolt gun on a animal at the family property. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and offers an analogy that leads to a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.
“There are two places you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like us, or you can be in there,” Leroy states as he points to the creature. “You dawdle indecisive, and another is going to decide for you. Except you will be unaware it until you feel that bolt in your head.”
Looking back, this could represent a piece of foreshadowing, something he regrets not imparting to his own son. Maybe he desires he had done something in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the repellent allure of the town.
