You Should Watch This Legendary Stephen King Film Prior to the Series' Upcoming Installment
The series Welcome to Derry is packed with nods to Stephen King's wide-ranging collection of tales. Apart from the clear ties to It, the show showcases a direct connection to The Shining via the appearance of a young Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the narrative progresses, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating another beloved tale from King that deserves a revisit.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although Shawshank Redemption isn't typically classified as horror, particularly compared to much of the author's additional work, it remains a haunting tale about an wrongfully convicted individual condemned to live the rest of his life inside a notorious penitentiary. And it's this specific institution that becomes important here, since Shawshank State Prison holds significant lore throughout King's stories — a tradition that continues within It: Welcome to Derry.
Some of the tales which mention the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Via these stories, we learn about the terrible conditions inside Shawshank State Prison plus several of those imprisoned there, including the boyfriend of a belonging to Pennywise's early targets, who was found guilty of armed robbery.
So far, though, the majority we have discovered about the prison has been via the perspective of the protagonist from The Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in the 1994 film. Andy ends up at the prison after being wrongly convicted, then experiences assaulted and abused by fellow inmates, while taken advantage of by those in officials in power due to his expertise in finance. He requires him 28 years to tunnel an escape route from Shawshank, before crawling "through a river of shit" to reclaim his liberty.
The Prison's Role in Welcome to Derry
Regarding It: Welcome to Derry, audiences first learned of Shawshank's involvement from an early trailer for the series, in which a prison bus was seen with the name displayed on its side. During the second episode, we learn which character is likely destined for the prison.
Although we know he was not commit the child deaths in the first episode, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. A teaser for episode 3, "Now You See It," reveals an officer telling Hank in his cell, "Do you know what happens to kiddie killers at that prison?"
The Consequences for Hank and Ronnie
Considering that the real murderer in the town is a primordial entity originating elsewhere hunting and killing kids, Hank's prospects of clearing his name do not look good. And even if he ends up in the prison and the audience do not see him inside, understanding what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his experience would not be enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this situation could threaten his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Terrible events are occurring in the town that nobody, child or adult, comprehends and Ronnie just has her new group of friends to rely on. She will require her dad in the coming episodes, however should the prison system has any say, she may be out of luck.
One thing seems clear: Hank lacks 28 years to dig to freedom.
It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now on HBO Max. New episodes are released each week each Sunday.
