Don't Miss One Legendary Stephen King Cinematic Prior to the Series' Upcoming Installment
The series Welcome to Derry is filled with connections to Stephen King's extensive collection of tales. Apart from the obvious links to It, the show showcases an explicit connection to The Shining through the cameo of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Now, as the story unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating another classic tale from King that deserves a revisit.
The Haunting Story of The Shawshank Redemption
Although Shawshank Redemption may not be considered a horror film, particularly compared to a lot of the author's additional writing, it is a gripping story about an innocently imprisoned individual condemned to spend his remaining years inside a notorious prison. It is that very institution that becomes central in this context, as the Shawshank facility holds considerable lore across King's fictional world — a pattern that continues in It: Welcome to Derry.
Some of the tales that reference Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these stories, we discover about the terrible conditions at the state penitentiary plus some of the inmates there, including the partner of a of Pennywise's early targets, who was convicted for robbery with a weapon.
Thus far, though, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank was via the perspective of Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. The character Andy ends up at the prison after his wrongful conviction, and experiences beaten and raped by other prisoners, while exploited by those in authority figures for his financial knowledge. He requires nearly three decades to tunnel his way out of the prison, before crawling "through a river of shit" to take back his liberty.
The Prison's Role in Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, audiences initially discovered of Shawshank's inclusion from an early trailer for the show, where a prison bus was seen with the name displayed on its side. During the second episode, it is revealed who is probably headed to the prison.
Though we know he did not responsible for the murders of children in the first episode, Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. The preview for the next episode, "the upcoming installment," shows an officer informing Hank in his cell, "Do you know what happens to child murderers at that prison?"
The Implications for the Character and Ronnie
Given that the actual killer in the town is an ancient power originating elsewhere hunting and killing kids, Hank's chances of proving his innocence do not look good. And even if he ends up to Shawshank and viewers do not see him there, knowing what we do about that prison indicates that his experience would be far from pleasant.
Crucially, though, this situation would endanger his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Terrible events are happening in the town which no one, young or old, understands and Ronnie just has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her father in the coming episodes, however should Shawshank plays a role, she could be without help.
One thing is apparent: Hank lacks three decades to dig his way out.
It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are currently available on HBO Max. New episodes are released each week on Sundays.
