You Should Watch One Classic Stephen King Film Before the Series' Upcoming Installment
The series Welcome to Derry is packed with nods to the author's wide-ranging collection of tales. Beyond the obvious ties to It, the series also features a direct connection to The Shining through the appearance of a young Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the narrative progresses, It: Welcome to Derry is weaving in another beloved tale from King that deserves a revisit.
The Haunting Story of The Shawshank Redemption
Although The Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as horror, especially in contrast with much of King's other work, it remains a haunting tale of a wrongfully convicted individual sentenced to live the rest of his life in a notorious penitentiary. It is this specific institution which is important in this context, as the Shawshank facility possesses significant history across King's fictional world — a tradition which persists within Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales that reference the prison are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we discover regarding the awful conditions inside the state penitentiary and some of those imprisoned within, such as the boyfriend of one of Pennywise's initial targets, who had been convicted for robbery with a weapon.
Thus far, however, the majority we have discovered about the prison has been via the eyes of Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 film. The character Andy ends up in Shawshank after his wrongful conviction, and experiences beaten and abused by fellow inmates, while taken advantage of by those in authority figures due to his expertise in finance. He requires him 28 years to dig his way out from Shawshank, before crawling "through a river of shit" to take back his liberty.
Shawshank's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, viewers first learned about the prison's involvement via an early trailer for the series, in which a prison bus was seen bearing the title displayed on its side. In episode 2, we learn who is likely destined for the prison.
Though we know he did not commit the child deaths initially, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. A teaser for the next episode, "Now You See It," reveals a guard telling a jailed Hank, "Are you aware what happens to child murderers at that prison?"
The Implications for Hank and Ronnie
Considering that the real murderer in the town is a primordial entity originating elsewhere preying on and murdering children, Hank's prospects of proving his innocence do not look good. Even should he does go in the prison and viewers do not see him there, knowing what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his experience would not be pleasant.
More importantly, though, this situation would endanger Ronnie. He acts as her guardian. Terrible events are occurring in the town which no one, young or old, understands and she just has her recently formed of friends to depend on. She's going to need her dad as the story progresses, but if the prison system has any say, she may be out of luck.
A single fact is apparent: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to dig to freedom.
Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now on HBO Max. New episodes are released each week on Sundays.
