You Should Watch One Legendary Stephen King Cinematic Before It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment
The series It: Welcome to Derry contains numerous connections to Stephen King's extensive collection of tales. Apart from the clear ties to the original story, the show showcases a direct link to The Shining through the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Now, as the narrative progresses, It: Welcome to Derry is weaving in one more beloved tale from King which merits another look.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although The Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as horror, particularly in contrast with a lot of King's other writing, it remains a haunting tale about an wrongfully convicted individual sentenced to live his remaining years in a notorious penitentiary. And it's that very penitentiary which is central in this context, as Shawshank State Prison possesses considerable history throughout King's fictional world — a tradition which persists in It: Welcome to Derry.
Among the stories which mention the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Through these stories, we discover regarding the terrible conditions inside Shawshank State Prison and some of the inmates there, such as the partner of one belonging to Pennywise's initial targets, who was convicted of armed robbery.
So far, however, the majority we've learned concerning Shawshank has been via the perspective of Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by the actor Tim Robbins in the 1994 film. The character Andy ends up at the prison following his wrongful conviction, then experiences beaten and abused by other prisoners, and exploited by those in officials in power due to his financial knowledge. It takes him 28 years to tunnel an escape route of the prison, before crawling "through sewage" to reclaim his freedom.
Shawshank's Appearance in Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, viewers initially discovered of Shawshank's involvement via an early trailer for the show, where a prison bus was seen with the name painted on the side. During the second episode, we learn who is probably destined for the prison.
Although we know he did not responsible for the murders of children initially, Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," reveals an officer telling Hank in his cell, "Are you aware what happens to child murderers in Shawshank?"
The Consequences for Hank and Ronnie
Considering that the actual murderer in Derry is an ancient power from another world preying on and killing 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 is known regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his experience would not be enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this situation would endanger his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Horrible things are occurring in the town that nobody, young or old, comprehends and she just has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her father in the coming episodes, but if the prison system plays a role, she could be without help.
One thing seems clear: Hank doesn’t have three decades to dig to freedom.
It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available via the streaming service. Additional installments air weekly on Sundays.
