You Should Watch This Legendary Stephen King Cinematic Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment
The series It: Welcome to Derry contains numerous connections to the author's wide-ranging library of stories. Apart from the obvious links to It, the show includes an explicit connection to King's famous novel via the cameo of a young Dick Hallorann. Now, as the narrative unfolds, Welcome to Derry is integrating one more beloved King story that deserves another look.
The Haunting Story of The Shawshank Redemption
Although The Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered horror, especially in contrast with much of King's other writing, it is a haunting tale about an innocently imprisoned individual condemned to spend the rest of his life in a infamous penitentiary. It is that very penitentiary that becomes important here, as the Shawshank facility possesses considerable history throughout King's fictional world — a tradition which persists in Welcome to Derry.
Some of the tales that reference Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Via these stories, we learn regarding the awful conditions inside Shawshank State Prison and several of those imprisoned there, including the partner of a belonging to Pennywise's early targets, who had been convicted of armed robbery.
So far, though, the most we've learned concerning Shawshank was via the eyes of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. The character Andy winds up in Shawshank after being wrongly convicted, then experiences assaulted and raped by fellow inmates, and exploited by those in officials in power due to his expertise in finance. He requires him 28 years to tunnel his way out of the prison, before crawling "through sewage" to take back his liberty.
Shawshank's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry
Regarding the series, audiences initially discovered of Shawshank's involvement from an initial preview for the show, in which a prison bus was seen with the name displayed on its side. In episode 2, it is revealed who is probably headed to the prison.
Although we know he did not commit the child deaths in the first episode, Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. The preview for episode 3, "Now You See It," shows a guard informing a jailed Hank, "Do you know what happens to kiddie killers in Shawshank?"
The Consequences for Hank and Ronnie
Given that the actual murderer in Derry is a primordial entity originating elsewhere preying on and killing children, Hank's chances of proving his innocence do not look good. Even should he does go in the prison and viewers do not see him inside, knowing what we do about that prison indicates that his time there would be far from enjoyable.
Crucially, though, this situation would endanger Ronnie. Hank is her guardian. Horrible things are happening around Derry that nobody, young or old, understands and she only has her new group of friends to depend on. She will require her dad as the story progresses, however should the prison system plays a role, she may be out of luck.
One thing seems clear: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to dig his way out.
It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available on HBO Max. New episodes are released each week on Sundays.
