You Should Watch This Legendary Stephen King Film Before the Series' Next Episode
HBO's Welcome to Derry contains numerous connections to Stephen King's vast collection of tales. Apart from the clear links to the original story, the series includes a direct connection to The Shining via the appearance of a young future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Now, as the narrative unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is weaving in one more classic tale from King that deserves another look.
The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption
Although Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered horror, especially compared to a lot of the author's additional writing, it is a gripping tale of a innocently imprisoned individual condemned to spend his remaining years in a infamous prison. And it's this specific institution which is important in this context, as the Shawshank facility possesses significant history throughout King's stories — a tradition which persists in It: Welcome to Derry.
Some of the tales that reference the prison are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Through these stories, we discover about the terrible life inside Shawshank State Prison and some of those imprisoned there, including the boyfriend of one belonging to Pennywise's early targets, who was found guilty of armed robbery.
Thus far, however, the most we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been via the perspective of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. The character Andy ends up in Shawshank following being wrongly convicted, and finds himself beaten and raped by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by the officials in power for his expertise in finance. It takes nearly three decades to dig an escape route of the prison, before making his way "through sewage" to reclaim his liberty.
The Prison's Appearance in Welcome to Derry
Regarding the series, audiences first learned about the prison's inclusion via an early trailer for the show, where a correctional transport was seen with the name displayed on its side. During the second episode, it is revealed which character is likely destined for the prison.
Though it is known he did not commit the child deaths in the first episode, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. The preview for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," reveals a guard informing a jailed Hank, "Do you know what happens to kiddie killers at that prison?"
The Implications for the Character and Ronnie
Given that the real murderer in Derry is an ancient power originating elsewhere hunting and killing kids, Hank's chances of proving his innocence appear slim. Even should he ends up to Shawshank and viewers don't follow him inside, knowing what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his time there would be far from enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this development would endanger Ronnie. He acts as her guardian. Terrible events are happening in the town which no one, child or adult, comprehends and she just has her new group of friends to depend on. She will require her father as the story progresses, but if the prison system plays a role, she may be out of luck.
A single fact seems clear: Hank doesn’t have three decades to tunnel his way out.
It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now on HBO Max. New episodes air weekly each Sunday.
