You Should Watch This Classic Stephen King Cinematic Before the Series' Upcoming Installment
The series It: Welcome to Derry is filled with nods to Stephen King's wide-ranging collection of tales. Apart from the clear links to It, the series also features a direct link to King's famous novel via the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Now, as the story unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating another classic tale from King which merits another look.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
While Shawshank Redemption isn't typically classified as horror, especially in contrast with much of King's other work, it is a gripping tale about an wrongfully convicted man condemned to live his remaining years inside a infamous penitentiary. It is this specific penitentiary that becomes central here, as Shawshank State Prison possesses considerable lore throughout King's stories — a tradition which persists within Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales which mention the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Via these stories, we discover about the awful life at the state penitentiary plus some of the inmates there, such as the boyfriend of a of Pennywise's early targets, who was convicted of armed robbery.
So far, however, the majority we've learned about the prison was via the perspective of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. The character Andy ends up in Shawshank after being wrongly convicted, and finds himself assaulted and raped by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by those in officials in power due to his financial knowledge. He requires nearly three decades to tunnel his way out of the prison, prior to crawling "through sewage" to take back his liberty.
Shawshank's Role in Welcome to Derry
Regarding the series, audiences first learned of Shawshank's inclusion via an initial preview for the show, where a correctional transport appeared bearing the title displayed on its side. During the second episode, it is revealed which character is likely headed to the prison.
Though we know he did not commit the murders of children initially, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. A teaser for the next episode, "the upcoming installment," shows an officer telling Hank in his cell, "Are you aware what they do to kiddie killers at that prison?"
The Consequences for the Character and His Daughter
Considering that the real murderer in Derry is a primordial entity originating elsewhere preying on and murdering kids, Hank's prospects of proving his innocence appear slim. Even should he does go to Shawshank and viewers do not see him there, knowing what we do about that prison makes it clear that his time there would be far from pleasant.
Crucially, though, this development could threaten Ronnie. Hank is her protector. Horrible things are happening around Derry which no one, child or adult, comprehends and Ronnie just has her recently formed of friends to rely on. She's going to need her father as the story progresses, however should Shawshank has any say, she may be out of luck.
A single fact seems clear: Hank lacks 28 years to tunnel to freedom.
It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are currently available via the streaming service. New episodes are released each week each Sunday.
