Don't Miss This Legendary Stephen King Cinematic Before It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment
The series It: Welcome to Derry contains numerous nods to Stephen King's wide-ranging universe of narratives. Beyond the obvious links to the original story, the show also features a direct link to The Shining via the appearance of a young Dick Hallorann. Now, as the story unfolds, Welcome to Derry is integrating one more classic tale from King that deserves another look.
The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption
While The Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered a horror film, especially in contrast with a lot of King's other writing, it remains a haunting story about an innocently imprisoned man condemned to spend his remaining years in a notorious prison. It is this specific penitentiary that becomes important here, as the Shawshank facility possesses significant history throughout King's stories — a tradition that continues within It: Welcome to Derry.
Some of the tales that reference Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Through these narratives, we discover regarding the terrible life at Shawshank State Prison plus some of the inmates within, including the boyfriend of a of Pennywise's initial victims, who had been convicted for robbery with a weapon.
Thus far, however, the majority we have discovered about the prison was through the perspective of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. Andy ends up at the prison following being wrongly convicted, then finds himself beaten and raped by other prisoners, and exploited by those in officials in power for his financial knowledge. It takes nearly three decades to dig an escape route of the prison, prior to crawling "through a river of shit" to take back his freedom.
The Prison's Role in It: Welcome to Derry
Regarding the series, viewers initially discovered about the prison's inclusion via an initial preview for the show, in which a correctional transport was seen with the name displayed on its side. In episode 2, we learn who is likely destined for the prison.
Although we know he did not responsible for the murders of children in the first episode, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for the crimes. A teaser for the next episode, "Now You See It," shows a guard telling Hank in his cell, "Do you know what happens to kiddie killers at that prison?"
The Implications for the Character and Ronnie
Considering that the actual murderer in the town is an ancient power from another world hunting and killing children, Hank's chances of proving his innocence do not look good. And even if he does go to Shawshank and viewers don't follow him inside, understanding what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his time there would be far from enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this situation would endanger his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Horrible things are occurring around Derry which no one, child or adult, understands and Ronnie just has her new group circle of pals to depend on. She's going to need her father in the coming episodes, but if Shawshank plays a role, she may be without help.
One thing seems clear: Hank doesn’t have three decades to tunnel his way out.
Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now via the streaming service. New episodes are released each week on Sundays.
