You Should Watch This Classic Stephen King Film Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment
HBO's It: Welcome to Derry contains numerous connections to Stephen King's wide-ranging collection of tales. Beyond the clear ties to It, the show also features an explicit connection to The Shining through the appearance of a young future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Currently, as the narrative progresses, Welcome to Derry is integrating another beloved King story which merits another look.
The Haunting Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
While The Shawshank Redemption may not be considered a horror film, particularly compared to a lot of King's other writing, it remains a gripping story about an wrongfully convicted individual condemned to live his remaining years in a notorious prison. It is that very institution that becomes central here, since Shawshank State Prison holds considerable lore throughout King's fictional world — a tradition that continues in It: Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales that reference Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we learn regarding the awful life at Shawshank State Prison and several of those imprisoned there, such as the boyfriend of one belonging to Pennywise's early victims, who had been convicted for robbery with a weapon.
So far, however, the majority we've learned concerning Shawshank has been through the perspective of Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. Andy winds up in Shawshank following his wrongful conviction, and experiences assaulted and abused by other prisoners, while exploited by the officials in power due to his expertise in finance. It takes nearly three decades to tunnel his way out of the prison, prior to crawling "through a river of shit" to take back his freedom.
The Prison's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry
Regarding the series, viewers initially discovered about the prison's involvement from an early trailer for the show, where a prison bus appeared with the name painted on the side. During the second episode, it is revealed which character is probably headed to the prison.
Although it is known he did not responsible for the child deaths initially, Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. The preview for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," reveals an officer 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 a primordial entity originating elsewhere hunting and killing kids, Hank's chances of clearing his name appear slim. And even if he ends up to Shawshank and the audience do not see him inside, knowing what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his time there would not be enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this situation would endanger Ronnie. He acts as her guardian. Horrible things are happening around Derry which no one, young or old, understands and Ronnie only has her recently formed circle of pals to depend on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, however should Shawshank plays a role, she could be without help.
A single fact is apparent: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to dig his way out.
Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are currently available via the streaming service. New episodes are released each week each Sunday.