You Should Watch One Iconic Stephen King Cinematic Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment
The series Welcome to Derry is filled with references to the author's wide-ranging library of stories. Apart from the obvious links to the original story, the show includes an explicit connection to The Shining via the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Now, as the story unfolds, Welcome to Derry is integrating another classic tale from King that deserves another look.
The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption
Although The Shawshank Redemption isn't typically classified as a horror film, particularly compared to a lot of the author's additional work, it is a gripping tale of a innocently imprisoned individual sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a notorious prison. And it's this specific penitentiary that becomes central in this context, since Shawshank State Prison possesses significant lore throughout King's fictional world — a pattern which persists in Welcome to Derry.
Some of the stories which mention Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we learn about the terrible conditions inside the state penitentiary plus some of the inmates there, such as the boyfriend of a belonging to Pennywise's initial victims, who was convicted for robbery with a weapon.
So far, though, the most we have discovered concerning Shawshank was through the perspective of the protagonist from The Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 film. The character Andy ends up in Shawshank after being wrongly convicted, and finds himself assaulted and abused by fellow inmates, and taken advantage of by the officials in power due to his expertise in finance. It takes nearly three decades to dig his way out of the prison, before crawling "through a river of shit" to take back his freedom.
Shawshank's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, audiences initially discovered about the prison's involvement via an early trailer for the show, where a correctional transport appeared bearing the title displayed on its side. In episode 2, we learn who is probably headed to Shawshank.
Although we know he was not responsible for the child deaths initially, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. A teaser for the next episode, "Now You See It," reveals an officer informing Hank in his cell, "Are you aware what happens to child murderers in Shawshank?"
The Consequences for the Character and Ronnie
Given that the actual murderer in the town is a primordial entity originating elsewhere preying on and murdering children, Hank's chances of clearing his name do not look good. And even if he ends up in the prison and viewers don't follow him there, knowing what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his experience would not be pleasant.
More importantly, though, this situation could threaten his daughter. Hank is her protector. Horrible things are occurring in the town which no one, child or adult, comprehends and she just has her recently formed of friends to rely on. She will require her father as the story progresses, but if Shawshank has any say, she could be without help.
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 currently available via the streaming service. Additional installments are released each week each Sunday.
