You Should Watch One Iconic Stephen King Cinematic Before the Series' Upcoming Installment
The series It: Welcome to Derry is filled with references to the author's extensive library of stories. Beyond the clear links to It, the series showcases a direct connection to King's famous novel via the appearance of a young future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Now, as the story unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is weaving in one more classic tale from King which merits another look.
The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption
While The Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as a horror film, particularly in contrast with much of the author's additional work, it is a gripping story about an wrongfully convicted man sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a notorious prison. And it's that very penitentiary which is central in this context, as Shawshank State Prison possesses significant history across King's stories — a pattern that continues in Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales which mention the prison are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we discover regarding the awful conditions inside the state penitentiary and some of the inmates there, including the partner of a belonging to Pennywise's initial victims, who had been found guilty for robbery with a weapon.
Thus far, however, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been through the eyes of the protagonist in Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. Andy winds up at the prison after his wrongful conviction, and finds himself beaten and raped by fellow inmates, while taken advantage of by those in officials in power due to his financial knowledge. It takes him 28 years to dig an escape route from Shawshank, before crawling "through a river of shit" to reclaim his liberty.
The Prison's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry
In relation to It: Welcome to Derry, viewers first learned about the prison's involvement from an early trailer for the series, in which a prison bus appeared with the name displayed on its side. In episode 2, it is revealed which character is likely destined for Shawshank.
Although it is known he did not commit the murders of children initially, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. A teaser for the next episode, "Now You See It," reveals an officer informing a jailed Hank, "Are you aware what they do to child murderers in Shawshank?"
The Consequences for Hank and Ronnie
Considering that the real killer in Derry is a primordial entity originating elsewhere preying on and killing children, Hank's prospects of clearing his name do not look good. And even if he does go to Shawshank and the audience do not see him there, knowing what we do about that prison indicates that his experience would not be enjoyable.
Crucially, however, this situation would endanger Ronnie. He acts as her guardian. Horrible things are occurring in the town which no one, young or old, understands and she just has her recently formed of friends to depend on. She will require her father in the coming episodes, but if Shawshank has any say, she may be out of luck.
A single fact is apparent: Hank doesn’t have three decades to tunnel his way out.
Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available on HBO Max. Additional installments are released each week each Sunday.
