You Should Watch One Legendary Stephen King Movie Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment
HBO's Welcome to Derry is packed with nods to Stephen King's extensive library of stories. Apart from the obvious ties to It, the series showcases a direct connection to King's famous novel via the cameo of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Now, as the narrative unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is weaving in another classic tale from King that deserves a revisit.
The Haunting Story of The Shawshank Redemption
While Shawshank Redemption isn't typically classified as horror, particularly in contrast with much of King's other work, it remains a haunting story of a innocently imprisoned individual sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a infamous prison. It is that very penitentiary that becomes central in this context, since the Shawshank facility holds significant history across King's fictional world — a pattern that continues 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. Through these narratives, we discover regarding the terrible life inside Shawshank State Prison and some of those imprisoned within, such as the partner of a of Pennywise's initial targets, who was convicted of armed robbery.
Thus far, however, the most we've learned about the prison has been via the perspective of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. The character Andy winds up in Shawshank following being wrongly convicted, and experiences assaulted and raped by fellow inmates, and taken advantage of by those in authority figures due to his financial knowledge. It takes him 28 years to tunnel an escape route of the prison, prior to crawling "through a river of shit" to reclaim his liberty.
The Prison's Role in It: Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, audiences first learned about the prison's involvement via an initial preview for the series, where a correctional transport appeared with the name displayed on its side. In episode 2, it is revealed who is probably destined for Shawshank.
Though it is known he did not commit 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 episode 3, "the upcoming installment," shows an officer informing Hank in his cell, "Do you know what they do to kiddie killers at that prison?"
The Consequences for Hank and Ronnie
Given that the actual murderer in the town is a primordial entity from another world hunting and killing kids, Hank's prospects of clearing his name appear slim. Even should he does go in the prison and viewers do not see him inside, knowing what is known regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his experience would not be pleasant.
Crucially, however, this development could threaten his daughter. He acts as her protector. Horrible things are occurring around Derry which no one, child or adult, comprehends and she just has her new group circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her father in the coming episodes, but if Shawshank plays a role, she may be out of luck.
A single fact is apparent: 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 on Sundays.
