You Should Watch This Classic Stephen King Film Before It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment
The series Welcome to Derry contains numerous nods to Stephen King's vast collection of tales. Beyond the clear ties to the original story, the series showcases an explicit link to The Shining via the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the story unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating one more classic King story that deserves another look.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
While Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as a horror film, particularly in contrast with much of the author's additional writing, it is a gripping tale of a wrongfully convicted man sentenced to spend the rest of his life inside a infamous penitentiary. It is that very penitentiary that becomes important in this context, as Shawshank State Prison holds significant lore across King's fictional world — a pattern that continues in It: Welcome to Derry.
Some of the tales that reference Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Through these narratives, we discover regarding the awful conditions inside the state penitentiary plus several of those imprisoned within, such as the boyfriend of a belonging to Pennywise's initial targets, who was convicted of armed robbery.
So far, though, the most we have discovered about the prison has been via the eyes of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. The character Andy winds up in Shawshank after being wrongly convicted, and finds himself beaten and raped by other prisoners, while exploited by those in officials in power due to his financial knowledge. It takes nearly three decades to dig an escape route of the prison, prior to making his way "through sewage" to reclaim his liberty.
Shawshank's Role in Welcome to Derry
Regarding It: Welcome to Derry, viewers first learned of Shawshank's inclusion via an initial preview for the show, in which a prison bus appeared with the name displayed on its side. During the second episode, we learn who is probably headed to the prison.
Although we know he was not responsible for the child deaths initially, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," shows an officer informing a jailed Hank, "Do you know what they do to kiddie killers at that prison?"
The Implications for the Character and His Daughter
Considering that the actual murderer in Derry is an ancient power originating elsewhere preying on and murdering kids, Hank's prospects of proving his innocence do not look good. Even should he does go to Shawshank and the audience do not see him inside, understanding what is known about that prison indicates that his time there would be far from enjoyable.
More importantly, however, this development could threaten his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Horrible things are happening around Derry that nobody, young or old, comprehends and she only has her new group of friends to depend on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, however should the prison system has any say, she may be without help.
A single fact seems clear: Hank lacks three decades to dig to freedom.
It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now on HBO Max. Additional installments are released each week each Sunday.
