You Should Watch This Classic Stephen King Cinematic Before the Series' Upcoming Installment
The series It: Welcome to Derry is filled with connections to Stephen King's wide-ranging collection of tales. Apart from the obvious ties to It, the show includes an explicit link to King's famous novel via the appearance of a young future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Currently, as the narrative unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating one more classic tale from King that deserves another look.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although The Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered horror, particularly compared to a lot of King's other writing, it remains a gripping tale about an innocently imprisoned individual condemned to spend his remaining years inside a infamous prison. And it's that very penitentiary which is important here, since Shawshank State Prison possesses significant lore throughout King's fictional world — a tradition that continues within It: Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales which mention Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Through these stories, we learn regarding the terrible life inside Shawshank State Prison and several of the inmates within, such as the boyfriend of one belonging to Pennywise's initial targets, who was found guilty of armed robbery.
Thus far, however, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been through the eyes of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. Andy winds up at the prison following being wrongly convicted, then finds himself assaulted and raped by fellow inmates, while taken advantage of by those in officials in power due to his expertise in finance. It takes him 28 years to tunnel his way out of the prison, before making his way "through a river of shit" to take back his freedom.
The Prison's Appearance in Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, viewers first learned about the prison's involvement from an early trailer for the series, in which a correctional transport appeared with the name displayed on its side. In episode 2, we learn who is likely headed to Shawshank.
Although it is known he was not commit the murders of children initially, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," shows a guard telling Hank in his cell, "Are you aware what happens to child murderers at that prison?"
The Consequences for the Character and Ronnie
Given that the real murderer in the town is a primordial entity originating elsewhere preying on and murdering kids, Hank's prospects of proving his innocence do not look good. Even should he ends up in the prison and the audience don't follow him there, understanding what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his experience would be far from pleasant.
Crucially, however, this situation would endanger his daughter. He acts as her guardian. Terrible events are occurring around Derry that nobody, young or old, understands and Ronnie only has her new group of friends to rely 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 seems clear: Hank lacks 28 years to dig to freedom.
It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are currently available via the streaming service. Additional installments air weekly each Sunday.
