Make Time For One Legendary Stephen King Movie Before It: Welcome to Derry's Next Episode
The series It: Welcome to Derry is filled with connections to Stephen King's wide-ranging collection of tales. Beyond the obvious links to the original story, the show showcases a direct link to King's famous novel through the cameo of the youthful future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Now, as the narrative progresses, Welcome to Derry is weaving in one more classic tale from King which merits another look.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as a horror film, particularly in contrast with much of King's other writing, it is a haunting tale about an innocently imprisoned man condemned to spend his remaining years in a infamous prison. And it's this specific institution that becomes important here, as Shawshank State Prison possesses significant lore throughout King's fictional world — a tradition that continues within Welcome to Derry.
Among the stories that reference the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these stories, we discover about the awful conditions at the state penitentiary and some of those imprisoned there, including the partner of a belonging to Pennywise's initial victims, who was convicted for robbery with a weapon.
Thus far, though, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank was via the perspective of Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. Andy winds up in Shawshank following his wrongful conviction, then finds himself assaulted and abused by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by the authority figures due to his expertise in finance. It takes nearly three decades to tunnel his way out of the prison, before making his way "through a river of shit" to reclaim his liberty.
The Prison's Role in It: Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, viewers initially discovered about the prison's inclusion from an initial preview for the show, where a correctional transport was seen with the name displayed on its side. In episode 2, we learn who is probably headed to the prison.
Though we know he was not responsible for the child deaths initially, Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. The preview for the next episode, "Now You See It," shows a guard telling a jailed Hank, "Do you know what they do to child murderers in Shawshank?"
The Consequences for the Character and Ronnie
Given that the actual murderer in Derry is a primordial entity originating elsewhere preying on and killing kids, Hank's prospects of clearing his name do not look good. Even should he does go to Shawshank and the audience don't follow him inside, knowing what we do about that prison makes it clear that his experience would be far from pleasant.
Crucially, though, this development would endanger his daughter. He acts as her guardian. Horrible things are occurring in the town that nobody, child or adult, comprehends and Ronnie just has her recently formed circle of pals to depend on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, but if Shawshank plays a role, she could be out of luck.
A single fact is apparent: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to tunnel to freedom.
It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are currently available on HBO Max. Additional installments are released each week each Sunday.
