Don't Miss This Iconic Stephen King Film Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment
HBO's It: Welcome to Derry contains numerous nods to Stephen King's wide-ranging collection of tales. Beyond the clear links to It, the series also features 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, Welcome to Derry is integrating another classic tale from King that deserves another look.
The Haunting Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
While The Shawshank Redemption isn't typically classified as a horror film, particularly compared to much of King's other writing, it remains a haunting story of a innocently imprisoned man sentenced to live his remaining years inside a notorious penitentiary. It is this specific penitentiary that becomes important in this context, as the Shawshank facility holds considerable lore throughout King's fictional world — a pattern which persists within It: Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales that reference the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Through these narratives, we learn about the awful life inside Shawshank State Prison and several of those imprisoned there, including the boyfriend of one of Pennywise's early victims, who had been convicted of armed robbery.
Thus far, however, the most we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been via the perspective of the protagonist from Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. The character Andy ends up at the prison after being wrongly convicted, then finds himself assaulted and raped by other prisoners, while exploited by the authority figures due to his expertise in finance. It takes nearly three decades to dig an escape route of the prison, prior to making his way "through a river of shit" to reclaim his freedom.
Shawshank's Role in Welcome to Derry
Regarding the series, viewers first learned about the prison's involvement via an initial preview for the show, where a correctional transport appeared with the name displayed on its side. During the second episode, we learn which character is probably destined for Shawshank.
Although it is known he was not responsible for the murders of children in the first episode, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "Now You See It," reveals a guard telling a jailed Hank, "Are you aware what they do to child murderers in Shawshank?"
The Consequences for Hank and His Daughter
Considering that the actual killer in Derry is a primordial entity from another world preying on and murdering children, Hank's chances of proving his innocence appear slim. Even should he does go to Shawshank and the audience do not see him there, knowing what is known about that prison indicates that his experience would be far from pleasant.
More importantly, though, this development would endanger his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Terrible events are occurring around Derry which no one, young or old, understands and she just has her new group circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her dad as the story progresses, but if Shawshank has any say, she may be without help.
A single fact seems clear: Hank lacks three decades to tunnel his way out.
Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now on HBO Max. Additional installments air weekly on Sundays.
