Make Time For This Legendary Stephen King Movie Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Next Episode
The series It: Welcome to Derry is packed with references to Stephen King's wide-ranging universe of narratives. Beyond the obvious links to the original story, the series also features an explicit connection to The Shining through the appearance of a young Dick Hallorann. Now, as the narrative unfolds, Welcome to Derry is integrating one more beloved tale from King that deserves another look.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although The Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as a horror film, especially in contrast with much of King's other writing, it remains a haunting story about an wrongfully convicted man condemned to spend the rest of his life in a notorious prison. And it's this specific institution that becomes central here, since Shawshank State Prison holds considerable history throughout King's stories — a tradition that continues within It: Welcome to Derry.
Among the stories which mention Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Through these narratives, we discover regarding the awful life inside the state penitentiary and some of the inmates there, such as the partner of a belonging to Pennywise's early targets, who was found guilty for robbery with a weapon.
So far, though, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been through the eyes of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by the actor Tim Robbins in the 1994 film. The character Andy ends up at the prison after his wrongful conviction, and experiences beaten and abused by fellow inmates, and taken advantage of by the authority figures for his financial knowledge. He requires him 28 years to tunnel his way out of the prison, prior to crawling "through sewage" to reclaim his liberty.
The Prison's Appearance in Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, audiences initially discovered about the prison's involvement via an initial preview for the show, where a prison bus was seen with the name painted on the side. During the second episode, it is revealed which character is probably headed to the prison.
Though it is known he was not responsible for the murders of children in the first episode, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. The preview for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," shows a guard telling Hank in his cell, "Are you aware what happens to kiddie killers in Shawshank?"
The Consequences for Hank and His Daughter
Given that the actual murderer in Derry is a primordial entity from another world preying on and murdering children, Hank's chances of proving his innocence appear slim. And even if he does go to Shawshank and viewers don't follow him inside, understanding what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his experience would be far from enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this situation could threaten his daughter. He acts as her protector. Terrible events are occurring in the town which no one, child or adult, comprehends and she only has her recently formed circle of pals to depend on. She will require her father in the coming episodes, however should Shawshank plays a role, she could be without help.
A single fact seems clear: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to dig to freedom.
It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are currently available via the streaming service. Additional installments are released each week on Sundays.
