Don't Miss One Classic Stephen King Film Prior to the Series' Next Episode
The series It: Welcome to Derry is filled with nods to Stephen King's vast library of stories. Beyond the clear links to the original story, the series includes an explicit link to The Shining through the cameo of a young future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Now, as the narrative unfolds, Welcome to Derry is weaving in one more classic King story that deserves another look.
The Haunting Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although Shawshank Redemption may not be considered horror, particularly in contrast with a lot of King's other work, it remains a haunting story of a wrongfully convicted individual condemned to live his remaining years in a infamous penitentiary. It is this specific institution that becomes central here, since Shawshank State Prison holds significant history throughout King's fictional world — a pattern that continues within Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales which mention Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we discover about the terrible life inside the state penitentiary plus several of the inmates there, including the boyfriend of one belonging to Pennywise's initial targets, who had been found guilty for robbery with a weapon.
So far, though, the most we have discovered about the prison was via the eyes of the protagonist from The Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. Andy winds up in Shawshank after his wrongful conviction, and experiences assaulted and abused by other prisoners, and taken advantage of by the officials in power for his financial knowledge. It takes nearly three decades to dig his way out of the prison, before crawling "through sewage" to reclaim his liberty.
Shawshank's Role in Welcome to Derry
In relation to It: Welcome to Derry, audiences initially discovered about the prison's inclusion from an early trailer for the series, in which a prison bus appeared bearing the title painted on the side. During the second episode, we learn which character is probably destined for the prison.
Though we know he was not commit the murders of children initially, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. The preview for episode 3, "Now You See It," reveals an officer informing a jailed Hank, "Do you know what they do to child murderers at that prison?"
The Consequences for Hank and Ronnie
Considering that the actual murderer in the town is a primordial entity from another world hunting and killing children, Hank's chances of clearing his name do not look good. Even should he does go in the prison and viewers don't follow him inside, knowing what is known about that prison makes it clear that his time there would be far from pleasant.
Crucially, however, this situation would endanger Ronnie. He acts as her guardian. Horrible things are occurring around Derry that nobody, young or old, understands and she just has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her father as the story progresses, but if Shawshank plays a role, she could be without help.
A single fact is apparent: 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 air weekly each Sunday.
