Don't Miss One Legendary Stephen King Film Before the Series' Upcoming Installment
HBO's Welcome to Derry is packed with connections to the author's extensive collection of tales. Beyond the clear links to the original story, the series includes an explicit connection to King's famous novel through the cameo of the youthful future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Currently, as the narrative progresses, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating another beloved King story which merits another look.
The Haunting Story of The Shawshank Redemption
While Shawshank Redemption isn't typically classified as a horror film, especially compared to a lot of King's other writing, it remains a gripping tale about an innocently imprisoned man sentenced to live the rest of his life in a notorious prison. And it's that very penitentiary that becomes central here, since Shawshank State Prison holds significant lore throughout King's fictional world — a pattern that continues within Welcome to Derry.
Some of the tales which mention the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Via these narratives, we discover regarding the awful life inside Shawshank State Prison plus several of those imprisoned within, including the boyfriend of a belonging to Pennywise's early targets, who had been found guilty of armed robbery.
So far, though, the most we've learned concerning Shawshank has been through the eyes of Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. Andy winds up in Shawshank following being wrongly convicted, and finds himself beaten and abused by other prisoners, while exploited by the authority figures due to his financial knowledge. It takes him 28 years to dig an escape route of the prison, prior to making his way "through a river of shit" to take back his liberty.
The Prison's Appearance in Welcome to Derry
Regarding It: Welcome to Derry, viewers first learned of Shawshank's inclusion via an early trailer for the show, in which a prison bus appeared bearing the title displayed on its side. In episode 2, it is revealed which character is likely headed to Shawshank.
Though we know he was not commit the murders of children initially, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. A teaser for the next episode, "Now You See It," shows an officer telling Hank in his cell, "Are you aware what happens to child murderers at that prison?"
The Implications for the Character and Ronnie
Given that the actual killer in Derry is an ancient power originating elsewhere preying on and murdering children, Hank's prospects of clearing his name appear slim. And even if he does go in the prison and viewers don't follow him inside, knowing what is known about that prison indicates that his time there would not be pleasant.
More importantly, however, this development could threaten Ronnie. He acts as her guardian. Horrible things are happening around Derry that nobody, child or adult, comprehends and Ronnie only has her new group of friends to rely on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, however should the prison system plays a role, she could be without help.
A single fact seems clear: Hank doesn’t have three decades to tunnel his way out.
Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available via the streaming service. New episodes are released each week each Sunday.
