Make Time For One Iconic Stephen King Film Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Next Episode
HBO's It: Welcome to Derry is filled with connections to the author's vast universe of narratives. Apart from the obvious ties to the original story, the show includes an explicit connection to The Shining via the cameo of the youthful future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Currently, as the narrative unfolds, Welcome to Derry is integrating one more classic King story which merits a revisit.
The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption
While Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as horror, particularly in contrast with a lot of the author's additional writing, it remains a haunting tale of a innocently imprisoned man condemned to live the rest of his life inside a notorious prison. It is that very institution that becomes important here, since Shawshank State Prison possesses significant lore across King's fictional world — a tradition which persists within It: Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales that reference Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we learn about the terrible life inside the state penitentiary plus some of the inmates there, including the boyfriend of a of Pennywise's early victims, who had been found guilty for robbery with a weapon.
Thus far, though, the most we've learned about the prison was via the eyes of the protagonist in Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 film. The character Andy ends up at the prison following being wrongly convicted, and experiences beaten and abused by fellow inmates, and exploited by the authority figures for his expertise in finance. It takes him 28 years to tunnel an escape route of the prison, prior to crawling "through a river of shit" to take back his freedom.
The Prison's Appearance in Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, audiences first learned about the prison's involvement from an early trailer for the show, where a prison bus appeared bearing the title displayed on its side. During the second episode, we learn which character is likely headed to Shawshank.
Although we know he was not responsible for the child deaths in the first episode, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. The preview for the next episode, "the upcoming installment," shows a guard telling a jailed Hank, "Do you know what they do to child murderers at that prison?"
The Consequences for the Character and His Daughter
Considering that the actual killer in the town is a primordial entity from another world hunting and killing kids, Hank's prospects of clearing his name do not look good. And even if he ends up to Shawshank and the audience don't follow him there, understanding what we do about that prison indicates that his experience would not be enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this development would endanger Ronnie. Hank is her protector. Horrible things are happening around Derry which no one, child or adult, comprehends and Ronnie just has her new group of friends to rely on. She will require her father as the story progresses, however should Shawshank has any say, she could be without help.
One thing is apparent: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to tunnel to freedom.
Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now on HBO Max. New episodes are released each week on Sundays.
