Don't Miss This Legendary Stephen King Movie Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment
HBO's It: Welcome to Derry is packed with nods to Stephen King's extensive library of stories. Beyond the obvious links to It, the show includes a direct link to King's famous novel through the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Now, as the narrative unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating another classic King story which merits another look.
The Haunting Story of The Shawshank Redemption
While The Shawshank Redemption may not be considered horror, especially compared to a lot of King's other work, it remains a haunting story of a wrongfully convicted man condemned to spend his remaining years in a infamous prison. It is that very institution that becomes central in this context, since Shawshank State Prison possesses considerable lore across King's stories — a pattern which persists within It: Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales which mention the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we discover about the awful life inside Shawshank State Prison plus several of the inmates there, including the boyfriend of one belonging to Pennywise's initial victims, who was found guilty of armed robbery.
Thus far, though, the most we have discovered concerning Shawshank was through the eyes of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. The character Andy winds up in Shawshank following being wrongly convicted, and experiences assaulted and abused by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by the officials in power for his financial knowledge. He requires nearly three decades to tunnel an escape route from Shawshank, prior to making his way "through a river of shit" to reclaim his liberty.
The Prison's Role in It: Welcome to Derry
In relation to It: Welcome to Derry, audiences initially discovered about the prison's involvement from an initial preview for the show, where a correctional transport appeared bearing the title displayed on its side. During the second episode, it is revealed which character is probably destined for Shawshank.
Although it is known he was not commit the child deaths in the first episode, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "Now You See It," shows an officer telling Hank in his cell, "Do you know what they do to kiddie killers in Shawshank?"
The Consequences for Hank and Ronnie
Considering that the actual murderer in Derry is an ancient power from another world preying on and killing children, Hank's chances of proving his innocence appear slim. Even should he ends up in the prison and viewers don't follow him inside, knowing what we do regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his experience would not be pleasant.
More importantly, however, this development could threaten Ronnie. He acts as her protector. Terrible events are occurring in the town that nobody, young or old, understands and Ronnie only has her recently formed of friends to depend on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, but if Shawshank has any say, she may be without help.
A single fact seems clear: Hank doesn’t have three decades to dig to freedom.
It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available on HBO Max. Additional installments are released each week each Sunday.
