You Should Watch One Legendary Stephen King Movie Before the Series' Upcoming Installment
HBO's Welcome to Derry is packed with nods to Stephen King's wide-ranging library of stories. Beyond the clear links to It, the show includes a direct connection to King's famous novel through the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the narrative unfolds, Welcome to Derry is weaving in another classic tale from King which merits a revisit.
The Haunting Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as horror, especially compared to a lot of King's other work, it remains a haunting tale of a wrongfully convicted individual condemned to live his remaining years inside a infamous prison. It is that very institution which is central in this context, since the Shawshank facility holds significant history throughout King's fictional world — a tradition which persists in It: Welcome to Derry.
Some of the tales which mention the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Through these stories, we learn about the terrible life at Shawshank State Prison and several of the inmates within, including the partner of one belonging to Pennywise's early targets, who was convicted of armed robbery.
Thus far, though, the majority we've learned about the prison has been via the eyes of Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by the actor Tim Robbins in the 1994 film. Andy ends up at the prison after being wrongly convicted, and finds himself beaten and abused by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by those in officials in power for his financial knowledge. He requires him 28 years to dig an escape route of the prison, before crawling "through a river of shit" to take back his freedom.
Shawshank's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, audiences initially discovered about the prison's inclusion via an early trailer for the series, in which a prison bus was seen with the name painted on the side. During the second episode, it is revealed who is likely destined for the prison.
Though we know he did not commit the murders of children in the first episode, Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "Now You See It," shows a guard telling a jailed Hank, "Do you know what they do to kiddie killers in Shawshank?"
The Consequences for Hank and Ronnie
Considering that the actual killer in the town is a primordial entity originating elsewhere preying on and killing kids, Hank's chances of clearing his name do not look good. Even should he ends up in the prison and viewers do not see him there, knowing what we do about that prison indicates that his time there would be far from enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this situation could threaten his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Horrible things are occurring around Derry which no one, child or adult, understands and she only has her recently formed of friends to rely on. She will require her father in the coming episodes, however should the prison system plays a role, she could be out of luck.
One thing seems clear: Hank lacks three decades to dig his way out.
It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now on HBO Max. Additional installments are released each week on Sundays.
