Don't Miss One Iconic Stephen King Movie Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Next Episode
The series Welcome to Derry is packed with connections to Stephen King's vast universe of narratives. Beyond the clear ties to the original story, the series showcases a direct link to King's famous novel via the cameo of a young Dick Hallorann. Now, as the narrative unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating one more beloved King story that deserves a revisit.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although The Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered a horror film, especially compared to a lot of King's other writing, it is a gripping story of a wrongfully convicted man condemned to spend the rest of his life in a infamous prison. It is that very penitentiary which is important in this context, as the Shawshank facility holds significant lore across King's stories — a tradition that continues in Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales which mention the prison are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Via these narratives, we learn regarding the terrible conditions at Shawshank State Prison and some of the inmates within, such as the boyfriend of one of Pennywise's early targets, who was found guilty of armed robbery.
Thus far, however, the most we have discovered concerning Shawshank was through the eyes of the protagonist from The Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in the 1994 film. The character Andy ends up at the prison after being wrongly convicted, then experiences assaulted and abused by fellow inmates, while exploited by the officials in power for his financial knowledge. It takes him 28 years to dig 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 the series, viewers first learned about the prison's inclusion from an initial preview for the series, where a correctional transport was seen bearing the title displayed on its side. In episode 2, it is revealed which character is probably destined for the prison.
Though it is known he did not commit the murders of children initially, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. The preview for the next episode, "the upcoming installment," reveals a guard telling a jailed Hank, "Do you know what happens to child murderers in Shawshank?"
The Consequences for the Character and His Daughter
Considering that the actual killer in Derry is a primordial entity from another world hunting and killing children, Hank's prospects of clearing his name do not look good. And even if he ends up in the prison and viewers don't follow him there, knowing what we do about that prison makes it clear that his time there would be far from enjoyable.
More importantly, however, this development would endanger Ronnie. Hank is her guardian. Terrible events are happening around Derry that nobody, child or adult, understands and Ronnie just has her new group of friends to depend on. She's going to need her dad as the story progresses, but if the prison system plays a role, she may be without help.
A single fact seems clear: Hank lacks three decades to tunnel his way out.
Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available on HBO Max. New episodes are released each week on Sundays.
