Don't Miss One Legendary Stephen King Film Before the Series' Next Episode
The series It: Welcome to Derry is filled with connections to Stephen King's vast collection of tales. Beyond the clear links to It, the show includes a direct connection to The Shining via the cameo of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the story unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating one more classic tale from King that deserves a revisit.
The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption
While The Shawshank Redemption may not be considered a horror film, particularly in contrast with much of King's other writing, it is a haunting story about an wrongfully convicted man sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a infamous penitentiary. And it's this specific institution which is central here, as Shawshank State Prison possesses considerable history across King's stories — a tradition which persists within It: Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales which mention the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Through these narratives, we discover regarding the awful life at the state penitentiary and several of those imprisoned within, such as the boyfriend of a belonging to Pennywise's initial victims, who had been found guilty of armed robbery.
So far, though, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank was via the perspective of Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in the 1994 film. Andy ends up at the prison after being wrongly convicted, then experiences assaulted and raped by other prisoners, and exploited by those in officials in power for his financial knowledge. It takes him 28 years to dig his way out of the prison, prior to making his way "through sewage" to reclaim his freedom.
The Prison's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry
Regarding It: Welcome to Derry, viewers initially discovered about the prison's involvement via an initial preview for the series, in which a prison bus appeared with the name painted on the side. During the second episode, it is revealed which character is probably headed to Shawshank.
Although we know he was not commit the child deaths initially, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," shows an officer informing Hank in his cell, "Do you know what happens to kiddie killers at that prison?"
The Implications for the Character and Ronnie
Considering that the actual murderer in the town is an ancient power from another world preying on and killing kids, Hank's prospects of proving his innocence appear slim. And even if he does go in the prison and viewers don't follow him there, knowing what we do regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his time there would be far from enjoyable.
Crucially, however, this development would endanger Ronnie. Hank is her guardian. Terrible events are occurring in the town which no one, young or old, comprehends and she just has her recently formed of friends to depend on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, but if the prison system has any say, she could be out of luck.
One thing seems clear: Hank doesn’t have three decades to dig his way out.
It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now on HBO Max. Additional installments air weekly on Sundays.
