Don't Miss This Legendary Stephen King Cinematic Before the Series' Next Episode
HBO's Welcome to Derry is filled with nods to Stephen King's wide-ranging collection of tales. Beyond the obvious links to It, the series includes an explicit link to The Shining via the cameo of a young Dick Hallorann. Now, as the narrative unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating another beloved King story that deserves another look.
The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption
While Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered horror, particularly compared to much of the author's additional work, it is a haunting story about an innocently imprisoned individual sentenced to live the rest of his life inside a infamous prison. It is this specific penitentiary that becomes central here, since Shawshank State Prison possesses considerable history across King's stories — a tradition which persists within Welcome to Derry.
Some of the stories that reference Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Through these stories, we learn regarding the terrible life at the state penitentiary plus several of the inmates within, including the boyfriend of one belonging to Pennywise's early targets, who was convicted of armed robbery.
So far, however, the most we have discovered about the prison has been through the perspective of the protagonist in Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in that 1994 film. The character Andy winds up in Shawshank following being wrongly convicted, and experiences assaulted and raped by fellow inmates, while taken advantage of by the officials in power for his expertise in finance. He requires nearly three decades to tunnel an escape route from Shawshank, before crawling "through a river of shit" to reclaim his liberty.
Shawshank's Role in It: Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, audiences first learned about the prison's involvement via an early trailer for the series, in which a correctional transport was seen bearing the title displayed on its side. In episode 2, we learn who is likely headed to Shawshank.
Although it is known 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 the crimes. A teaser for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," reveals a guard informing Hank in his cell, "Do you know what they do to child murderers in Shawshank?"
The Implications for the Character and Ronnie
Given that the actual murderer in Derry is a primordial entity from another world hunting and killing children, Hank's chances of proving his innocence do not look good. And even if he does go to Shawshank and the audience do not see him there, understanding what is known regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his time there would be far from pleasant.
Crucially, though, this development would endanger his daughter. He acts as her guardian. Terrible events are occurring in the town that nobody, young or old, understands and she just has her recently formed circle of pals to depend on. She will require her dad as the story progresses, however should Shawshank plays a role, she may be without help.
A single fact is apparent: Hank lacks 28 years to tunnel to freedom.
It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now via the streaming service. Additional installments air weekly on Sundays.
