You Should Watch One Legendary Stephen King Cinematic Before the Series' Upcoming Installment
The series It: Welcome to Derry is packed with references to the author's wide-ranging collection of tales. Beyond the obvious links to It, the series also features a direct link to The Shining via the appearance of the youthful future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Currently, as the story unfolds, Welcome to Derry is integrating another beloved tale from King that deserves another look.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
While The Shawshank Redemption may not be considered a horror film, especially in contrast with much of the author's additional writing, it is a gripping story of a innocently imprisoned man sentenced to live the rest of his life inside a notorious prison. And it's that very institution which is central here, since Shawshank State Prison possesses considerable lore across King's fictional world — a tradition that continues in It: Welcome to Derry.
Some of the tales which mention Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these stories, 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 early victims, who had been found guilty of armed robbery.
So far, however, the most we have discovered about the prison was via the eyes of Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in that 1994 film. Andy winds up at the prison after his wrongful conviction, and finds himself assaulted and abused by fellow inmates, while taken advantage of by the authority figures for his expertise in finance. It takes nearly three decades to dig an escape route from Shawshank, prior to crawling "through sewage" to take back his freedom.
The Prison's Role in It: Welcome to Derry
Regarding the series, audiences first learned about the prison's inclusion via an early trailer for the show, where a correctional transport appeared bearing the title displayed on its side. During the second episode, we learn which character is probably destined for the prison.
Though it is known he did not responsible for the murders of children initially, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. The preview for the next episode, "the upcoming installment," reveals an officer informing a jailed Hank, "Do you know what happens to child murderers at that prison?"
The Implications for Hank and His Daughter
Given that the real killer in the town is an ancient power from another world hunting and killing kids, Hank's prospects of clearing his name appear slim. Even should he does go in the prison and viewers don't follow him there, knowing what we do about that prison indicates that his time there would be far from enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this situation would endanger his daughter. He acts as her protector. Horrible things are occurring around Derry that nobody, young or old, understands and Ronnie just has her new group of friends to depend on. She will require her father in the coming episodes, however should Shawshank plays a role, she may be without help.
A single fact is apparent: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to dig his way out.
Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available via the streaming service. New episodes are released each week each Sunday.