You Should Watch One Legendary Stephen King Cinematic Before It: Welcome to Derry's Next Episode
The series Welcome to Derry is filled with references to Stephen King's wide-ranging universe of narratives. Apart from the obvious links to the original story, the show also features a direct link to The Shining via the appearance of a young Dick Hallorann. Now, as the story progresses, It: Welcome to Derry is weaving in another classic King story that deserves a revisit.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
While Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as a horror film, especially compared to a lot of King's other writing, it is a haunting tale about an wrongfully convicted man condemned to live the rest of his life inside a infamous prison. And it's that very penitentiary which is important in this context, as Shawshank State Prison possesses significant history throughout King's stories — a tradition that continues in Welcome to Derry.
Among the stories which mention Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Through these narratives, we discover about the awful life at Shawshank State Prison plus several of the inmates within, including the partner of a belonging to Pennywise's initial targets, who had been convicted of armed robbery.
Thus far, however, the most we have discovered about the prison was via the eyes of the protagonist from Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. Andy ends up at the prison after his wrongful conviction, and finds himself assaulted and abused by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by those in authority figures for his expertise in finance. It takes nearly three decades to dig an escape route of the prison, prior to making his way "through a river of shit" to reclaim his freedom.
The Prison's Role in It: Welcome to Derry
Regarding the series, audiences initially discovered of Shawshank's involvement via an initial preview for the series, in which a prison bus appeared with the name displayed on its side. During the second episode, it is revealed which character is probably headed to Shawshank.
Although we know he did not commit the murders of children initially, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. The preview for episode 3, "Now You See It," reveals a guard telling Hank in his cell, "Do you know what happens to child murderers at that prison?"
The Implications for Hank and Ronnie
Considering that the real killer in the town is a primordial entity from another world hunting and murdering kids, Hank's prospects of proving his innocence do not look good. Even should he ends up in the prison and the audience do not see him inside, understanding what is known about that prison makes it clear that his time there would not be enjoyable.
Crucially, though, this situation would endanger Ronnie. He acts as her guardian. Terrible events are happening in the town which no one, child or adult, comprehends and Ronnie only has her new group of friends to depend on. She will require her father in the coming episodes, but if the prison system has any say, she could be without help.
One thing seems clear: Hank doesn’t have three decades to tunnel his way out.
Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are currently available via the streaming service. New episodes air weekly on Sundays.
