You Should Watch One Legendary Stephen King Movie Before It: Welcome to Derry's Next Episode
The series Welcome to Derry contains numerous references to Stephen King's wide-ranging universe of narratives. Beyond the obvious links to It, the series showcases a direct connection to King's famous novel via the appearance of a young Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the story progresses, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating one more classic tale from King that deserves another look.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although Shawshank Redemption may not be considered a horror film, particularly in contrast with a lot of the author's additional work, it remains a gripping tale of a wrongfully convicted individual condemned to spend his remaining years in a infamous prison. And it's this specific institution which is important in this context, as the Shawshank facility possesses considerable lore across King's stories — a tradition which persists in Welcome to Derry.
Some of the tales which mention the prison are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these stories, we learn regarding the awful life inside the state penitentiary and some of those imprisoned there, such as the partner of a belonging to Pennywise's initial victims, who was found guilty for robbery with a weapon.
So far, though, the most we've learned concerning Shawshank has been through the eyes of Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. The character Andy winds up in Shawshank following his wrongful conviction, and finds himself beaten and abused by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by the officials in power due to his expertise in finance. It takes nearly three decades to tunnel an escape route from Shawshank, before crawling "through a river of shit" to reclaim his freedom.
The Prison's Appearance in Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, viewers first learned about the prison's involvement via an initial preview for the show, in which a prison bus was seen with the name painted on the side. In episode 2, it is revealed who is likely headed to the prison.
Although it is known he was not responsible for the murders of children initially, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," shows a guard informing a jailed Hank, "Are you aware what they do to kiddie killers at that prison?"
The Consequences for Hank 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. Even should he ends up in the prison and the audience don't follow him inside, knowing what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his time there would be far from pleasant.
More importantly, however, this situation would endanger his daughter. Hank is her protector. Horrible things are happening in the town which no one, child or adult, comprehends and she just has her new group of friends to depend on. She will require her dad as the story progresses, but if the prison system has any say, she could be out of luck.
One thing is apparent: Hank doesn’t have three decades to dig his way out.
It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available via the streaming service. Additional installments are released each week on Sundays.
