You Should Watch This Legendary Stephen King Film Prior to the Series' Upcoming Installment
The series Welcome to Derry is packed with nods to the author's wide-ranging collection of tales. Beyond the clear links to the original story, the show includes a direct link to King's famous novel via the appearance of the youthful future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Now, as the narrative unfolds, Welcome to Derry is weaving in one more classic King story that deserves a revisit.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although Shawshank Redemption may not be considered a horror film, particularly in contrast with much of King's other writing, it remains a gripping tale of a innocently imprisoned individual sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a infamous penitentiary. And it's that very institution that becomes central in this context, since Shawshank State Prison possesses considerable lore throughout King's stories — a tradition which persists within Welcome to Derry.
Some of the stories that reference Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Through these stories, we learn regarding the terrible conditions at the state penitentiary plus some of the inmates there, such as the boyfriend of a of Pennywise's early targets, who had been found guilty of armed robbery.
Thus far, though, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been via the eyes of Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in that 1994 film. Andy ends up at the prison after being wrongly convicted, then finds himself assaulted and abused by other prisoners, and taken advantage of by those in authority figures for his expertise in finance. It takes him 28 years to dig an escape route of the prison, before crawling "through a river of shit" to take back his liberty.
The Prison's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry
Regarding the series, audiences first learned of Shawshank's inclusion from an early trailer for the series, in which a correctional transport was seen bearing the title painted on the side. During the second episode, we learn which character is likely destined for Shawshank.
Though it is known he did not responsible for the child deaths in the first episode, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. A teaser for the next episode, "the upcoming installment," shows a guard informing a jailed Hank, "Do you know what happens to kiddie killers in Shawshank?"
The Implications for Hank and His Daughter
Considering that the real murderer in the town is an ancient power from another world hunting and killing kids, Hank's chances of proving his innocence appear slim. Even should he does go in the prison and the audience do not see him there, understanding what we do about that prison indicates that his experience would be far from enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this development could threaten his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Horrible things are happening in the town that nobody, young or old, understands and Ronnie just has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her father in the coming episodes, however should the prison system has any say, she may be out of luck.
One thing seems clear: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to dig to freedom.
Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now on HBO Max. New episodes are released each week each Sunday.
