Don't Miss One Legendary Stephen King Cinematic Prior to the Series' Next Episode

The series Welcome to Derry is filled with references to Stephen King's wide-ranging universe of narratives. Beyond the obvious ties to the original story, the series showcases an explicit connection to The Shining through the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the story unfolds, Welcome to Derry is weaving in one more beloved tale from King that deserves a revisit.

The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption

Although The Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered a horror film, especially in contrast with a lot of King's other writing, it remains a haunting tale of a innocently imprisoned individual sentenced to live the rest of his life in a infamous penitentiary. And it's this specific institution that becomes central in this context, as Shawshank State Prison possesses significant lore across King's fictional world — a tradition which persists within Welcome to Derry.

Among the tales which mention the prison are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we discover regarding the terrible conditions at the state penitentiary and several of those imprisoned within, such as the partner of a of Pennywise's initial victims, who was convicted of armed robbery.

Thus far, though, the most we've learned about the prison was via the eyes of Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. The character Andy winds up at the prison after being wrongly convicted, then finds himself assaulted and raped by fellow inmates, and taken advantage of by those in authority figures for his expertise in finance. He requires him 28 years to tunnel an escape route of the prison, prior to making his way "through a river of shit" to take back his liberty.

The Prison's Role in Welcome to Derry

Regarding the series, audiences initially discovered about the prison's involvement from an early trailer for the show, where a correctional transport was seen with the name painted on the side. During the second episode, we learn who is probably headed to Shawshank.

Although it is known he was not commit the murders of children in the first episode, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. The preview for episode 3, "Now You See It," reveals a guard telling Hank in his cell, "Do you know what they do to child murderers at that prison?"

The Implications for Hank and Ronnie

Considering that the real killer in the town is a primordial entity originating elsewhere hunting and murdering children, Hank's chances of clearing his name do not look good. Even should he does go in the prison and the audience do not see him there, understanding what is known about that prison indicates that his experience would be far from pleasant.

Crucially, however, this development could threaten Ronnie. Hank is her guardian. Horrible things are happening around Derry that nobody, young or old, understands and she just has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her father as the story progresses, however should Shawshank plays a role, she could be out of luck.

A single fact is apparent: Hank doesn’t have three decades to tunnel his way out.

It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now via the streaming service. New episodes are released each week each Sunday.