🔗 Share this article You Should Watch One Iconic Stephen King Cinematic Before the Series' Upcoming Installment The series It: Welcome to Derry contains numerous connections to Stephen King's extensive collection of tales. Beyond the obvious ties to It, the show showcases an explicit link to The Shining via the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Now, as the story progresses, Welcome to Derry is integrating one more classic tale from King which merits a revisit. The Haunting Tale of The Shawshank Redemption Although Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered horror, especially in contrast with much of King's other work, it is a haunting tale of a wrongfully convicted man sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a notorious penitentiary. And it's this specific penitentiary that becomes important in this context, since the Shawshank facility possesses significant history across King's fictional world — a tradition which persists within Welcome to Derry. Among the tales which mention the prison include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Via these narratives, we discover regarding the awful conditions inside the state penitentiary and several of the inmates within, such as the boyfriend of a belonging to Pennywise's initial victims, who was convicted of armed robbery. Thus far, however, the majority we've learned about the prison was via the eyes of the protagonist in The Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. The character Andy ends up at the prison following his wrongful conviction, then experiences assaulted and raped by fellow inmates, while taken advantage of by those in officials in power for his financial knowledge. He requires nearly three decades to dig his way out from Shawshank, prior to making his way "through a river of shit" to reclaim his freedom. The Prison's Role in Welcome to Derry Regarding It: Welcome to Derry, viewers initially discovered of Shawshank's inclusion via an early trailer for the show, where a prison bus was seen bearing the title displayed on its side. In episode 2, we learn who is likely destined for the prison. Though it is known he did not commit the child deaths initially, Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," shows an officer informing Hank in his cell, "Are you aware what happens to child murderers in Shawshank?" The Implications for the Character and Ronnie Given that the actual murderer in Derry is an ancient power originating elsewhere hunting and killing kids, Hank's chances of clearing his name do not look good. Even should he does go to Shawshank and viewers don't follow him inside, knowing what is known regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his experience would be far from pleasant. Crucially, though, this situation could threaten his daughter. He acts as her protector. Horrible things are happening in the town that nobody, young or old, understands and she just has her new group circle of pals to depend on. She's going to need her dad as the story progresses, however should the prison system has any say, she may be out of luck. A single fact is apparent: Hank lacks 28 years to dig his way out. It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are currently available on HBO Max. Additional installments are released each week on Sundays.