🔗 Share this article Don't Miss This Legendary Stephen King Movie Before It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment HBO's Welcome to Derry contains numerous nods to Stephen King's extensive collection of tales. Beyond the obvious links to the original story, the show also features an explicit link to King's famous novel via the cameo of a young future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Now, as the narrative progresses, Welcome to Derry is integrating one more beloved King story that deserves a revisit. The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption Although Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as a horror film, particularly compared to a lot of King's other writing, it remains a haunting story about an innocently imprisoned individual sentenced to live the rest of his life in a infamous penitentiary. It is this specific institution that becomes central in this context, as Shawshank State Prison possesses considerable lore throughout King's fictional world — a pattern that continues in It: Welcome to Derry. Among the tales which mention Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Via these narratives, we discover regarding the awful conditions at Shawshank State Prison plus some of those imprisoned there, including the partner of one of Pennywise's initial targets, who had been found guilty for robbery with a weapon. Thus far, however, the majority we have discovered about the prison was via the perspective of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 film. Andy ends up at the prison following being wrongly convicted, and experiences 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 dig an escape route of the prison, prior to making his way "through sewage" to take back his liberty. The Prison's Role in Welcome to Derry In relation to the series, viewers first learned of Shawshank's involvement via an early trailer for the series, where a prison bus appeared bearing the title painted on the side. In episode 2, we learn who is likely destined for Shawshank. Though we know he was not responsible for the murders of children in the first episode, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," reveals an officer telling a jailed Hank, "Are you aware what they do to child murderers at that prison?" The Implications for Hank and Ronnie Given that the actual killer in Derry is an ancient power originating elsewhere hunting and murdering kids, Hank's prospects of clearing his name do not look good. Even should he ends up to Shawshank and viewers don't follow him there, understanding what we do regarding Shawshank indicates that his experience would be far from pleasant. More importantly, however, this development could threaten his daughter. Hank is her protector. Terrible events are occurring in the town which no one, young or old, understands and Ronnie just has her recently formed of friends to rely on. She will require her father in the coming episodes, however should the prison system has any say, she may be without help. A single fact is apparent: Hank doesn’t have three decades to dig his way out. It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available on HBO Max. New episodes are released each week on Sundays.