🔗 Share this article You Should Watch One Classic Stephen King Movie Before the Series' Next Episode The series It: Welcome to Derry is packed with references to the author's wide-ranging universe of narratives. Beyond the clear ties to It, the series also features an explicit link to The Shining via the appearance of a young Dick Hallorann. Now, as the narrative progresses, Welcome to Derry is weaving in one more classic King story which merits a revisit. The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption Although The Shawshank Redemption may not be considered horror, particularly in contrast with a lot of King's other work, it is a haunting story of a innocently imprisoned individual sentenced to live his remaining years inside a notorious prison. It is that very penitentiary that becomes central here, as Shawshank State Prison possesses significant history throughout King's fictional world — a pattern that continues in It: Welcome to Derry. Some of the stories which mention Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Through these stories, we discover about the awful conditions at the state penitentiary plus some of the inmates there, including the boyfriend of one belonging to Pennywise's initial victims, who was found guilty for robbery with a weapon. Thus far, though, the most we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been through the eyes of the protagonist from Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 film. The character Andy winds up at the prison after his wrongful conviction, and finds himself beaten and abused by other prisoners, while exploited by the officials in power for his financial knowledge. He requires him 28 years to dig his way out from Shawshank, prior to crawling "through sewage" to reclaim his freedom. The Prison's Appearance in Welcome to Derry In relation to the series, viewers initially discovered of Shawshank's involvement via an initial preview for the show, in which a prison bus was seen bearing the title displayed on its side. During the second episode, we learn who is likely headed to the prison. Though it is known he was not commit the murders of children in the first episode, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. The preview for the next episode, "Now You See It," reveals an officer informing a jailed Hank, "Are you aware what happens to child murderers in Shawshank?" The Consequences for Hank and His Daughter Considering that the real killer in the town is an ancient power originating elsewhere preying on and murdering kids, Hank's prospects of clearing his name do not look good. Even should he does go in the prison and the audience do not see him inside, knowing what is known regarding Shawshank indicates that his experience would be far from pleasant. More importantly, however, this situation could threaten Ronnie. He acts as her guardian. Horrible things are happening in the town that nobody, child or adult, understands and she just has her recently formed 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 without help. A single fact seems clear: Hank lacks 28 years to tunnel to freedom. It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now via the streaming service. Additional installments air weekly each Sunday.