🔗 Share this article You Should Watch One Classic Stephen King Film Before the Series' Next Episode The series It: Welcome to Derry contains numerous nods to the author's vast universe of narratives. Apart from the obvious ties to the original story, the show also features an explicit connection to King's famous novel through the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Now, as the story unfolds, Welcome to Derry is integrating one more classic King story that deserves a revisit. The Haunting Tale of The Shawshank Redemption Although Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered a horror film, particularly in contrast with a lot of the author's additional work, it is a haunting story of a innocently imprisoned man sentenced to live the rest of his life in a notorious penitentiary. And it's this specific institution that becomes central in this context, since Shawshank State Prison holds significant history across King's fictional world — a pattern that continues 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 discover about the awful life inside the state penitentiary plus several of the inmates within, including the partner of one of Pennywise's early victims, who was found guilty of armed robbery. So far, though, the majority we've learned concerning Shawshank has been via the eyes of Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. The character Andy ends up at the prison following his wrongful conviction, and finds himself beaten and raped by fellow inmates, while exploited by the officials in power for his expertise in finance. He requires him 28 years to dig his way out of the prison, before making his way "through sewage" to take back his liberty. The Prison's Role in Welcome to Derry Regarding the series, audiences initially discovered of Shawshank's inclusion from an early trailer for the series, in which a correctional transport was seen bearing the title displayed on its side. In episode 2, it is revealed which character is likely headed to the prison. Although it is known he was not responsible for the murders of children initially, Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. A teaser for the next episode, "Now You See It," shows an officer telling a jailed Hank, "Are you aware what they do to kiddie killers in Shawshank?" The Consequences for the Character and Ronnie Considering that the real murderer in the town is a primordial entity originating elsewhere preying on and killing children, Hank's chances of proving his innocence do not look good. Even should he does go in the prison and the audience don't follow him inside, understanding what we do about that prison indicates that his experience would not be pleasant. More importantly, however, this development would endanger Ronnie. He acts as her protector. Horrible things are happening in the town which no one, young or old, understands and Ronnie just has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She will require her father in the coming episodes, but if the prison system plays a role, she may be without help. A single fact is apparent: Hank lacks 28 years to tunnel his way out. Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now via the streaming service. Additional installments are released each week each Sunday.