🔗 Share this article Make Time For This Legendary Stephen King Movie Prior to the Series' Upcoming Installment The series It: Welcome to Derry is filled with nods to the author's extensive collection of tales. Beyond the obvious ties to the original story, the series showcases an explicit link to King's famous novel through the cameo of a young future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Now, as the narrative progresses, Welcome to Derry is weaving in one more classic tale from King which merits another look. The Haunting Story of The Shawshank Redemption While The Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as horror, particularly compared to a lot of King's other work, it is a haunting tale of a innocently imprisoned individual sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a notorious prison. And it's that very institution that becomes central in this context, since Shawshank State Prison holds significant lore throughout King's fictional world — a pattern which persists in It: Welcome to Derry. Among the tales which mention Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we discover about the awful conditions at the state penitentiary plus several of the inmates within, such as the boyfriend of a belonging to Pennywise's early targets, who had been found guilty for robbery with a weapon. Thus far, though, the most we've learned concerning Shawshank was through the perspective of the protagonist from Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 film. Andy ends up in Shawshank after being wrongly convicted, then experiences beaten and abused by fellow inmates, and taken advantage of by the officials in power for his financial knowledge. It takes nearly three decades to tunnel his way out of the prison, prior to making his way "through a river of shit" to take back his liberty. The Prison's Appearance in Welcome to Derry In relation to It: Welcome to Derry, audiences initially discovered of Shawshank's inclusion via an initial preview for the series, in which a prison bus appeared with the name displayed on its side. During the second episode, we learn which character is likely destined for the prison. Although we know he did not responsible for the murders of children in the first episode, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. The preview for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," reveals a guard telling Hank in his cell, "Do you know what they do to kiddie killers in Shawshank?" The Implications for the Character and His Daughter Given that the real murderer in the town is an ancient power from another world hunting and killing children, Hank's prospects of proving his innocence appear slim. And even if he does go to Shawshank and viewers do not see him inside, knowing what we do about that prison indicates that his time there would not be enjoyable. More importantly, though, this development could threaten his daughter. He acts as her protector. Terrible events are happening in the town that nobody, young or old, comprehends and she just has her recently formed of friends to depend on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, however should the prison system has any say, she could be without help. One thing is apparent: Hank doesn’t have three decades to tunnel to freedom. It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are currently available via the streaming service. Additional installments air weekly each Sunday.