You Should Watch One Legendary Stephen King Film Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment
The series Welcome to Derry contains numerous references to Stephen King's vast collection of tales. Apart from the clear links to the original story, the series includes a direct link to The Shining via the cameo of a young future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Currently, as the narrative unfolds, Welcome to Derry is weaving in another beloved tale from King which merits a revisit.
The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption
While The Shawshank Redemption isn't typically classified as horror, particularly in contrast with a lot of the author's additional work, it remains a gripping tale of a innocently imprisoned man condemned to live the rest of his life in a infamous prison. And it's this specific institution which is central in this context, since Shawshank State Prison possesses considerable history across King's fictional world — a tradition that continues in Welcome to Derry.
Among the stories that reference Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Through these stories, we learn regarding the awful life at the state penitentiary and several of those imprisoned there, including the boyfriend of one of Pennywise's early targets, who had been found guilty of armed robbery.
Thus far, however, the most we've learned about the prison has been through the perspective of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 film. Andy ends up at the prison following being wrongly convicted, then experiences beaten and raped by other prisoners, and exploited by the authority figures for his financial knowledge. It takes nearly three decades to dig an escape route from Shawshank, prior to crawling "through sewage" to reclaim his liberty.
The Prison's Appearance in Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, viewers first learned about the prison's inclusion from an early trailer for the series, in which a prison bus appeared with the name painted on the side. In episode 2, we learn who is probably destined for the prison.
Though we know he was not commit the child deaths in the first episode, Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. A teaser for the next episode, "the upcoming installment," shows a guard informing Hank in his cell, "Are you aware what happens to kiddie killers at that prison?"
The Consequences for Hank and Ronnie
Considering that the real killer in the town is a primordial entity originating elsewhere hunting and murdering kids, Hank's prospects of clearing his name do not look good. And even if he ends up in the prison and viewers do not see him inside, understanding what is known about that prison indicates that his time there would be far from pleasant.
More importantly, however, this situation would endanger Ronnie. He acts as her guardian. Terrible events are occurring around Derry which no one, child or adult, comprehends and Ronnie only has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She will require her dad as the story progresses, but if the prison system plays a role, she may be without help.
One thing seems clear: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to dig to freedom.
Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now via the streaming service. New episodes air weekly each Sunday.
