🔗 Share this article You Should Watch One Legendary Stephen King Movie Before It: Welcome to Derry's Next Episode The series Welcome to Derry contains numerous nods to the author's wide-ranging universe of narratives. Apart from the clear ties to the original story, the show includes a direct connection to The Shining through the cameo of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the story unfolds, Welcome to Derry is integrating another beloved tale from King that deserves another look. The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption While The Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as horror, particularly in contrast with much of King's other work, it remains a haunting tale about an wrongfully convicted man sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a infamous penitentiary. It is that very penitentiary which is important here, since the Shawshank facility possesses considerable history throughout King's fictional world — a pattern that continues in Welcome to Derry. Among the tales that reference Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Through these stories, we learn regarding the awful conditions inside Shawshank State Prison and several of the inmates there, such as the partner of one of Pennywise's early targets, who was found guilty of armed robbery. So far, however, the most we have discovered about the prison was through the perspective of the protagonist in The Shawshank Redemption, played by Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. Andy ends up in Shawshank following his wrongful conviction, and experiences assaulted and raped by fellow inmates, while taken advantage of by the officials in power for his financial knowledge. He requires him 28 years to dig his way out of the prison, prior to making his way "through a river of shit" to take back his freedom. Shawshank's Role in It: Welcome to Derry Regarding It: Welcome to Derry, audiences first learned about the prison's inclusion from an early trailer for the show, where a correctional transport was seen bearing the title displayed on its side. In episode 2, it is revealed which character is likely destined for Shawshank. Though we know he was not responsible for the murders of children initially, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for those offenses. The preview for episode 3, "Now You See It," shows a guard telling a jailed Hank, "Do you know what they do to child murderers in Shawshank?" The Implications for the Character and Ronnie Considering that the real murderer in the town is a primordial entity from another world hunting and murdering kids, Hank's chances of proving his innocence appear slim. And even if he does go to Shawshank and viewers don't follow him inside, knowing what is known regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his time there would be far from enjoyable. More importantly, however, this situation could threaten his daughter. He acts as her protector. Terrible events are occurring in the town which no one, young or old, understands and she only has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, but if the prison system plays a role, she could be out of luck. A single fact seems clear: Hank lacks three decades to tunnel to freedom. It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available on HBO Max. Additional installments air weekly each Sunday.