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The series It: Welcome to Derry is packed with connections to Stephen King's extensive collection of tales. Apart from the clear links to the original story, the series includes a direct connection to The Shining via the appearance of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the narrative unfolds, Welcome to Derry is integrating one more beloved King story that deserves a revisit.

The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption

Although Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as horror, particularly compared to much of the author's additional writing, it is a gripping tale of a wrongfully convicted man sentenced to live his remaining years inside a notorious prison. And it's this specific penitentiary which is important in this context, since the Shawshank facility holds considerable lore throughout King's fictional world — a pattern which persists within It: Welcome to Derry.

Among the tales that reference Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these narratives, we discover regarding the terrible conditions inside the state penitentiary plus several of those imprisoned there, such as the partner of one belonging to Pennywise's initial victims, who was found guilty for robbery with a weapon.

So far, however, the most we've learned concerning Shawshank was through the perspective of the protagonist in The Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. Andy winds up in Shawshank following being wrongly convicted, then experiences assaulted and raped by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by the officials in power due to his financial knowledge. He requires him 28 years to tunnel an escape route from Shawshank, before crawling "through sewage" to take back his freedom.

Shawshank's Role in It: Welcome to Derry

In relation to the series, viewers first learned about the prison's inclusion via an initial preview for the series, in which a prison bus was seen bearing the title displayed on its side. During the second episode, we learn which character is probably headed to the prison.

Though we know he was not commit the child deaths initially, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for the crimes. A teaser for the next episode, "the upcoming installment," reveals an officer informing a jailed Hank, "Are you aware what they do to kiddie killers in Shawshank?"

The Consequences for the Character and His Daughter

Given that the real killer in the town is an ancient power from another world preying on and murdering kids, Hank's prospects of proving his innocence appear slim. Even should he ends up to Shawshank and the audience do not see him inside, knowing what we do regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his experience would be far from enjoyable.

Crucially, however, this development would endanger his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Terrible events are occurring in the town which no one, young or old, understands and she just has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, but if Shawshank has any say, she may be out of luck.

One thing seems clear: Hank doesn’t have three decades to dig his way out.

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Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are currently available on HBO Max. Additional installments air weekly on Sundays.