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The series It: Welcome to Derry is packed with nods to Stephen King's wide-ranging library of stories. Apart from the obvious ties to the original story, the show includes an explicit connection to King's famous novel through the cameo of a young future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Currently, as the story progresses, Welcome to Derry is weaving in another beloved King story which merits a revisit.

The Haunting Tale of The Shawshank Redemption

While The Shawshank Redemption may not be classified as horror, especially in contrast with a lot of the author's additional writing, it remains a gripping story of a wrongfully convicted man sentenced to live his remaining years in a notorious prison. It is that very penitentiary which is central here, since Shawshank State Prison holds considerable lore throughout King's fictional world — a pattern which persists within It: Welcome to Derry.

Among the stories which mention Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Through these stories, we learn about the awful life inside Shawshank State Prison plus several of the inmates there, including the partner of a belonging to Pennywise's early victims, who was convicted for robbery with a weapon.

So far, though, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been via the eyes of the protagonist from Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 movie. The character Andy winds up in Shawshank after being wrongly convicted, then finds himself beaten and raped by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by those in officials in power due to his financial knowledge. It takes him 28 years to dig an escape route from Shawshank, before crawling "through sewage" to take back his liberty.

Shawshank's Role in It: Welcome to Derry

In relation to the series, viewers first learned about the prison's involvement from an initial preview for the show, in which a prison bus appeared bearing the title painted on the side. In episode 2, it is revealed who is likely headed to Shawshank.

Though we know he did not commit the murders of children in the first episode, the character Hank Grogan (played by Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. The preview for the next episode, "Now You See It," shows an officer telling a jailed Hank, "Are you aware what happens to kiddie killers in Shawshank?"

The Implications for Hank and Ronnie

Considering that the real killer in the town is a primordial entity from another world preying on and murdering kids, Hank's chances of clearing his name appear slim. And even if he does go to Shawshank and the audience don't follow him there, understanding what we do regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his experience would be far from pleasant.

More importantly, however, this situation could threaten his daughter. He acts as her guardian. Terrible events are occurring in the town which no one, child or adult, understands and Ronnie just has her recently formed of friends to depend on. She will require her father as the story progresses, however should the prison system plays a role, she may be out of luck.

One thing is apparent: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to tunnel to freedom.

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It: Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now on HBO Max. Additional installments air weekly each Sunday.