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HBO's It: Welcome to Derry is packed with nods to Stephen King's vast collection of tales. Apart from the clear links to the original story, the show also features an explicit link to The Shining via the cameo of a young Dick Hallorann. Now, as the story unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating another beloved King story which merits another look.

The Haunting Tale of The Shawshank Redemption

Although The Shawshank Redemption isn't typically classified as horror, especially in contrast with a lot of the author's additional writing, it remains a haunting tale of a wrongfully convicted individual sentenced to spend his remaining years inside a notorious prison. It is that very penitentiary which is central in this context, as Shawshank State Prison possesses considerable history across King's stories — a tradition which persists in It: Welcome to Derry.

Some of the tales that reference the prison are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Via these stories, we learn about the awful conditions at the state penitentiary plus several of those imprisoned within, including the partner of a belonging to Pennywise's early victims, who was convicted for robbery with a weapon.

So far, though, the most we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been via the eyes of Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Tim Robbins in the 1994 film. The character Andy winds up in Shawshank after his wrongful conviction, then finds himself assaulted and abused by other prisoners, while exploited by the officials in power due to his expertise in finance. It takes nearly three decades to dig an escape route of the prison, before crawling "through sewage" to take back his freedom.

Shawshank's Appearance in Welcome to Derry

In relation to It: Welcome to Derry, audiences initially discovered of Shawshank's inclusion from an early trailer for the series, where a correctional transport was seen bearing the title displayed on its side. In episode 2, it is revealed which character is likely headed to Shawshank.

Though it is known he was not commit the child deaths initially, Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for those offenses. A teaser for episode 3, "the upcoming installment," shows a guard telling Hank in his cell, "Are you aware what they do to kiddie killers at that prison?"

The Consequences for Hank and His Daughter

Given that the actual murderer in Derry is a primordial entity from another world hunting and murdering children, Hank's chances of proving his innocence appear slim. Even should he does go in the prison and the audience don't follow him inside, knowing what we do regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his time there would not be enjoyable.

More importantly, though, this situation could threaten his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Terrible events are occurring around Derry which no one, child or adult, comprehends and Ronnie only has her recently formed of friends to depend on. She will require her father as the story progresses, but if the prison system has any say, she could be out of luck.

A single fact seems clear: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to dig his way out.

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Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are currently available via the streaming service. New episodes are released each week on Sundays.