This article contains spoilers for It: Welcome to Derry‘s episode 3.
It: Welcome to Derry features one interesting scene that seems to perfectly pay off an iconic moment from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.
Similar to 2018’s Castle Rock, It: Welcome to Derry takes an interesting approach towards bringing Stephen King’s stories to the small screen. While it serves as a prequel to the two IT movies, like Castle Rock, it does not shy away from drawing story beats and elements from many other Stephen King books. One of its most obvious nods to other Stephen King works is the involvement of Dick Hallorann as a main character, who was portrayed as one of the main secondary characters in The Shining.
Played by Chris Chalk, It: Welcome to Derry‘s version of Dick Hallorann is much younger but still possesses “the shining,” which he also identifies in Danny in the Stanley Kubrick movie. Interestingly, It: Welcome to Derry seems to call attention to Danny and Dick’s conversation from The Shining by perfectly paying off one detail Hallorann highlights about his past and supernatural powers.
IT: Welcome To Derry Draws Another Major Dick Hallorann Connection To The Shining In Episode 3
Soon after realizing that Danny, too, has “the shine,” Dick Hallorann has a one-on-one conversation with him in the Overlook Hotel’s kitchen. He implies to Danny that he shared “the shining” ability with his grandmother and would even talk to her without moving his lips. This detail has an incredible pay-off in IT: Welcome to Derry.
In It: Welcome to Derry‘s episode 3, Hallorann encounters Pennywise for the first time when his military seniors ask him to track down the monster. Before Hallorann can figure out what he is dealing with, he gets lured into Pennywise’s dark influence and struggles to break free. However, this is when his grandmother’s ghost floats out of the shadows and warns him to leave.
The scene seems to perfectly highlight that even though Hallorann’s grandmother is dead, his “shining” ability allows him to have a psychic connection with her. Since the “shining” grants a wide range of supernatural abilities to an individual, the scene from IT: Welcome to Derry can be seen as the scope of the power extending beyond telepathy or precognition.
The Shining Robbed Hallorann Of A Heroic Ending, But Welcome To Derry Is Giving Him The Story He Deserves
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is often touted as one of the best horror movies of all time, and rightfully so. However, whether it is a good Stephen King adaptation is debatable. Stephen King, too, has often expressed how he considers The Shining a great film but not a worthy adaptation of his book. While Stephen King might have been a little too harsh on the film, it is understandable where he comes from. Kubrick’s The Shining takes way too many creative liberties to be considered a loyal adaptation.
In more ways than one, it improves the original book. However, its biggest issue lies in how it treats Dick Hallorann. After initially portraying him as a guiding force for Danny, The Shining abruptly kills him in its second half without giving him the heroic conclusion he deserves. Fortunately, It: Welcome to Derry is not giving him the same treatment. So far, Hallorann has been a crucial part of the narrative in the Stephen King show, and his characterization will only become more and more important as the story progresses.
