An overstuffed October filled with spooky television surprises (from Carrie to Crystal Lake, Yaga, Haunted Hotel, and beyond) left little room for more Stephen King to emerge from the pack. November, however, appears wide open. As an avid reader and lover of the first season, I was still counting down the days for a visit back with the underrated The Institute. Having reached the actual ending of King’s prose, where else was there to go outside the walls of Dennison? Thankfully, showrunners Benjamin Cavell and Jack Bender return, alongside executive producer Stephen King, to bring these compelling characters straight to battle against The Institute. So, was this worth the wait, and is there actually still a story left to be told? While it would be easy to sum up the sophomore season as ‘more of the same,’ for those who loved season one, it inches ever-closer to greatness as Cavell builds out King’s dark world. Though the mystery element has been slightly sanded down, The Institute remains a wildly entertaining children-in-peril sci-fi horror adventure buoyed by spectacular cast performances.
In case you forgot where we ended last season, Luke (Joe Freeman), Nicky (Fionn Laird), Kalisha (Simone Miller), Wendy (Hannah Galway), and Tim (Ben Barnes) have essentially orchestrated the ultimate destruction of the Dennison Institute with the aid of Avery, who met his tragic demise. Months later, the team has gone from on the run to settling down at a spot they hope will help avoid being recaptured by the Institute and their thugs. Julia Sigsby (Mary-Louise Parker), who led Dennison, has devolved into a depressed alcoholic, whose father has passed. She seems aimless and without purpose up until the Institute ropes her back in for more.
Though we first catch up with these characters in a very different place than most of season one, it doesn’t take long for the Institute to rear its ugly head. Some of the plot setup that leads us into the bulk of this round almost takes a step backward. However, at least, for this viewer, it felt akin to the Maze Runner and Hunger Games series, where the characters are attempting to take down the actual fabric of the facility rather than move on and hope its shadow never casts upon them again.
Many new characters help season two feel different both in tone and layout, despite an ultimately somewhat familiar setting. This includes Lynne (Mary Walsh), a powerful elder precog who shows Luke the ropes. Her motives may be a little murky, but it seems like her heart may be in the right place. Then, there’s Nolan, a billionaire tech expert the Institute has brought on for his AI technology to attempt replication of captured, talented children and their mission. Played by Game of Thrones star Alfie Allen, Nolan emerges as a dangerous character that seems utterly unpredictable, always putting the bottom line first. The irritating Doctor Hendricks (Robert Joy) returns, and the “Man on the Phone” has officially become a full-fledged character as the stone-cold Director of the Institute (Jeff Fahey).
Tim’s story was mostly secluded from that of the children in season one, and this time around there’s a similar structure to unfold. Tim still needs to find a way to expose the Institute’s horrors without being caught, and the way he works systematically with George is always fun to watch. Season two leans more into the conspiracy and the larger people pulling the strings. Could we perhaps get a glimpse of the Committee, those lording over the Institute itself? The world feels more open than ever, more than even within King’s own text. This gives plenty of space for the series to grow, potentially in a Stranger Things kind of way.
The character dynamics are juicy, especially Kalisha, who gets a much beefier role. Miller’s performance builds her into an emotional powerhouse full of passion and fury. Luke remains the tether holding the whole mission afloat, coming into his own as a leader. Some twists and turns may be painfully obvious, but that never diminishes the familial aspect of these desperate children clinging to one another in the face of an ultimate evil. Eventually, one does have to ask what is the point of the Institute’s work, and are the grand revelations really worth it? As we learned already, these kids are being used to remotely assassinate targets that could cause apocalyptic events, but what if their targets are selected for other, more nefarious purposes?
The first batch in the eight-episode second season are impactful and direct, saving the thrust of the storyline and its biggest moments for the back half. Room is still left for more stories by the time the series concludes; one has to wonder, though, whether that would come with a major narrative shift. The characters and chess pieces are reconfigured, and the board has been cleared for yet another outrageously entertaining series. Can an institute that’s perfectly okay with targeting children’s lives to fulfill their purposes somehow be redemptive? One thing is certain: Stephen King fanatics will definitely not want to miss this mind-bending head trip.
Check into a decidedly different Institute, taking new recruits on Sunday, November 8th at 9:00pm ET/PT on MGM+.
